During my spring vacation we finally got a few days of warm and sunny weather and I was ready to explore the state of Zurich! We’ve been getting to know the area around our house pretty well, but haven’t actually explored the other half of the state that much. I found a hike along the beautiful lake of Zurich starting in Wädenswil and going all the way to Rapperswil SG. Almost the entire hike is right by the lake and you get to enjoy stunning views of the water, reeds, hills and local wild life. The highlight of the hike are the wooden piers leading over the water, especially the one from Hurden to Rapperswil which is 800m long. (870 yards)

There is a short part between Bäch and Pfäffikon SZ that would lead away from the lake and we decided to take the bus for that part to shorten the hike a little bit. In Bäch we also found a delicious ice cream store called “Eiszeit” which sells home made ice cream and boy was it delicious! I tried the mango sorbet and you could just taste that they had been using real mango for this as it was so flavourful! We definitely recommend a short pit stop there!

If you have enough time and energy on your hands I can also recommend planning some time in Rapperswil as it is a beautiful town at lake Zurich with a pretty big castle!

The Hike:

Start: Wädenswil Train Station, walk to the Uferweg, which is the path along the lake shore (You have to walk a few meters along the street to the bus stop Giessen and then you can get to the Uferweg)

Bäch: Walk along the Uferweg until you reach Bäch. (about 1h - 2h of walking) From the train station Bäch you take the bus or train to get to Pfäffikon SZ.

In Pfäffikon SZ, you get out of the train and walk towards the lake. Right after leaving the train station you have the option to go left or right. You can choose left for a little detour: There you can see the Wasserburg (water castle) of Pfäffikon as well as the Schlossgut which is a farm with lots of animals around. From the Wasserburg you have to walk back to the train station and this time take the right to go all the way to Hurden. There you will finally get to the amazing wooden pier that leads over the lake to Rapperswil. This part is another 1h - 2h of walking.

End: Rapperswil Train Station

Duration: about 3 - 4 h

Length: 10km (6.2miles)

Elevation: Mostly flat

Notes: You can always choose to shorten your hike by just jumping onto one of the bus stops on the train. You can also make it longer by walking the part between Bäch and Pfäffikon. Also a very fun random fact, you will be passing though 3 different Swiss states as you are doing this hike. You start in Zurich, walk though Schwyz and end in St. Gallen!

Hike Around Zurich's Lake Dam