Hiking the Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 10 Zug to Luzern
Stage 10 of the Alpine Panorama Trail (Route 3) is a 30 km long trail with 760 m ascent and 740 m descent that goes from Zug to Luzern. This is a long stage so we hiked it over 2 days, doing 10 k the first day in late January and then 20 k on a second day in February. The first day was almost entirely along the shore of Lake Zug. We had perfectly clear weather and some absolutely marvelous views across the water of Mount Rigi. The second day was bit cloudier, but we still had some fantastic alpine panorama views and ending with a lakeside stroll in Luzern is always lovely.
| Where: | Zug to Luzern Cantons Zug and Luzern, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Zug – 27 min Luzern -> Zürich HB – 41 min |
| What: | Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 10 Zug to Luzern Yellow trail markers – Alpine Panorama Trail Route 3 |
| Skill: | Difficult – About 7 hrs 45 min Length 30 km, Ascent 760 m, Descent 740 m |
| Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 10 Zug to Luzern Zug Tourism Luzern Tourism (Spelled Lucerne in English) |
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 Zug waterfront just a short walk from the main train station in Zug.
After leaving the train station, we got down to the waterfront, found our trail, and were our way.
The Trail – Day 1 Zug to Buonas
When we did stage 9, it was so hazy we couldn’t see across the lake. Fortunately, when we went this time we had perfectly clear views. What a great start to this hike!
The trail from Zug follows along the lake shore, however there are a number of times we were diverted away from the shore and to the road and were hemmed in by the train tracks and private property fences. We have actually hiked this section before when we did the end of Stage 2 of the Zürich-Zugerlander Panorama Weg.
The sign in the first picture below is just a warning that this is a nude bathing area. It was winter, so there weren’t any swimmers there when we went by. But winter is no guarantee of no swimmers. Cold water swimming is surprisingly popular in Switzerland, so even in winter you still might run into a nude bather hopping in for a brisk minute or two.
As we rounded the lake, we came to Villette Park, a really charming area with perfect views. The restaurant here looked really lovely but we didn’t stop.
After the park, the trail heads away from the lake and across farmland. On the way, one of the gardens we passed had a truly impressive collection of garden gnomes.
We stopped for the day in Buonas, where we caught the bus home. This was a good start to the hike and I’m glad we went as the we had such perfect weather.
The Trail – Day 2 Buonas to Luzern
It took a couple weeks to get back to the trail and after getting off the bus in Buonas, we were back on our way. We had good weather but not quite the perfect weather we had on day one. You can see how much hazier it was in the third picture below.
From Buonas, the trail begins the climb up to the Michaelskreuz. The weather improved and as we ascended above the haze, we also got a clearer view of the mountains.
When we reached Michaelskreuz, we went up the church (picture one) and really took in the 365 degree views.
After leaving the church, we hiked down to the restaurant in picture two above. The Michaelskreuz Gasthaus restaurant serves classic Swiss cuisine at typical Swiss prices. We both had the lunch special of pork medallions in mushroom cream sauce and then shared the apple dessert in picture one below. Friendly service and well-prepared food made this restaurant a good stop, and I would recommend lunch here if you are hiking this section of the trail. From the restaurant, the trail continues through farmland with fantastic alpine panorama views! I really enjoyed this section of the hike.
As we began to descend, the views got less clear. While it would have been nice if it hadn’t been so hazy, the haze had its own kind of beauty.
The last section of the hike brought us to Luzern and down to the very busy lake shore.
The sun was beginning to set as we hiked the final section.
Of course, to show we had really made it to Luzern, I had to get a picture of the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) – one of my favorite tourist spots in Luzern.
Getting Back
After taking pictures of the bridge, we checked the time and saw there was a train leaving in four minutes back to home, so we decided to rush and see if we could catch it. We did, but I didn’t have time to take any pictures of the train station (although it is visible in the center of the second picture above.) I’ll be sure to do that at the start of stage 11.
This was a great section of the hike to do this time of year and I’m glad we split it up over two days. Very fun!
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