Gstaad Rinderberg “Alpine Magic” Ridge trail

Location

The Horneggli Höhenwanderung trail is located in the Gstaad region, in western side of the Bernese Oberland. This trail is accessed with the Zweisimmen-Rinderberg gondola, which is located in Zweisimmen, about a 25 min drive from the Gstaad village (see Zweisimmen on Google Maps).

Hiking map

This trail starts at the top of the Zweisimmen-Rinderberg gondola, hikes along the Gandlouenegrat ridge, then follows a service road around the mountain to Horneggli, where you can take a chair lift down to the valley and catch a train back to your starting point.

See trail map on SchweizMobil • Komoot • AllTrails • OutdoorActive

Trail conditions

The first part of the trail on the ridge is a narrow dirt foot path with uneven terrain. Although the trail is on a ridge, the trail is safe for children, with no exposed sections. There are stairs and switchbacks that require agility and steady footing. The second half of the trail is on a dirt service road, easy walking around the mountain with panorama views.

Optional detour to Hornflue viewpoint

Near the end of the trail, you can take a detour to Hornflue, a little peak overlooking Horneggli. It’s very steep climbing up and over this peak. I relied heavily on my hiking sticks. I enjoyed it but my kids wished that we had stayed on the easy path around the peak. If you do the detour, it adds about 90m elevation up/down to your hike. I’ll show pics of this in the photo story below.

Getting there

This is a one way trail. So the directions describe how to arrive at the starting point at the Zweisimmen-Rinderberg gondola and how to return to your starting point from Schönried at the end of the hike.

By car to Rinderberg

Drive to Lenkstrasse 26, 3770 Zweisimmen and park in the lot next to the Rinderberg gondola station. Parking costs CHF 5/day payable by coins or mobile app.

After the hike, take a chair lift from Horneggli down to Schönried, then a short walk to the Schönried train station as shown below. At this train station, catch a train back to Zweisimmen, then a short walk to pick up your car at the Rinderberg gondola station. This train runs at least once an hour on the xx:34 direction Zweisimmen. Check current schedule on SBB.ch.

By public transport to Rinderberg

Take a train to Zweisimmen and walk to the Rinderberg gondola station as shown below. 

After the hike, take a chair lift from Horneggli down to Schönried, then a short walk to the Schönried train station as shown above. From here, you can catch a train back to your hotel or other destination. The train schedule is a little irregular, so make sure to check current schedule on SBB.ch.

In summer, the train runs direction Zweisimmen once an hour on the xx:34, sometimes another train on the xx:11 or xx:13. Trains from Schönried to Gstaad run on the xx:22 and sometimes on the xx:48. Some of these trains are the GoldenPass Panoramic train with large windows, a few are the vintage GoldenPass Belle Epoque (direction Zweisimmen at 11:34 and 16:34, direction Gstaad at 12:22 and 17:22). Schedule may change without notice.

Ticket prices

I suggest you purchase the Rinderberg – Horneggli combo ticket that includes one way on each mountain lift and the train travel back to your starting point. Strangely the website doesn’t list the price for this combo ticket. As a sample, we paid CHF 85.60 for three adults and one child, with SBB Half-fare for the adults and Junior card for the child.

With the Gstaad Card (free for overnight guests), this ticket would cost CHF 19/adult and CHF 9/child aged 6-15 (no further discounts) and train travel is free. 

For reference, one way up Zweisimmen-Rinderberg costs CHF 32/adult. One way down Horneggli-Schönried costs CHF 21/adult. A 50% discount for children aged 6-15, SBB Half-fare & GA cards. Children under 6, children with a SBB Junior Card and dogs ride free. See current ticket prices.

Opening hours

The Zweisimmen-Rinderberg gondola and Horneggli-Schönried chair lift both run from late June through mid October from 9:00 – 16:30. See current opening hours.

What to wear & bring

Some of this trail is a narrow dirt footpath with stairs and other obstacles. So I suggest sturdy hiking shoes with good tread. I used my hiking sticks on the steeper downhill parts, but they aren’t really necessary on most of the trail.

Check the forecast and wear clothing appropriate for the weather. If there is any chance of rain or clouds, bring at least a light rain jacket in case the weather changes quickly. Bring a sun hat and wear sunscreen.

You will pass a few restaurants along the way, so you don’t necessarily have to bring a lot of supplies. But I would suggest bringing at least 1 liter of water per person and snacks.

