Alp Schrina Trail • Mountain Hike thru Swiss Alpine Meadows

This mountain trail has some of the best views in eastern Switzerland, with the spiky Churfirsten peaks directly above you and a wide panorama across the bright blue Walensee lake to dozens of peaks across the way. It’s a tough steep climb up almost 1000m to get this reward, but 100% worth it.

I also have some easier, safer alternatives below that have the same views (better for those hiking with kids). No matter how you get there, take a friend and your camera and settle in for one of the most beautiful hikes in the Swiss alps.

Location & Overview

The Alp Schrina trail is located southeast of Zurich in eastern Switzerland. It is accessible by car or bus.

Here is the hiking map for the area. You are following the red circle trail, not the blue one. If you google Alp Schrina, a lot of websites will suggest the 7 km loop that includes that blue/white trail starting at Alp Schrina/Hochrugg. I don’t recommend that because it has some dangerous rock climbing sections with ladders.

Trail Map

Here the trail map for the Alp Schrina loop, about 10.5 km if you do the bus route. If you drive, then it’s about 11km for the complete loop. It took us 4.5 hrs walking time but we were on the trail for 7 hrs including food breaks and lots of photo pauses. 

We hiked it counterclockwise, which I recommend because the steepness on the first climb is severe and would be much more difficult coming down, slipping on loose rock, etc. The downhill on the “left” side of the trail is more gradual and much better for downhill walking.

My map starts at the Alte Post bus stop and ends at the Reha-Klink bus stop, which makes the most sense if you are coming by bus. If you drive, you can park at either bus stop and do a loop.

See trail on Komoot • SchweizMobil • AllTrails • OutdoorActive

Note: There is a blue/white “shortcut” trail between the Alp Schrina and Tschingla huts. This route has a dangerous scramble up rock walls with a ladder. I wasn’t interested in that but I asked some locals about it and they said they wouldn’t do it, too dangerous. Learn more about blue/white trails.

Shorter alternatives: The Tschingla hut website suggests suggests two ways to reach their hut without the steep climb we did.

Option A: Drive to Alp Schrina/Hochrugg and park in the free Paxmal parking. Hike up the red/white trail to Tschingla (see trail map). This hike is 5.2 km one way to the Tschingla hut, about 2hr20 with 410m up, 190m down.

Option B: Drive with a 4WD vehicle to Lüsis and hike on the service road to Tschingla (see trail map). One way this hike would take about 2 hrs, 4.86 km with 310 m elevation gain.

Even shorter, no hike: You can drive directly to Alp Schrina/Hochrugg and just enjoy the views from the café or picnic area and do the short walk to the Paxmal monument.

Getting There

By public transport: Take a train to Walenstadt, Bahnhof. Then take bus 443 to Walenstadtberg, Alte Post, a 15 mins ride. This bus runs infrequently, so check the current schedule. On weekends, it leaves Walenstadt at 6:20, 7:20, 8:20, 10:20, 12:20. You would need to start in the morning to finish the hike by the last bus.

You can end your hike at the Walenstadtberg, Reha Klinik bus stop, one stop higher than where you started. No need to walk down the road to the Alte Post bus stop. This bus runs infrequently, so check the current schedule. On weekends and holidays, this bus leaves the Reha Klink at 12:50, 14:50, 16:50, 18:50 (last bus). On weekdays, the bus runs a bit more frequently. 

By car: The road from Walenstadt up the mountain to Walenstadtberg is a one-lane winding road. So if I were you, I would park at the Walenstadt train station (Sarganserstrasse 7, 8880 Walenstadt) and take the bus to the trail as described above. But if you really want to drive up there, you can drive to the Reha-Klink Walenstadtberg and park next to the clinic: 47°08’28.7″N 9°17’006.7″E.

If you park at the clinic, you will make a slight adjustment to your hike because you need to hike over to the trail as shown below. From the Reha-Klink you’ll start on the road but soon see yellow trail signs pointing into the forest. Follow those. Do not hike down the road to the Alte, Post bus stop, that is wasted effort.  

Impressions on the Alp Schrina trail

Hiking up the mountain

If you take the bus, I suggest you get off the bus at Walenstadtberg, Alte Post where all the other hikers got off. But we didn’t know that. So we got off at Walenstadtberg, Reha Klinik , shown in the pic below. You might park here if you drive. 

From Reha Klink, we followed the yellow trail signs and brown Alp Schrina und Kulturaweg signs, walking down the road for a couple minutes. Then followed the yellow trail sign left into the forest. You’ll join the main trail in a bit. This section is not interesting, skip it if you can. 

Now on the main trail. You climb straight up for about 2km, gaining about 900m elevation on this section. The trail is narrow and often slippery with leaves, grass and loose rock. It was slow going, taking us about 1hr40 to get to the top from where we started at Reha Klink. There were several sections with very steep slopes on the side – you would get seriously injured or die if you tripped and fell down that slope. Be careful!

