A Great Circular Snowshoe Hike in Braunwald with Ice Cave
By Yvonne Buggy
A Scenic Panoramic Winter Hike In Braunwald Not far from Zurich
The Circular Panoramic Snowshoe Hike in Braunwald
Snow shoeing is such a good way of exploring the wonderful Swiss Winter landscape and over recent years has become increasingly popular. In this article Yvonne tells us all about a great hike in Braunwald and if you need any further suggestions for Snow Shoe Hikes (mostly not too far from Zurich) take a look here. The Circular Panorama Snowshoe Hike in Braunwald is an impressive snowshoe loop through the mountains of Braunwald offering stunning panoramic views of the Tödi, Ortstock and other Glarner mountains. One particular highlight is the impressive ice cave deep in the rock, located opposite the lowest gorge in Switzerland. Braunwald is a car free town, so you need to take a funicular and a gondola to reach the starting point of the Panoramaweg.
Take The Gondola to Grotzenbüel
After arriving in Braunwald continue walking left towards the Gondelbahn Grotzenbüel (Hüttenbergstrasse 8, 8784 Braunwald). Walk 1 km west through town to the Hüttenberg-Grötzenbüel gondola. The gondola takes you to Grötzenbüel, where you’ll find Restaurant Chämistube. From here follow the trail signs posted “Panoramaweg 471″.
There will be more restaurants along the way (Bergrestaurant Seblengrat and Berggasthaus Gumen) providing plenty of opportunities for a short break. The actual trail starts to your left behind the restaurant Chämistube, up the mountain.
From Grotzenbüel To Chnügrat
You will arrive by cable car in the ski area of the Grotzenbüel mountain station at 1559 m. From Grotzenbüel follow the hiking trail to the viewpoint at Chnügrat towards Seblengrat. You will go through open forests and as you get higher, you are treated to a panoramic view of the Ortstock, Braunwald very own Hausberg, as well as the majestic Tödi at 3614 m. From this point you also get a wonderful view of the lowest gorge in Switzerland, a 3000m rise from the village of Linthal to the summit of the Tödi.
The Ice Cave Seblengrat
Continue up towards the ridge which leads to the rustic Seblengrat Bergrestaurant. Make sure to view the impressive ice gallery with lots of icicles and crystals which connects the Seblengrat with the Gumen.
Continue following the path up towards Bergasthaus Gumen. Enjoy a drink or a meal at this very scenic restaurant before the descent towards until Braunwaldalp Oberstafel. It is relatively steep until Braunwaldalp Oberstafel and crosses the ski slopes. Continue on to Ortstockhau. If you take a 5-10 minute detour here you can see a listed heritage site located at 1772 metres with breathtaking views of the Ortstock. From here you follow the path back to the starting point in Grotzenbüel.
Three Restaurants Along the Route
This hike takes you past three restaurants so do stop off at one for a little break. In fact if you are interested, you can stay overnight at both the Gumen Restaurant and Ortstockhaus subject to reservation.
Information on the Circular Panoramic Snowshoe Hike in Braunwald
Length: 8 km
Ascent / Descent: 460 m / 460 m
Hiking Time: approximately 3 h 10 min
Fitness level: medium
Ticket prices: Linthal – Grotzenbüel-Linthal CHF 30 and CHF 23 with Halbtax (correct at time of writing).
How To get There
- By car: Drive to Linthal in the Glarus region. The address of the nearby car park is Stachelbergstrasse 2, 8783 Lynthal.
- By public transit: Take the train to Linthal Braunwaldbahn station.
From the train station or from the car park in Lynthal, walk towards the Braunwald funicular. The funicular is your only connection to Braunwald. From Linthal (654 m above sea level) you will arrive in Braunwald (1,256 above sea level) in just 7 minutes.
Link to the snowshoe hike on Switzerland Mobility.
Link to the hike on Outdooractive.
The hike itself is very easy to find and very scenic.
For any information about the wether conditions you can also contact:
Gäste-Info Braunwald
Dorfstrasse 5
8784 Braunwald
Tel. +41 (0)55 645 03 03
info@braunwald.ch
Visit the Braunwald website here
This article with photos is by Yvonne Buggy. Yvonne is an enthusiastic walker, hiker and nature enthusiast who loves to share her enthusiasm of the outdoors to inspire others.
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