Where to eat

There is a restaurant at the top of Rinderberg cable car, serving drinks, snacks and hot meals. After 2.5 km (about 50 mins), you’ll reach a farm that has a picnic table and a self-service fridge with cheese, preserved sausages, and sodas. You can pay with Twint.

After 4.6 km (about 1hr30 from the start), you’ll reach two mountain restaurants: Berghotel Hornberg (closed Tues) and Hotel Hornfluh (closed Mon). Both restaurants have outdoor seating areas and serve a typical Swiss menu with hot meals. In front of the restaurants, there is a small playground here and lounge chairs.

If you take the Blumenweg Hornflue detour, there is a picnic area on top of the peak (see on map). Otherwise, just before you descend to the Horneggli chair lift, there is another picnic area with tables and a grill (see on map). Next to the Horneggli chair lift, there is Berghaus Horneggli, with outdoor seating with a view. We ate there and the food was pretty good, but the noise from the chair lift was kinda annoying.

Photo story of the trail

Here is the Rinderberg cable car station. You buy your round trip ticket here, which include this cable car, the chair lift at the end and the train back to Rinderberg.

This picture shows the Rinderberg gondola station, with the Zweisimmen train station directly beyond it.

The top of the Rinderberg chair lift. Ther eis a nice playground, including slides and play houses built into the pretty wall you see here. Before your hike, I suggest taking the short detour to the little viewpoint on the left. You can see a little footpath leading up the little hill.

Nice photo opp here with the Gstaad sign.

To start the trail, follow signs to Hornegg and Horneggli, where the chair lift is.

The trail starts with a steep uphill with stairs. But don’t worry, this part is very short and the views are spectacular.

Even though you just got starting, take a break to soak in this gorgeous view.

Continue along the ridge, following the well defined path and red/white trail markers.

I love ridge trails so much, I took so many pictures of it. It looks empty here, but there were lots of hikers going both directions on this sunny summer day.

Looking back on the trail to give you a little perspective.

The trail levels out a bit, only one more short climb ahead.

Looking back on the trail again.

Keep following signs to Hornberg and Horneggli (Höhenweg).

After about 2.5 km (about 50 mins), you’ll reach this farm. There is a picnic table here but this wouldn’t be my first choice for a picnic, too busy.

They have a self-service fridge with cheese, preserved sausages, and drinks. You can pay with Twint.

Now you walk on a wide gravel service road, traversing the mountain. It’s not my favorite kind of path, but it’s easy walking and the views are spectacular.

Lots of wildflowers when we were there in early August.

View for days.

After another 40 mins walking from the farm, you reach Hornberg, where you’ll find two mountain restaurants: Berghotel Hornberg and Hotel Hornfluh. They take different rest days during the week (like Monday or Tuesday), but one should be open when you are there. In the pic below, you can see Berghotel Hornberg, which has some shaded outdoor seating, but the view is mostly blocked. Hotel Hornfluh has a better view from their terrace but it was closed the day we were there. 

In front of the restaurants, there is a picnic table and play area for kids, with a trampoline, slide and playhouse when we were there.

Just after Hornberg, there is an optional detour up to Hornflue, a viewpoint reached by a narrow steep footpath. We took this detour because I was curious. But you can just stay on the easy path that wraps around this peak to Horneggli. 

Here’s the view from the Hornflue viewpoint.

There is a picnic area on Hornflue with a table and firepit (see on map). You would need to bring your own wood, we didn’t see any there. 

The path down from Hornflue was very steep and difficult to walk; my kids were complaining on this part. I was thankful to have my hiking sticks on this section. On the plus side, it was lush with wildflowers and I was so glad we took the detour.

After the detour joins the main trail, you pass this very nice picnic area with tables, grill and wood. It’s right above the Horneggli chair lift (see on map).

Arriving at the Horneggli chair lift and restaurant. We had lunch there. Even on a Monday, the restaurant was quite full and we had to wait a bit for a table. The food was pretty good and the view very nice, but the noise from the chair lift ruined the ambiance a bit.

Ride the chair lift down to Schönried. The last ride down is 16:30. This picture shows the Horneggli hill and the chair lift going up. It’s not that high of elevation.

From the chair lift station, it’s a short walk to the Schönried train station, where you can catch the train back to Zweisimmen to fetch your car at the Rinderberg cable car station or ride your final destination. This train has an irregular schedule, but runs at least once an hour in direction Zweisimmen or Gstaad, sometimes twice. See the current schedule on SBB.ch.

Video of the trail

Here’s a video of our hike at Gstaad.