The hike to the top of the Grosser Mythen mountain peak in Central Switzerland is a must-do! I had heard of this iconic mountain trail before and have seen many photos online, so I decided it was finally time to check it out for myself. It was one of the tougher trails I have done, but also one of the most exhilarating! At the top, there is a famous mountain restaurant that is known for their Nussgipfel and Mandelgipfel. That was enough to motivate me to climb the steep and rocky path to this mountain summit 😉🥐

We started our hike in Brunni around 10am. The drive from Zürich to Brunni is only about 1 hour long. There is plenty of parking in this small mountainside village where you can pay 5 francs to park for a full day. Here is the address for the parking: Parkplatz Brunni, 8849 Alpthal. There are also a few restaurants that will allow you to use their washrooms for 1 franc before you start out on the hike.

Usually, there is a cable car that will take you from Brunni to Holzegg where you would start the hike up the Grosser Mythen. But due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the cable car does not start running again until June 6 (2020). Luckily, there is an accessible trail that you can use to walk from Brunni to Holzegg in the case that the cable car in not running. It takes about 40-60 minutes depending on your pace and it goes uphill through a cow field and then through patches of forest. When you arrive in Brunni, just follow the yellow signs to Holzegg.

Once you have made it up to Holzegg, whether you took the cable car or walked, you will now see the trail where you can start your ascent up the Grosser Mythen to the summit.

The climb from Holzegg to the summit of Grosser Mythen took us about an hour. The path is quite rocky and steep so it is important to watch your footing and take it slowly. There are chain rails that you can hold onto and there are also a few points where you can step over to the side and catch your breath (which I had to do a few times to be quite honest!😬)

It is possible to bring your dog on this trail, but they must be kept on a leash as stated by the signs. We also saw many kids doing the hike, but I would definitely proceed with caution if you are planning on going with young children. The hike is not long, but the trail can be a bit risky at times.

We got a bit unlucky with the weather as the summit was engulfed in clouds during our trek, so this caused quite the temperature change. I would definitely recommend to dress in layers as you just never know how fast the weather can change or the temperature can drop. When the clouds cleared, the sun was really hot. When the clouds came back, it was windy and freezing! So just make sure you are properly dressed for any kind of weather.

Once we got to the top, we sat outside and enjoyed some coffee and the legendary Nussgipfels. Although inside the restaurant the seating is limited, there are many places to sit outside and have a picnic. The restaurant is self serve so you can order what you like and then find a nice spot to sit. After we sat outside for a while, we started to get cold and luckily a table opened up for us inside the small restaurant. We went in and enjoyed another Nussgipfel…!

There is also a public washroom at the top that costs 1 franc to use. I would recommend using it before starting the trek back down since there aren’t any private wooded areas where you can scoot off the trail to do your business.

We enjoyed our time at the top, despite the unfortunate weather conditions. It was still a beautiful spot and I can’t wait to visit it again to (hopefully) experience the full view.

The way back down obviously took a bit less time than the way up. We still took our time to be cautious of the rocky path, but made it back down to our parked car in Brunni in about 1h30mins.

Overall, it was a great experience and I would totally recommend this hike. Let me know if you decided to try it for yourself! I hope this post can be helpful to you in planning your trip to the Grosser Mythen summit.😊

Xo,

Zoë