Hoch Ybrig Panorama Ridge Hike

This ridge trail near Zürich has beautiful views reaching all the way to Lake Lucerne. Unlike most other ridge trails, this path is relatively easy and safe, a good choice for beginning hikers and children. Below I have three versions of this trail, including a shorter obstacle-free path suitable for strollers and a longer path that explores more of the mountain.

You can grill along the way or eat at a one of the mountain restaurants, one with a big play area and bouncy castles. Near the end of the trail, there is a small pond with picnic spots and fire pits. For some serious excitement, you can add the 2.3 km long zip line that goes up to 120km per hour. It’s so fun!!! 

Hoch Ybrig is particularly nice for visitors as it’s close to Zurich, relatively inexpensive, and usually not as crowded as other famous places. We’ve been here many times, in all seasons, for both for hiking and skiing. I hope you like it as much as we do.

Location

Hoch Ybrig is a mountain resort in central Switzerland, accessed by a cable car. See on Google maps.

Hiking options

Here is the summer map for the Hoch Ybrig area. This mountain area is accessed by a cable car from Weglosen. This free map is available at the ticket counter. You can also see the map on their website.

I have a few versions of this trail so you can customize based on the needs and skills of your group. All versions starts at the top of the Sternen chair lift and hike over the trail split (#4 on the map).

If you don’t want to walk uphill or you have a all-terrain stroller, follow the service road back down Seebli. If you want another viewpoint, continue hiking up to Spirstock (#5 on the map), where you’ll find a restaurant and a chair lift, if you prefer to ride down.

If you want to keep hiking, follow the trail down to Füederegg (#7 on the map), where you’ll find a restaurant and play area with bouncy castles.

Hiking map

This map shows the full version of the hike, but you can easily adjust this to your fitness level and energy. The best part of the hike is the first half between Sternen and Spirstock, a little under 3 km. Many people skip the downhill second half by taking the Spirstock chairlift down to Seebli. 

View interactive map, print map, download GPS on Komoot • SchweizMobil • OutdoorActive

With strollers: I noticed that most visitors with strollers walk from the Seebli cable car to the Fuederegg restaurant, where you’ll find many amusements for children. This path is paved and gravel, suitable for most strollers. You can also walk around the Seeblisee lake, which is just below the restaurant.

You can take an all-terrain stroller on the ridge trail, with these caveats. The section between Sternen and Spirstock is wide enough for a stroller, but not obstacle free. The path is a bit lumpy with rocks at time. So better with an all-terrain stroller with good tires.

After the ridge, there are lots of stairs up to Spirstock, not possible with a stroller. So instead, follow the service road down to Seebli. Near the end, you can detour over to the Seeblisee alpine lake for a picnic before going to Seebli to ride the cable car down. See stroller version trail map.

Getting there

By car: Drive to Weglosen and park in the free open parking or parking garage adjacent to the cable car station. (Waagtalstrasse 126, 8842 Unteriberg)

By public transport: Take a train to Einsiedeln, then a bus to Hoch Ybrig, Talstation Weglosen. The bus drops off right at the cable car station.

Ticket prices

You’ll need a day pass, which includes the cable car up to Hoch Ybrig and the chair lifts. In 2023, the day pass cost CHF 30/adult. Children under 16 are free. No discounts for SBB GA, Half-fare  or Swiss Travel Pass. See website for current prices.

Opening hours

Hoch Ybrig opens for summer later than most resorts, usually not until the first week of July. They usually stay open through mid October.

The Weglosen cable car runs every 30 mins from 8:30 to 16:30, last ride down at 17:00. The Sternen lift operates from 08:30 to 11:15, 1 hour lunch break, then 12:15 bis 16:30. The Spirstock lift runs 09:30 to 12:15 Uhr, one hour lunch break, then 13:20 to 16:30. If you ride the Spirstock lift down, plan at least 15 mins to walk to the Seebli cable car. See website for current times.

Where to eat

There several mountain restaurants along the way. We typically eat at the top of the Spirstock lift, which has a self-service restaurant and a fantastic view. The restaurant near Fuederegg has bouncy castles, trampolines and other play equipment. The best picnic area is near the small lake between Seebli and Fuederegg. The Sternen restaurants offers a Sunday brunch.

Photo story of trail

1. Riding up to Hoch Ybrig

Here is the top of the Sternen chair lift, with the trail leading west along the ridge. There is a restaurant with a small playground. The zip line starts here too.

