Amden High Mountain Trail – “Amden Höhenweg”

Trail overview

This is a one way trail from the top of the Amden-Mattstock chair lift to Arvenbüel. There is bus service between the two sides, running about hourly (more about that below). You can hike this trail either direction.

From the top of the Amden-Mattstock chair lift, the trail starts up a paved service road for about 2 km. Then it joins a dirt road through a beautiful moor for another 2 km.

Then you join a narrow footpath through a forest around the mountain for about 2 km. Then you joine a paved road for a few hundred meters, passing a dairy hut that usually has a cafe open on weekends.

Then a footpath through some meadows and a short dip in the forest, emerging at the Arvenbüel ski hill. There is a restaurant righht near the edge of the forest. Follow the paved road down to the Arvenbüel bus stop and parking. 

As marked on the map, there are multiple restaurants and picnic areas with fire pits. 

Hiking map

Arvenbüel is about the same elevation as the top of the Mattstock chair lift. So you have about the same elevation gain regardless of which direction you hike.  I’ve hiked this trail a few times and I slightly prefer hiking east from Amden to Arvenbüel.

See trail map on Komoot • SchweizMobil  • OutdoorActive

Longer hike

Here are a couple longer variations of this hike:

• start in Arvenbürel, skip chair lift and hike down to Amden. 3h30 • 10.3km • 260m up, 620m down. See trail map.
• include a detour up to the Gumen peak – 4h • 11.2m • 520m up. See trail map.

See more trail options on the Amden website.

Getting to Amden

This trail is located in Amden, a mountain village southeast of Zürich. This is a one way trail, between Amden and Arvenbüel. You can start on either end.

By public transport:

Take a train to Ziegelbrücke, then bus 650 to Amden, Dorf. The Mattstock lift is a short walk from bus stop.

If you prefer to start in Arvenbüel, just stay on the bus until the end of the line at Arvenbüel, Arven. Remember to check the bus schedule on SBB.ch before hiking, as the bus runs infrequently.

By car:

This is a one-way trail. So you need to park at one end of the trail and use the bus to reach the other end. Since the bus runs infrequently (about once an hour), we suggest parking at your end point and riding the bus to your start point at the beginning of your day. 

Option A: Amden parking. In Amden, you can park in the metered lot across the street from the Amden, Dorf bus stop (shown in the pic below). You can pay for the parking with coins or mobile apps like ParkingPay or EasyPark. The ride the bus to Arvenbüel, Arven to start your hike. In this case, you end at the Mattstock chair lift, ride down to Amden, then a short walk to your car.

Option B: Arvenbüel parking. Alternatively, you can park in Arvenbüel, in the metered lot next to the Arvenbüel, Arven bus stop. Then ride the bus down to Amden, Dorf, short walk to Mattstock chair lift, ride up and start hike. The trail ends back at your parking in Arvenbüel. 

Mattstock chair lift

The Mattstock chair lift is located about a 5 min walk from the Amden parking and bus stop. See on map.

The chair lift is generally open daily May through mid November. Times vary by season and day of the week. But generally open 9:00 – 16:45. On weekdays, it may close over lunch from 12:00 – 13:15. Check the current opening times.

In 2024, a one-way ticket for the Mattstock chair lift costs CHF 10/adult. Children with a parent under 16 ride free. No discount for SBB GA or Half-fare cards or any other travel passes.

Photo story

In this example, I show our hike starting in Arvenbüel and ending in Amden. You can also hike in the opposite direction.

1. Starting the hike in Arvenbüel

We started at Arvenbüel, hiking from the Arvenbüel, Arven bus stop (end of the line) up this road through the neighborhood.

In general, you will follow the green Ammler Höhenweg trail signs, as shown below. You can also follow signs to Hinter Höhi, which is in the middle of the trail.

The road parallels the ski slope on the east. We did this hike in mid-September, so still green.

Often you can do this trail through mid-November. Because of the low elevation, the trails are usually still free of snow and very pretty with the fall colors.

At the end of the road, the trail continues into the forest. Follow the yellow diamonds.

Continue straight through the forest, following signs to Altschen.

After the forest, you continue on through a grassy field.

Looking back to the forest.

Joining a dirt road to Altchen.

The clubhouse at Altchen with playground: trampoline, swings, see-saw.

Looking back down the road before turning off onto the narrow trail.

2. Traversing the mountain

Now on a footpath wrapping around the mountain.

Heading into the forest. Walking sticks are helpful here.

Nice big views across the valley.

A fire pit at about the halfway point. No stocked wood but you can gather in the forest.

The colors got really orange on this side of the mountain.

My son didn’t want to smile for the camera, but instead pretend to be an old man hobbling along. Sigh.

This restaurant was very full the day we were there, with traditional music and lots of chatting customers.

Still on the narrow path as you continue around the mountain.

Looking over the other side of the mountain. I hoped we would get a more dramatic view down into the valley, but the distance peaks were pretty too. You can hike over this pass and reach Toggenburg.

3. Crossing the moor

Entering the moor on a dirt road.

One of the informal fire pits. You’ll have to scavenge for wood in the forest.

The moor in the middle of the trail. There are educational signboards in German explaining the special features of the moor, like the ability of the plant cells to expand to 3x their normal size to hold lots of water in anticipation of dry spells.

We stopped at this Schweizer Familie fire pit at about the 6km mark near Hinter Höhi. This was the only fire pit that had wood stocked.

The big peaks at Hinter Höhi.

4. Heading down to Mattstock chair lift

Joining the paved road that leads to Mattstock.

View of the Amden village.

At this juncture, follow signs to Niederschlagwald, which has a little picture of a chair lift. This will take you to the Amden-Mattstock chair lift, which you can ride down to Amden. You can also walk down to Amden if you prefer.

Once on the the paved road, the trail joins the themed activity trail for children, Munggeweg, which has 12 interactive stations along the 3.5 km loop accessed from the Mattenstock chair lift. We saw three stations include this race course on logs and guessing boxes, where you feel a shell or antlers and try to guess which picture it matches. We’ll have to come back and do this whole trail.

On the chair, riding down to Amden.

Once in Amden, you can find your car or the Amden, Dorf bus stop. I hope you enjoy the hike!

See more hikes in the Glarnerland region

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