See the grass overgrown on the trail.

Nice views down to Walenstadtberg where we started.

We crossed a couple ravines where small landslides had taken out the trail. We had to scramble across loose rock, a little difficult.

Most the trail is in the forest, but you get occasional views. Just press on, all the great views are at the top. We crossed a few streams. It had rained two days before so it was quite muddy and wet on this part of the trail. I would definitely not go during or just after rain – too dangerous.

Finally exiting the forest and so happy to see the sun! There was a herd of cows here that were blocking the trail and wouldn’t move. So we had to scramble up the hill a bit to avoid them.

Taking a break at Tschingla Hut

The long climb ends at the Tschingla hut, a welcome sight.

They have a café and rooms for overnight stays.

We weren’t hungry for lunch yet. So we just had some drinks and snacks and rested our weary legs. Note: only cash, no cards accepted here.

They have a really nice playground here with a trampoline and sand pit.

I don’t think kids hike up the steep climb we did. Their website suggests two alternatives that I describe above. To repeat, you can drive to Alp Schrina/Hochrugg and park in the free Paxmal parking. Hike up the red/white trail to Tschingla (see trail map). This hike is 5.2 km one way to the Tschingla hut, about 2hr20 with 410m up, 190m down.

Or drive with a 4WD vehicle to Lüsis and hike on the service road to Tschingla (see trail map). One way this hike would take about 2 hrs, 4.86 km with 310 m elevation gain.

Hiking across

From Tschingla hut, follow yellow trail signs to Hochrugg. I would not recommend the blue/white trail, which is dangerous and also doesn’t stay high up with the big views like the red/white trail.

Follow the red/white markers onto a footpath.

The next 4 km are the best part of the trail, easy walking and super beautiful. Take your time and enjoy it. A couple groups were settling in for picnics up here. Good choice.

It’s super pretty every single second.

Looking back to Tschingla hut.

There’s a section with a stone wall. They have a sign explaining that you can help build this wall. They provide tools and instructions. I did not participate this time but maybe next time.

Hiking down the mountain

Now we start our descent. One of my favorite views on this trail.

The path down is a lumpy rocky dirt path, but so much easier to navigate than the way up. The switchbacks are less steep and drier in the sun. 

Looking east towards Bad Ragaz and Chur.

At this sign, turn left towards Hochrugg. You will continue down through the cow meadow. The path gets faint at times, so just keep an eye out for trail markers and head down towards the buildings below you.

There were so many cows, maybe 60 or more. I don’t like walking through cow herds, I’ve had some bad experiences. But just make a lot of noise so they know you are coming and keep your stick handy in case you need to protect yourself. See my post: Hiking safely with cows.

The trail connects to a road. Now you will walk on the road all the way back to Walenstadtberg where you started. But first, take the shortcut footpath down to the Alp Schrina hut for some refreshments. I missed that trail at first and just kept walking on the road. But either way will get you there.

Lunch at Alp Schrina

We were happy to arrive at the Alp Schrina cafe around 14:00. We really took our time at the top.

Great views from our table.

A simple menu, mostly sausages, cheese, preserved meats. They have a fridge with their products to takeaway: cheese, butter, yogurt and buttermilk. I had a glass of the berry flavored buttermilk and I thought it was amazing. Wish I could buy that in my neighborhood.

They even have a playground with a slide.

Detour to Paxmal monument

From Alp Schrina you can make a short 600m detour to the Paxmal monument as shown here. FYI, you can’t continue hiking through from Paxmal. You have to retrace your steps back to the road to continue the trail.

The path to Paxmal is very pretty. If you wanted just a short outing, you simply drive up here and just visit Paxmal. The views are worth it.

Here is the Paxmal monument. It’s not religious, rather a monument to peace, a place for contemplation. I thought it was mildly interesting, not worth missing the bus though. We took a couple pics and hurried to catch our bus.

Last stretch on the road

Now the long annoying walk down the road to the bus at Walenstadtberg Reha-Klink, about 2.5 km from Alp Schrina/Hochrugg. It took us about 25 mins, but we ran the last bit to catch the bus. I seriously considered hitchhiking to bypass this section. The views were nice when we weren’t in the forest. But I don’t like having to watch out for cars and my knees were killing my from pounding on the steep pavement. 1 star for this section.

We caught the bus at Walenstadtberg, Reha Klinik stop. Remember that this bus runs infrequently. I suggest checking the schedule as you approach Alp Schrina so you know if you need hurry or if you can take your time. On weekends and holidays, this bus leaves the Reha Klink at 12:50, 14:50, 16:50, 18:50 (last bus). On weekdays, the bus runs a bit more frequently. If you miss the bus, you can relax at the Reha Klink cafe that has a lovely terrace with a view.

If you liked the Churfirsten mountain peaks above you on this hike, why not hike on top of them at Chäserrugg!