Bürgenstock Cliff Walk & Hammetschwand Lift

The cliff walk around the Bürgenstock, aka Felsenweg, is an easy hike with beautiful views of the lake and mountains in every direction. This was a great choice for a hot summer day because the cliffs and forest shield you from the sun on most of the trail, but you still get nice views.

In the middle of the trail, you can take a little detour and ride up the Hammetschwand lift, a technical masterpiece in its time, for panorama views at the highest point of the Bürgenstock, a little underwhelming for the price. However, we really liked the hike and definitely recommend it. Plus its absolutely free if you drive up the mountain and park in the forest, making it a good option for visitors on a budget.

Burgenstock Overview

Here is the summer map showing the whole complex.

The important part for you is the trail, show as a brown dotted line leading from the hotel to lift (#34). The trail is called “Felsenweg”, aka “cliff walk”, which means the trail has been carved into the side of a cliff, making for some spectacular views. It is safe for children, with lots of fences and barriers.

Hiking map

If you want to just walk from the hotel to the Hammetschwand lift, it is about a 2.1 km one way (See trail map). It’s an obstacle free path, suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. After that the Felsenweg trail gets more narrow and bumpy, not suitable for strollers. 

The map below is a 5.3 km loop, doing the full Felsenweg trail. It took us about 2 hours. My maps starts at the free parking. If you came by ferry and funicular, you will instead start at the hotel.

See this trail on Komoot • SchweizMobil • OutdoorActive

The ride up the lift is an optional detour, not part of the hike. It’s nice but over-priced and doesn’t really give you a different view than you would have on the trail. So I’d probably skip it unless you don’t mind paying. You can also hike to the top if you prefer not to ride.

At the top of the lift, you’ll find more trails. But the cliff walk continues at the bottom of the lift, looping around the peak and connected back to the paved road leading to the forest parking on the far right. The trail loops back to the forest parking. If you took public transportation, you can simply loop back to the hotel.

Stroller & Wheelchair option:

As noted above, strollers and wheelchairs can manage the path from the hotel to the elevator, about 1.8 km one way on a dirt path. They also suggest Route 561 for wheelchairs.

How to get there

This trail is located at the top of the Bürgenstock mountain, close to Lucerne in Central Switzerland (see on Google Maps).

The Bürgenstock is on a cliff high above the lake, but it can be easily reached by car or by ferry and funicular.

Boat cruise from Lucerne

The nicest way to arrive is to take a ferry from Lucerne, then ride the funicular train up the hotel. The trail starts next to the hotel. This journey takes about 25 mins from Lucerne.

In 2024, a round trip ticket costs CHF 90/adult in summer (less in winter). This ticket does not include the Hammetschwand Lift, which is extra. 

Discounts: If you have the Lake Lucerne Tell Pass, the journey from Lucerne is free. It is discounted with SBB Half-fare and Swiss Travel Pass. 

By car

You can drive directly to the Bürgenstock resort by car and park in the metered hotel parking lot at 46°59’38.7″N 8°22’22.3″E. Last time I checked, it was CHF 5/hour.

We usually park in the nearby forest instead, Parkplatz Bürgenstock Honegg, a short walk from the resort (46°59’38.2″N 8°23’60.0″E). Last time we went it was free, but they might be charging now.

In both cases, you will drive up a narrow mountain road to reach the parking.

By train/bus

If you are traveling by public transport, the cheapest way to get to Bürgenstock is taking a train to Stansstad, then a Postauto Bus 321 to the Bürgenstock Zentrum stop. From Lucerne, this costs about CHF 15.60 and takes about 40 mins. Free with Swiss Travel Pass, discounted with SBB travel cards.

Planning your day

Ticket prices

To ride the Hammetschwand lift, tickets cost CHF 15 one way and CHF 18 return trip, children 6-15 half price, children under 6 free (2022). You can pay by cash or card at the list.

In my opinion, I think this lift ticket is way overpriced. It’s a short thrill to ride up the lift, but the views are not significantly better at the top. I’m glad I rode the lift once but I wouldn’t do again.

When to visit

The Burgenstock hotel, funicular and ferry are open year round. But the cliff walk and lift are only open April to early Nov. Outside these times, the cliff walk is blocked by a gate. During this summer season, the lift runs daily 9:30 to 18:00, closed in bad weather.

Photo story

Parking and walking to hotel

If you came by car and parked at the free forest parking (46°59’38.0″N 8°23’58.9″E), you’ll need to walk to the Bürgenstock hotel to start the trail. At the parking, there is a fire pit and toilet. To reach the hotel, walk on the paved road leading west, shown in the pic below.

