When you think of Switzerland and the stereotypes it embodies, you probably think of: cows, cheese, and beautiful mountain scenery. Well, Appenzell is a place that has them all!
The Ebenalp area has been on my radar for a while since moving here and I finally got the chance to visit it this weekend. If you are looking for a typical Swiss hiking trip that is only about a one hour drive from Zürich, I totally recommend a visit to Ebenalp!
We decided to do a pretty easy route by taking the cable car up from Wasserauen to Ebenalp. The one way ticket costs 20 CHF per person. You can park at the cable car station and it costs 5 CHF for the day. The cable car runs from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. You can find out more info here.
You can also take the hiking trail instead of the cable car up to Ebenalp if you are feeling up to the challenge!
There are two really popular spots you can include on your hike. This first one is the Äscher-Wildkirchli guest house. We walked here from Ebenalp and it took about 15 minutes.
The guesthouse has existed since 1860 and is one of the oldest mountain guesthouses in Switzerland. It’s such a unique building that looks like something from a fairy tale! You can stop here for a coffee or a bite to eat.
After admiring the guesthouse for a bit, we continued downwards towards the second popular location: the Seealpsee. The trek down to the lake took us about an hour. The path is all down hill and quite rocky at times. The trail is partly in the forest and is pretty steep at times. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes.
Once we arrived at the Seealpsee, we walked around the lake (which is about 1,5km) and spotted some little houses where we could buy cheese! We decided to buy some cheese that is made on location.
We then sat by the lake and had a nice picnic while enjoying the scenery of the lake and mountains around us. We grabbed a coffee at Gasthaus Forelle, where you can sit outside with an amazing view of the lake. You can even go for a swim in the lake if you are feeling brave enough to delve into chilly mountain water! I am sure on a hot day it would feel super refreshing.
After spending some time at the lake, we started the walk back down to the Wasserauen cable car station where we parked. The hike down from the lake is quite short and all downhill. It took us about 40 minutes to arrive back at the car.
We really enjoyed doing this trek the “easy way” by taking the cable car up and working our way down with a couple stops. You can also do it the other way or avoid the cable car all together. But whichever way you decide to do, you will not be disappointed with the amazing scenery in this area.
I will definitely be back in this region so I can explore even more of beautiful Appenzell! Thanks for reading about our adventure and hopefully it has inspired you to visit must-see Swiss bucketlist location 😊
XO,
Zoë
