Lützelsee • Easy lake walk near Zürich

This walk around Lützelsee near Rapperswil is easy and obstacle-free, good for little kids, strollers and anyone who enjoys a relaxing stroll around a pretty lake. Part of the path is through a protected nature reserve, part through a forest, and a short part through a quiet neighborhood.

There are a couple cafes and farm stores along the way. There is a big picnic area with tables and grill pits. There’s even a swimming area with a baby splash pool. We did this walk in light rain, which was actually quite pretty.

Trail Overview

Lützelsee is located southwest of Zürich near Rapperswil, accessible by car or bus.

Hiking map

The path circles the small Lützel lake, mostly through lush fields, with a short dip into the forest. I’ve shown the trail starting and ending at the parking lot on the west side of the lake. I’d recommend first walking east through the nature forest, stopping in the forest for a picnic, then finishing through the tiny village of Lutikon.

The whole trail is obstacle-free, suitable for strollers, except the forest section which is a little steep in parts with some tree roots in the trail. You can skip that part and simply continue on the paved road, which join the trail again after a few hundred meters. 

This sign at the parking shows a map of the area. Click the image to see a larger version.

Getting to Lützelsee

By car: Drive to Lutikerstrasse in Hombrechtikon. There is a parking lot at the intersection of Grünigerstr. and Lutikerstr (see on map). The trail starts at the edge of the lot. You also drive to the Badi Lützelsee, aka swimming area, where there is another parking lot. There are signs saying you are not allowed to drive on this road unless you are going to the Badi or camping. I think they just want to avoid through traffic.

Here is the parking lot near Lütikon on the west side of the lake.

By public transport: There isn’t a bus stop on the lake, so you have to walk a bit extra from the center of Hombrechtikon. Take the S5 train to Bubikon. Then take Bus 880 to Hombrechtikon, Plattenhof. From there you can take either the blue or green path shown below to access the trail, which is show in red. In general, following signs to the Lützelsee Rundweg.

On the trail

We parked in the lot near the swimming area and walked counterclockwise around lake, which is the order I’ll show the pictures. If you park at the other lot by Lütikon, I recommend walking clockwise so you start in the nature preserve and end in the forest.

Once on the trail, you’ll follow the Lützelsee Seerundgang, which is also labeled trail 888.

From the parking lot near the swimming area, you’ll follow the paved road up to some houses and farms. There is a self-service farm store just off the trail if you need picnic supplies.

The path leaves paved road and houses and turns into gravel through a field.

We went on a rainy day in late April, when the fields were very lush and green.

The trail passes by this cafe on the east side of the lake.

This signboard tells about the birds that frequent this area.

The countryside surrounding the lake.

Looking west toward the parking.

A few benches along the lake.

Looking east down the lake.

After passing the parking lot on the west side of the lake, head south through this little town Lütikon. I saw one farm store selling cheese, fruit, etc.

The trail stays on the paved road, heading toward the forest and Badi Lützelsee.

When you reach the forest, you can leave the road and take the “Familieweg” up into the forest. It goes up a hill on a bumpy dirt path. With strollers, you might prefer to stay on the paved road. The forest trail will connect back to the road in a few hundred meters.

You’ll find this picnic area at the top of the hill in the forest. It looks out over the town of Hombrechtikon, not as nice to look at as the lake. But there are not picnic areas on the lake.

There are both fire pits and grills as shown below. It looks like they expect a crowd and I suspect lots of locals are here on good weather weekends.

After the picnic area, continue on the forest path, following the yellow hiking signs until loops back to the paved road near the Badi parking, where the trail continues into the fields around the lake.

Here is the swimming area on the south side of the lake, Badi Lützelsee.