Follow the trail sign to Bürgenstock 25 mins, which leads to the hotel. The other direction will also get you to the cliff walk and eventually the Bürgenstock, but it will take longer.

It’s about a 1.5 km along the paved road to the hotel, where the trail starts. It’s a pretty walk with mountain views. The road is very quiet, only the occasional service vehicle.

Continue following the paved road through the forest and along various hotels and other buildings.

I recommend stopping at this little rotunda which is a mini-museum with info about the history of the hotel and the Hammentschwand lift. I found it very interesting, the kids not so much.

Panorama Terrace at Hotel

Before heading on the trail, I recommend checking out the hotel terrace. Just ignore the Felsenegg trail signs for now and keep walking toward the hotel and up the stairs shown below (also a ramp for strollers and wheelchairs).

Wide open terrace with safe glass walls.

The fantastic view from the terrace of the Vierwaldstättersee lake and Luzern in the distance.

You can also see Mt. Rigi from here.

There is a panorama restaurant here and some fancy shops, all part of the hotel complex.

If you walk past the shops, you’ll reach the funicular station, where you arrive if you took the ferry then funicular up to the hotel. From there walk back the way you came to find the cliff walk trail.

Starting the cliff walk

Follow trail signs to Felsenweg and Hammetschwand Lift. At this little church, turn toward the lake.

You’ll see these signs at the entrance to the trail indicating whether the lift and restaurant are open.

Start walking on the trail.

The trail is open from spring through fall, about May through October. In winter, the cliff walk trail is closed and will be blocked by this gate, as it was in early November.

There is a steep cliff on one side, but a pretty good fence for protection.

Sometimes in the forest with no view.

The regular trail winds back and forth up the mountain, climbing about 80 m of elevation to reach the bottom of the lift, about 1.7 km or 30 mins walking. You’ll see some stairs, which are a shortcut. With a stroller, just keep following the smooth path.

There are some questions about the area along the trail. You can get the answer on your phone.

Riding the Hammentschwand Lift

Arrival at the lift entrance. The lift goes up 152.8 meters to a viewpoint.

Here’s the lift entrance where you can buy tickets to ride up. The lift runs on demand so you don’t have to wait a long time. There are lots of signboards with historical info about the lift, which I found interesting. It was a technical achievement in 1905, but quite as impressive today.

A round trip costs CHF 13/adult, CHF 6.50/child. It’s a short ride, less than a minute. The elevator has glass walls, but not a glass bottom so it feels like a regular elevator. We expected more of a thrill ride, but honestly, both the kids and I were underwhelmed. The views are similar to what you’ve already seen, a bit nicer because you can see 360, but not sure it’s worth the money. I felt like it was way overpriced and wouldn’t do it again.

We rode up, enjoyed the view for 20 mins, then rode back down to continue hiking on the cliff walk. You could also ride up and hike down from the top.

Top of Hammetschwand Lift

The lift takes you to this viewing platform, definitely an impressive view.

At the top of the lift, there’s a self-service cafe with lots of outdoor seating. There are also picnic tables and a fire pit with wood.

Since the Bürgenstock hotel was so fancy, I was expecting the same from this Bergrestaurant. But it was a simple self-service cafeteria line with these simple offerings. We chose just have popsicles.

You can walk along the ridge from the restaurant for a short detour to another lookout point as shown below. I don’t think it’s worth it.

There are trails leading down from the top. So you can hike back to the forest parking (called Honegg, 45 mins) or Burgenstock hotel (40 mins) from here. Or you can ride the lift back down and get back on the cliff walk, which is what we did.

There’s not much to do at the top besides eat and enjoy the view. We stayed up there about 20 mins, including eating an ice cream. I took this photo from the cafe seating.

Finishing the cliff walk

After riding down the lift, we continued walking on the cliff path, happily in the shade on this hot day.

This part of the trail has a few tunnels, which made it interesting.

After the tunnels, the trail turns around the backside of the mountain. Do not go up the stairs, that leads back up to the top of the lift.

Follow trail signs to Honegg (sometimes labeled Parkplatz Honegg), which is the forest parking, about 20 mins from this point.

At this turning point, there is a fantastic view down the lake and a couple benches. I think this would be a great place for a picnic.

On the narrow footpath down the mountain.

Nice views down to the town of Ennetbürgen. There are swimming areas on the lake shore there.

The trail leads down to this hotel and restaurant, looks like a very nice spot for a Zveri (afternoon snack).

Such beautiful views from here!!!

At the Honegg hotel, you’ll join the paved road, turning right leading back to Parkplatz Honegg, or continue on the road to the funicular at Bürgenstock hotel.

Video of trail

A little video of our day on the cliff walk, with some silly kids mugging for the camera.