Hiking the Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 8 Einsiedeln to Unterägeri
Stage 8 of the Alpine Panorama Trail (Route 3) is a 19 km long trail with 720 m ascent and 860 m descent that goes from Einsiedeln to Unterägeri. This varied section has it all – mountain views, small towns, flat moorland, a lovely restaurant at the mid-way point, and shady forest when you most need a break from the sun. I enjoyed this section very much.
| Where: | Einsiedeln to Unterägeri Cantons Schwyz and Zug, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Einsiedeln – 50 min Unterägeri, Zentrum -> Zürich HB – 50 min |
| What: | Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 8 Einsiedeln to Unterägeri Yellow trail markers – Alpine Panorama Trail Route 3 |
| Skill: | Medium – About 5 hrs 25 min Length 19 km, Ascent 720 m, Descent 860 m |
Getting There
The Alpine Panorama Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. This stage starts at the Einsiedeln train station.
After we arrived, we found our trail markers and were on our way.
The Trail
Just before the trail left town, it took us by the local hospital. From the emergency department parking lot, there is a really great view of the ski jump ramps. After passing the ski ramps, the trail then heads into the hills. After a short climb, we had a very lovely view back of the town of Einsiedeln, including the famous Abbey.
As we neared the top of the hill, we passed a small chapel and a few residential houses. I kept turning around to see the mountain views behind us. As we crested the hill, we got a beautiful view of the moorlands just as a train zipped by.
As we hiked down through farmland, we passed the Schlüssel restaurant. Schlüssel means key and they had an apt decoration hanging above the door. After hiking up the other side of the hill, we got a good look back at the mountains and the lovely reddish-brown winter colors of the moorlands.
At about the half-way point in the hike, we came to the Raten pass. In the winter, this is a small ski area with a couple of lifts. There is also the Restaurant-Raten (german) and we stopped there for lunch. I enjoyed the Autumn mixed vegetable plate and my husband had the fried fish. Not bad but not great either, and a little on the pricey side. Still, it was nice stop and the views from the restaurant are lovely.
After leaving the restaurant, the trail continues towards Unterägeri. Although much of the time is spent in the forest, there are also a few spots with really gorgeous panorama views along the way.
So very pretty!
As the trail began to descend, we passed through farmland and said hello to the cows in our path.
There were also a few more panorama views before the final descent into the town. It was interesting to see the cloud below us crawling over the town.
As we came into town, the clouds surrounded us and we passed a large abandon house with what appeared to be a secret tunnel below it. It was beginning to look like we were in an episode of Scooby Doo, but alas no sight of the Mystery Van.
Once in town, we headed for the bus stop and the end of our hike.
Getting Back
On the way to the bus stop, we went into the specialty cheese store in picture one and picked up some of their house fondue blend for dinner. Better than the Coop blend, but not as good as our local cheese place.
This was a long but varied hike and overall quite enjoyable. We had been away from trail 3 for a while and it was good to get back to it. I’m looking forward to the next section.
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