2. Sternensauser Zip Line

This intense ride was the most exciting thing we did all year! The zip line is 2.3 km and reaches speeds up to 120 km. To ride, you must be at least 9 years old, minimum weight 30kg, minimum height 130cm. The harness is very secure and braking system is automatic, so you don’t need to do anything special. 

It starts at the top of the Sternen chair lift and is broken into two sections. The first section is long and fast to Fuerderegg. Then you change to a second zip line that returns you to the bottom of the Sternen lift, which is slower and has the opportunity to ride upside down (which we did, very bizarre!). Then you can ride back up the chair lift and go hiking on the ridge.

One ride on the zip line costs CHF 70/adult and CHF 50/child aged 9-16. You must purchase your lift tickets separately, but you a receive a day pass that you can use on another day. The zip line is open Mon – Fri 13:30 to 16:00 and Sat & Sun 11:00 to 16:00.

Note: Our ride on the zip line was hosted by Lucerne Tourism & Impuls Events

3. Ridge trail

Here’s the ridge trail looking toward Lake Lucerne. The path on the ridge is smooth gravel, possible with an all-terrain stroller.

We love this ridge in any season, in any weather.

On the ridge trail, looking back toward the Sternen chair lift.

On this ridge, you can safely look over the cliffs to the south and see…

…lots of mountains.

The ridge heads down a bit to a fork in the road before heading up to Spirstock, the restaurant on the top right of the photo.

4. Trail split – detour for strollers

Here’s where the trail splits. The trail intersects a road. Straight ahead the trail goes up lots of stairs to the Spirstock restaurant shown below. We took a stroller up there once and it was very difficult and not recommended. But the trail is very nice for walkers and I’ll continue that below after explaining the detour.

Instead of taking the stairs, those with strollers can detour to the right, following the paved road back down the valley. We did this one year with this group of four year olds.

Below you can see the road cutting through the valley.

5. Hike up to Spirstock

If you didn’t take the detour, take the stairs and trail up to Spirstock where you’ll find the restaurant. The trail looks like this.

Here’s the Spirstock restaurant at the top, with great views of Hoch Ybrig. This picture was taken in early October, still pretty with the brown fall colors.

It’s a self-service restaurant with typical Swiss fare, typical Swiss prices and an amazing Swiss view. There are toilets and a chair lift to take you down to the Seebli pond if you don’t want to walk down.

View from Spirstock toward Lucerne.

Looking down to the Seebli pond that is your final destination.

6. Hike down to Fuederegg & Seebli pond

If you don’t ride the chair lift down, you can hike down by following the trail past the restaurant along the ridge.

Right after the church, take the trail to your right, following signs to Fuederegg, which is the restaurant near the Seebli pond. Don’t take the path that cuts back under the restaurant, which leads to the paved road. 

This part of the trail is often narrow, lumpy with some steps as shown below.

We passed this picnic area with a fire pit. It was full of people and was under the power lines and didn’t have an amazing view. So we kept going.

Before you reach the Seebli pond, you’ll pass the Fuederegg restaurant. They usually have bouncy castles and other amusements on their terrace during school holidays and weekends. Outside of those times, you may find the bouncy castles are not inflated.

7. Seeblisee

Below Fuederegg and near the bottom of the Spirstock chair lift, you’ll find the Seeblisee pond. It’s definitely worth strolling around the pond to get this view of the mountains behind it. There is a picnic area with tables and fire pits in the woods near the water. The pond is a popular fishing spot, info here.

One of the fire pits next to the lake.

If you are coming with a large group, Impuls Events arranges group events at Hoch Ybrig, hosting cozy meals in this adorable hut near the Seeblisee, both in summer and winter. We had a delicious grill lunch here and in winter, they do fondue.

We got to try these fun Ziesel things – like a fast go cart with tank tracks instead of wheels. Impuls Events does mountain tours with these things (you have to be 18+ with a license to drive them). The full moon snow tour sounded the best to me. Maybe we’ll be back in winter for that.

To get home, follow the signs to the Seebli-Weglosen cable car, about a 5-10 minute walk from the pond. Remember to check the operating times to make sure you don’t miss the last one down, usually at 17:00.

I hope you enjoy your day at Hoch Ybrig! Let me know which trail you end up doing.