Biking the Mittelland Route – Stage 2 Wil (SG) to Kloten

Stage 2 of the Mittelland Bike Route was 51 km and went from Wil (SG) to Kloten. Like stage 1, this stage took us on mostly paved paths through small towns, farms and orchards. This stage also took us past the pretty Bichelsee Lake, through the forest, and along a different river (the Töss). We split this stage into two days, and while I vastly preferred the second day, the whole route was rather enjoyable.

Detail Summary

Additional Info

Getting There

This trail starts at the Wil (SG) train station. When we finished stage 1, we left our bikes locked at the train station so we didn’t need to bring the bikes on the train when we started stage 2 the next day. After we unlocked our bikes, we found our trail, and we were on our way.

There was a lot of construction at the Wil (SG) train station, so it was a little confusing at first to find the trail, but we eventually did. Once we were in our way, we started out on a main roads but then switched to a paved bike path when we were out of the town.

The Trail – Day 1 Wil (SG) to Turbenthal

The trail from the start until Bichelsee Lake has a gradual ascent. It wasn’t difficult, but the day’s temperatures and humidity were significantly higher than had been predicted, so we were sweating quite a bit. The fountain we stopped at in the second picture was a very welcome sight, as was the shade in the forest in picture three.

Unfortunately, the path at this point was mostly in the open and without shade. When we passed the Bichelsee Lake we saw a lot of people swimming and that looked a lot more appealing than bike riding.

The trail began a gradual descent after the Bichelsee Lake, but when we reached the Turbenthal train station we decided we had had enough of the heat and humidity for the day. We parked our bikes and ended the ride for the day and planned to return after a day of rest.

The Trail – Day 2 Turbenthal to Kloten

When we returned to the trail, the weather was much better. From the Turbenthal train station, the way was an easy descent on a paved path along the banks of the Töss river. This was a really fun and pretty section to ride.

At the town of Sennhof (Winterthur), we had the option of looping through Winterthur or bypassing it. We chose to bypass Winterthur and very much enjoyed the forest ride. When the trails rejoined, right after crossing the a main road, the next section was a sharp ascent (17% grade over 2 km) to the town of Winterberg. We are not hard-core bikers, or even medium-core bikers, so when the grade was too steep for us, we walked our bikes.

When we passed through Winterberg, we were greeted by some happy sunflowers. Cute!

From Winterberg to Bassersdorf was basically a down hill coast through wide open farm land. We even passed the Strickhof agricultural college (picture two above). After passing the flower farm in the last picture, we entered the residential area of Bassersdorf and neared the end of our ride.

Getting Back

The last few kilometers took us through some residential and industrial areas in Bassersdorf and Kloten. The path does not go directly past the Kloten train station so we needed to keep and eye on the map to know when to turn off the path (a left on Lindenstrasse). Earlier, we had passed directly by the Bassersdorf train station, so that might be an easier end point, but then it would add a couple of km to the next stage.

When we reached the Kloten train station, we locked our bikes and hopped a bus towards home. I forgot until I was on the bus to take a picture of the end point so I took a picture from the bus. Biking and taking pictures is so much more difficult than hiking and taking pictures. I’m working on it and hopefully I will improve when we do stage 3!

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