Hiking at Atzmännig – The Chrüzegg Panorama Trail + Alpine Slide

For mother’s day we we hiked the Chrüzegg Panorama trail at Atzmännig. Located about an hour from Zürich in canton St. Gallen, Atzmännig is an arena of mountains with a small ski resort in winter and hiking trails, an alpine slide, a ropes course, trampolines and other amusements in the summer. On the map provided by Atzmännig Leisure Park, the Chrüzegg Panorama trail is Route  5: Bergstation- Chrüzegg – Talstation. This 7 km trail has 190 m of ascent and, 520 m descent. It starts at the top of the chair lift and then winds its way back to the parking lot by walking along the top of the arena, along the views are fabulous, especially of lake Zürich, and a restaurant at the half-way point (Chrüzegg). The trail was a bit muddy the day we went, so the descent was occasionally challenging and I wished I had brought my hiking with me sticks for balance. Despite the mud, spring was a great time for this trail as the dandelions were blooming and the hills were exploding with yellow color.

Detail Summary

Where:The Chrüzegg Panorama trail (Route  5: Bergstation- Chrüzegg – Talstation) at Atzmännig
Canton St. Gallen , Switzerland
Train/Bus:Zürich HB ->  Atzmännig, Schutt – 1 hr 20 mins
Car:Atzmännigstrasse, 8638 Goldingen SG-CH

Large paid parking lot

This note is from the Swiss Family Fun site, but also well worth mentioning here: “If you are coming from west of Zurich, your navigation will most likely direct you onto a winding one-lane country road for the last 4.5 km. This way is only about 5 mins faster, but more stressful as you deal with oncoming traffic. If you want to avoid the one-lane road, have your navigation route you through Goldingen on your way to Atzmännig.”
What:The Chrüzegg Panorama trail (Route  5: Bergstation- Chrüzegg – Talstation)

Trail Map
Yellow Trail Markers
Chrüzegg via Tweralpspitz -> Oberchamm -> Atzmännig Talstation
Skill:Easy/Medium – About 2.5 hrs
Length 7 km, Ascent 190 m, Descent 520 m
Cost 2022chair lift one way CHF 9.50/adult, CHF 5.50/child 
No discounts for travel cards.
Note There is a detour during September/October for shooting ranges. Be sure to pay attention to all trail signage.

Additional Info
Atzmännig
Trail Map
Alpine Slide (Toboggan Run/Rodelbahn)
Swiss Family Fun – There is a detour during September/October for shooting ranges. This post covers that detour and has lovely photos of this trail in the fall. I may want to redo this trail then just to see the colors.

Getting There

To get to this hike, we simple drove to Atzmännig Leisure Park and parked in the large lot there. We then purchased one-way tickets for the chair lift to get us to the start of the hike. The chairlift was very slow, but we did get a nice view of the alpine slide as we went up and it looked like so much fun we made a plan to do a run on it after the hike.

At the top, we admired the view for a bit, and then we were on our way.

The Trail

At the top of the chair lift, we turned left and began following the yellow hiking trail markers. A just about 100 meters, we passed an intersection, and we made sure to follow the signs towards Chrüzegg and Tweralpspitz. After a short climb, we took a moment to enjoy the view of lake Zürich and all the blooming dandelions.

As we continued towards Chrüzegg and Tweralpspitz, we continued to enjoy the views.

In the first picture below you can see the ridge that the trail traverses as it loops down back to the valley. Even during the brief periods when we were in the forest, this was still a very pretty trail.

After passing Tweralpspitz, the trail descends a bit, and goes past a building. And, as almost always on this trail, it went past some gorgeous views.

At about the half-way point in this hike, we came to Chrüzegg. There is a restaurant here with a playground and, of course, panoramic views. We had packed a picnic, so we didn’t eat here. But, it did look like a nice place and maybe we will eat here next time we do this trail.

From Chrüzegg, we were now following the signs towards Oberchamm and Atzmännig Talstation. From here on out, the trail is all downhill, occasionally quite steeply. But after a brief section through the forest, the views were just as marvelous as the earlier part of the trail.

It was interesting being able to look across the valley back at the Atzmännig Liesure Park. We could see the entire alpine slide run from here.

With the parking lot in sight, it wasn’t long before we had finished our hike.

Alpine Slide

After we got back to the parking lot, we dropped our stuff off in our car and headed back to the chairlift, this time to take a ride on the alpine slide.

What a fun way to end our hiking day! I really enjoyed this hike and it is definitely on my list of hikes to do again.

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