Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 16 Sörenberg to Giswil

Stage 16 of the Trans Swiss trail is 19 km long with 700 m ascent and 1350 m descent and goes from Sörenberg to Giswil. I was excited to get to this stage because it marks the half-way point for our hike-through of the Trans Swiss Trail. I’m giving myself a pat on the back for making it this far. Although such kudos aren’t really needed, the views on this hike were reward enough. Absolutely spectacular and well worth it.

Detail Summary

Where:	Sörenberg to Giswil Canton Lucerne and Canton Obwalden, Switzerland
Train/Bus:	Zürich HB -> Schangnau, Post – 1 hr 48 min Giswil, Bahnhof -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 29 min
What:	Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil Red and White trail markers, Yellow trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2
Skill:	Difficult – About 5 hrs 40 min Length 19 km, Ascent 700 m, Descent 1350 m

Additional Information

Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil
Trail Map
Webcam: Sörenberg

Photo Stories for All Stages

Stage 1 – Porrentruy to St-Ursanne
Stage 2 – St-Ursanne to Soubey
Stage 3 – Soubey to Saignelégier
Stage 4 – Saignelégier to St-Imier
Stage 5 – St-Imier to Chézard-St-Martin
Stage 6 – Chézard-St-Martin to Neuchâtel
Stage 7 – Neuchâtel to Murten
Stage 8 – Murten to Laupen
Stage 9 – Laupen to Bern
Stage 10 – Bern to Worb
Stage 11 – Worb to Lützelflüh
Stage 12 – Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E.
Stage 13 – Langnau i.E. to Eggiwil
Stage 14 – Eggiwil to Schangnau
Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg
Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil
Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft
Stage18 – Flüeli-Ranft to Stans
Stage 19 – Stans to Seelisberg
Stage 20 – Seelisberg to Erstfeld
Stage 21 – Erstfeld to Wassen
Stage 22 – Wassen to Andermatt
Stage 23 – Andermatt to Passo del San Gottardo
Stage 24 – Passo del San Gottardo to Airolo
Stage 25 – Airolo to Osco
Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico
Stage 27 – Anzonico to Biasca
Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona
Stage 29 – Bellinzona to Tesserete
Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano)
Stage 31 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote
Stage 32 – Morcote to Mendriso

Getting There

The Trans Swiss Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 16 picks right up where stage 15 left off, at the Sörenberg, Post bus stop.

After passing the tipi by, we were on our way.

The Trail

The first third of this trail is a steady climb up towards the Glaubenbielen pass with beautiful views almost the entire way.

The view behind us of the Schrattenfluh was definitely worth turning around for many times. We were really lucky to have such a clear blue sky.

There were a lot of cows on this hike and we needed to watch where we stepped.

At the Glaubenbielen Pass, we crossed the road. There, we purchased a nice local cheese from the cheese hut there. As we neared the high-point of the hike, we got a beautiful view back of the pass we had hiked through on stage 15.

To get over the ridge, our trail left the main trail and zig-zagged up through the pine trees.

At the top of the ridge, we took a last look back and then hiked over the ridge to stunning view of the Sarnersee lake.

We stopped briefly after cresting the ridge to sit on some rocks and have some lunch. We then began the long walk down to Giswil. After we had hiked a little past the hut you see in the center of the picture above, my husband took this picture of me. It gives a good sense of just how expansive these views are.

The final third of the hike was a very steep descent through the forest. It was a lot of stairs. And a lot of bugs. I should have worn bug spray.

As we continued, we came across the Steibi waterfalls.The first picture is from a viewing platform. There is a short 5 minute detour that takes you closer to the falls and that is where I took the second picture.

After the waterfall, the trail follows the river and was also part of the Giswil Historic trail.There were number of signs (in german) along the way describing the engineering of the river here.

The last bit of the trail was flat and brought us to the town of Giswil. One of the surprising things we passed as a buffalo farm.

Getting Back

We didn’t want to miss our train, and we were walking so fast that I didn’t get any pictures of Giswil as we came into the train station. However, just before we got to Giswil, I took a look back to where we had been.