Bachtel (1115m) is a small mountain near Zürich with panorama views of Zurich lake, the surrounding countryside and closer-than-you-think mountain peaks. You can drive most of the way up and do a short hike to the top, where you’ll find a restaurant, playground, picnic area and tall tower to climb. It can be quite popular on weekends and holidays, so best to go early in the day. On weekdays, you can drive all the way to the top and skip the hike altogether.
Note: Through 2025, the Bachtel restaurant is closed for renovation and playground is also under construction.
| Location: | Zurich region, eastern Switzerland |
| By car: | parking near Unterbachstrasse 2, 8342 Hinwil |
| By transit: | closest bus stop Wernetshausen, see trail alternatives for public transport below |
| Trail: | 3 km loop |
| Elevation: | highest point 1115, 250m climb, 250m descent |
| Condition: | dirt with some stairs, alternative for strollers below |
| Skill: | moderate, but short |
| Open: | year round |
| Cost: | free |
| More info: | bachtelkulm.ch • webcam |
Location
The Bachtel mountain is located southeast of Zürich near the village Hinwil.
Trail map
If you drive, you can park very near Bachtel and do the short loop described here. Since there is no bus stop there, if you come by public transportation, you’ll need to do a longer hike as described below.
Trail map for car arrival
You can drive most of the way up the peak, parking at Orn (Hinwil). Then a 1.3 k hike up to the top. You can simply hike up and back. Or you can do the loop I’ve mapped out below, giving a little variety to your views. We did this loop and liked seeing something different on the way back down.
Trail map for public transportation
There is no bus stop near the parking. So instead you’ll need to start in one of the valley villages below the peak. Here are a couple alternatives.
Option A: Loop from Wernetshausen – You can take a train to Hinwil, then a short bus ride to Wernetshausen. From there it’s an extra 1 km and 150m of elevation gain to join the loop trail I mapped out above. See trail map.
Option B: Gibswil to Wald – Or you can do this classic route promoted by most hiking resources. Take a train to Gibswil (about 45 mins from Zürich), hike up to Bachtel, then down to Wald ZH on the other side. The trail is about 9.1 km with about 370m elevation ascent and 500m descent. See trail map.
Getting There
Getting to Bachtel depends on which trail you take. If you are coming by public transportation, refer to the alternate trails in the previous section.
By car: We drove to the parking at Orn (Unterbachstrasse 2, 8342 Hinwil) and started the loop here. Here’s a view of Bachtel as you approach by car. You can see the tower on the top.
The last few minutes driving are on a narrow country road, where you may need to pull over to let other cars pass.
Here’s the parking at Orn. As far as I could tell, it was free. There is a public WC here.
Where to eat
There is a restaurant on the top of the Bachtel. It closed in the middle of Nov 2022, with the previous owner giving up the lease. The new owners will re-open the restaurant on New Years Eve Dec 31, 2022 and keep the restaurant open during the renovation project that is scheduled to go through 2025. Learn more.
Photo story
Starting the hike to Bachtel
Looking up the hill we will climb to Bachtel.
Follow the Bachtel signs.
Along the way, there are boards telling a story for children. They are a bit long and in German, so we skipped them.
Looking back down the road to where we parked.
The path only starts on the road for a couple minutes. Then it forks left onto this dirt path.
The path is quite lumpy in parts.
If you came with a stroller, you can just follow the paved road instead of the dirt path. There is a semi-paved walking path for part of the journey.
Continuing on the dirt path, so pretty!
Before you get to the top, you pass this big field that was filled with dandelions when we were there.
Then you cross the road and continue on the footpath to the top.
Bachtel Restaurant
Now you can see the restaurant. Almost there.
The path drops you at the restaurant.
We rewarded ourselves for that tiny effort with a banana split and strudel. Delicious and a great view!
In 2023, there is new management of the restaurant and it will be undergoing renovations. So things may be different when you visit.
At the top of Bachtel
Just above the restaurant you’ll find a nice playground and picnic tables.
On the other side of the tower, there is a grill pit, wood and a water fountain.
Climbing the tower
When you are ready for some fitness, climb the 166 steps to the top of the tower. It’s free unlike Uetliberg.
View south from the tower, definitely worth the effort.
View to the east.
Looking down to the restaurant and playground.
Hiking down through the forest
You can hike back down the way you came. Or you can follow the loop like we did. This trail starts near the grill pit on the other side of the tower.
There is a bike trail parallel to the walking path that occasionally crossing the walking path. So listen and watch out for bikes at every crossing. Also, make sure to follow the yellow hiking signs and not the red arrow for the bike path.
Start by following signs to Horn & Wernetschausen.
Later on the trail, you’ll see signs to Orn pointing to your left. Follow those to get to your car. I didn’t take many pics in the forest, sorry.
Exiting the forest to this lovely view.
At this tree, turn left through the gate, following the trail sign to Orn.
The trail goes back up a bit, which didn’t make us super happy. But it wasn’t so bad.
So pretty and sunny on this side of the mountain. Glad we took the loop.
Final stretch.
The trail ends at the road. Turn left and walk back to your car.
Video of the trail
Here’s a video of our Bachtel hike.
I hope you like this trail
See also Easy nature walks near Zürich
7 responses
Super-cool route! Thank you that you document all that! Kids are very amazed.
As always your website is always super useful with amazing recommendation and information. We have just done this trail. With a 14months old and 3y 1/2.
Just perfect!
Happy you enjoyed this hike. The views up there are so nice!
Thank you very much for this article! We had a late morning and were looking for something fun to do that did not involve travelling too far or expensive cable cars. This was perfect!
Afterwards, we stopped at Kafi Feld in Wetzikon which is great for families (lots of space, outdoor playground, changing table for babies, acceptable prices) and went on for a walk to the Kemptertobel (woodland, waterfalls, stream with lots of rocks for children to play with). Perfect sunny spring day out!
P.S. the restaurant was open (and pretty packed!) – April 2023
Thanks for sharing your experience and tips for this trail. Good to know that the restaurant has reopened!
The restaurant closed last week (permanently), the hike is as nice but make sure you take food/drinks for the way (we always ate something at the top and didn’t carry much today when we’ve found out)
Hi Ursula, thanks for letting us know about the restaurant. I read the full article and it seems that the restaurant will re-open under new management on New Years Eve Dec 31, 2022. Then it should be and will be open during the renovation project that is supposed to go through 2025. You can see the article here: https://www.bachtelkulm.ch/2022/10/25/p%C3%A4chterwechsel-in-unserem-restaurant-bachtel-kulm/