Stage 12 of the Alpine Panorama Trail (Route 3) is a 10 km long trail with 220 m ascent and 140 m descent that goes from Malters to Wolhusen.
This stage is an easy walk that mostly follows alongside the Kleine Emme river. It isn’t the most scenic hike, as it goes past a lot of industrial sites and logistic warehouses, but as the trail is generally within a narrow strip of forest, it is mostly pleasant. Along the way, the Kloster Werthenstein(German), a pilgrimage destination on the Way of St. James situated on a hilltop above the river, is worth a stop.
Detail Summary
| Where: | Malters to Wolhusen Canton Luzern, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Malters, Emenstrasse – 1 hr 4 min Wolhusen -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 6 min |
| What: | Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 12 Malters to Wolhusen Yellow trail markers – Alpine Panorama Trail Route 3 |
| Skill: | Easy – About 2 hrs 40 min Length 10 km, Ascent 220 m, Descent 140 m |
Additional Info
| Alpine Panorama Trail – Stage 12 Malters to Wolhusen Luzern Tourism (Spelled Lucerne in English) Kloster Werthenstein(German) |
Photo Stories for Other Stages
| Stage 1 – Rorschach to Trogen Stage 2 – Trogen to Appenzell Stage 3 – Appenzell to Schwägalp Stage 4 – Schwägalp to Stein, SG Stage 5 – Stein, SG to Amden Stage 6 – Amden to Siebnen Stage 7 – Siebnen to Einsiedeln Stage 8 – Einsiedeln to Unterägeri Stage 9 – Unterägeri to Zug Stage 10 – Zug to Luzern Stage 11 – Luzern to Malters Stage 12 – Malters to Wolhusen |
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 Emmenstrasse bus stop in Malters but as the bus runs infrequently and it is a less than 1k walk from the train station, we started our hike at the train station.
After reaching the bus stop, we joined back up with the trail and were on our way.
The Trail
Right after the bus stop, the trail leaves the road and begins to follow alongside the Kleine Emme river. For the most part it is a pleasant walk in a forested strip with the river to the right. At one point, we could hear gun shots from a close by shooting range. There was a concrete wall there to protect us as we hiked by. The concrete wall, gun shots, joker graffiti, and tall tree stumps combined to make walking this short section of the trail a little surreal. Luckily, it didn’t stay that way for long.
Sandwiched between warehouses and the river, this wasn’t a particular interesting trail. But, it perked up when we came to Werthenstein, with its 16th century Kloster up on the hill.
The Kloster Werthenstein(German) was founded in the 1520 after a man panning for gold in the river saw the virgin Mary up on the hill. After walking up to the kloster, we decided it was worth going inside. I’m glad we went in – the pretty chapel was still decorated for easter. And, the courtyard had wonderful murals painted in each alcove (german) by the artist Kaspar Meglinger (german). He is the artist who did the original artwork found on the Spreuerbrücke (german) in Luzern.
After leaving the Kloster, we walked down the access road where we stopped briefly at the Gnadenbrünneli (german), a spring fed fountain said to have healing powers.
After crossing the Emme river via the old wooden bridge, we continued on our way to Wolhusen.
Getting Back
This was a short hike and we realized we hadn’t had our lunch yet, so just as we were about to descend into Wolhusen, we stopped at a bench for a picnic. The view wasn’t spectacular, but it was good enough.
After lunch, we walked the last leisurely kilometer to the Wolhusen train station.
I’m really looking forward to the next two stages. They will require an overnight as there is no public transport to the endpoint at the Napf Mountain Hotel. It will take some planning and good weather, so we’ll how soon I get to it.
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