The trail from Mettmen to Matt is 11 km long with 599 m ascent and 1379 m decent. With stunning mountain panoramas and a lovely alpine lake (Berglimattsee), this is a very beautiful hike. However, the long steep descent, often on loose gravel was very tough on the knees. And even though I could take my time and go slowly, this descent was not my favorite part of the hike. Fortunately, there was no need to rush – the buses in Matt run every hour until 23:10. We even stopped for a break at a hut for a dessert and a drink. After the hut, we also had a choice of trails to take to Matt and we chose the longer forested option. And, this part, for real now, was not my favorite part of the hike – I slipped in the mud and landed partly in a nettle patch. Luckily, I was mostly ok and even had clean clothes with me to change into.
Despite the downsides of this hike, this trail had some really great views. So while I have no plans to hike the whole trail again, I still might want to do some sections of it again. For that reason I put together some recommendations and ideas at the end of this post for what I would do differently next time.
Detail Summary
| Where: | Mettmen to Matt Canton Glarus, Switzerland |
| Train: | Zürich HB -> Mettmen – 2 hr 7 mins Matt – > Zurich HB – 1 hr 38 min |
| What: | Hiking the Mettmen to Matt via the Berglimatsee (Swiss Mobility) Red and white trail markers Mettmen -> Stausee Garichti -> Berglimattsee -> Matt |
| Skill: | Hard – About 4 hr 30 min Length 11 km, Ascent 599 m, Descent 1369 m |
| Cost 2025: | Luftseilbahn Kies-Mettmen (german) Adult single ride ticket: CHF 17 No discount for SBB Half-fare, Swiss Pass, and Junior cards. |
Additional Info
| Trail Map (Swiss Mobility) Luftseilbahn Kies-Mettmen (german) Elm Ferien Region (german) Berghotel Mettmen (german) Bergli Alp Wellnesss Molkenbad (german) |
Getting There
The hike starts at the top of the Kies-Mettmen gondola. The valley station of the Kies-Mettmen gondola cannot be reached by car. We took public transportation the whole way there. If you choose to drive, you will need to park at the Park & Ride lot at the Schwanden (Däniberg) bus stop and take the bus from there to the gondola. (Photos from a previous hike.)
After taking the bus up to the gondola, we purchased one way tickets (17 CHF) to the top. This is a one-way hike that ends at a bus stop in Matt, so we didn’t need a return ticket. (A round-trip ticket costs 22 CHF.)
The Trail
After getting off the gondola, we walked past the Berghotel Mettmen (german), then followed the signs towards “Stausee Garichti.” After reaching the lake, we followed the sign towards Matt along the lake going to the left. This is the same direction I took when I hiked the Kärpfbrugg Rundweg trail and when I went to the Legler Mountain Hut. However, just past the end of the dam, the trail splits with the Kärpfbrugg and Legler Hut trails continuing along the lake, and our trail, the one towards Matt, branching off and heading up the side of the ridge.
The first part of this hike is a climb covering almost 550 m in ascent in just under 3 km. Tough, but the views are spectacular!
Not quite at the top, there is a wildlife viewing platform. We didn’t see any wildlife from it, but we did rest a bit in the shade it provided and enjoyed the panorama views. You can see the farm buildings and the entrance to the Kärpfbrugg in the second picture below.
After leaving the wildlife viewing platform, we did the final push up to the top of the ridge. Here, we got a view of the Berglimatt lake. I had planned to have our picnic at the lake, but there was quite a crowd swimming, so we decided to hike a little further down the trail to find a quieter spot.
I’m glad we did! Our lunch spot ended up being amazing! Stunning views to each side of the ridge and totally worth the sweat it took to get up here! Again, I took a panorama photo. It never quite captures what it feels like, but I think you get a sense of just how pretty this place is. You can see my husband sitting in the center of the photo at our picnic spot.
After lunch, it was time to tackle the down side of the hike. And while the views were fantastic, the trail was steep and made of loose gravel and I needed to take my time hiking down.
The cows were still in the high valley for the summer and we could hear their bells ringing for most of the hike. The first cow we came across posed for her picture before she introduced us to all of her friends.
After saying goodbye to the cows, we continued the hike down the valley. Sadly, the hut we passed in picture one was closed. Not sure if it was for the summer or permanently. It looked like a cute place. Speaking of cute, check out the donkey I saw blocking the trail.
When we got to the hut, Bergli Alp Wellnesss Molkenbad (german), in picture one, we stopped for a drink and some meringues with whipped cream. In addition to the restaurant, they are a wellness retreat with wood-fired hot tubs and soaking tubs. We should have, but didn’t buy any cheese.
At the hut, the trail splits, with both branches ending in Matt (our final destination). My plan had been to take the steeper, shorter, more direct path following the stream down to Matt. However, we ended up on the other, longer trail that had multiple switchbacks through the forest.
This forest section was by far my least favorite of the hike. At one point, I slipped in the mud and fell with my left hand landing in a bunch of stinging nettles. Very unpleasant and a bit scary. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt badly (just a little bruised and nettle stung) and I had a change of of clothes with me so I could at least not be covered in mud for the rest of the hike. Also fortunately, there wasn’t much left of the hike. We were soon out of the forest and winding our way down to Matt.
Just before crossing the road over to Matt, I took this valley photo of the Sernf river. Such a nice view to end the hike on.
Getting Back
We had just missed the bus and had almost an hour to wait until the next one. My husband walked to the Volg grocery to see if he could get us some drinks but they were closed. He was able to refill our water bottle at a fountain, which was nice.
This was a pretty spectacular hike, but would I do it again? In a word, no. The down side of the hike was too much of a downside. Still, I might do a portion of this hike again, the views were so fantastic! See the section below for some ideas for what I would do differently.
Recommendation and Ideas
For this hike, hiking sticks and good shoes are a must. And bring extra water and snacks. There are no services for most of the trail.
Also, if you are so inclined, bring a towel and swim suit as you could stop at the Berglimatt lake for a swim. We didn’t do that, but we saw many other people swimming there.
Other options:
(1) Only go as far as the top of the ridge just past the Berglimatt lake and then instead of hiking down to Matt, turn around and return to Mettman on the same trail you hiked up on.
(2) Instead of hiking down to Matt from the Berglimatt lake, take the trail that loops around the Gandstock and returns to Mettmen.
(3) Instead of the zigzag through the forest trail that we did, take the shorter, more direct trail from the hut, Bergli Alp Wellnesss Molkenbad (german), to Matt.
(4) Stay overnight at the Bergli Alp Wellnesss Molkenbad (german). A long soak in a wood fired hot tub might be just what’s needed.
For options 1 and 2, be sure to keep your eye on the time, so you don’t miss the last gondola and bus back down to Schwanden. Check the schedule as the times change with the seasons.
Since I haven’t actually done options 2, 3, and 4, I can’t say if they really are better. Just things I would try if doing this hike again. Please comment if you have done any of these options and let me know how it went.
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