Niederbauen was our favorite snowshoe hike of the season! So much to love here, starting with an easy walk out to a cliff viewpoint over Lake Lucerne. Then a fun ramble over hill and dale, a gorgeous quiet landscape with spectacular mountain views.
The hike requires some effort to do the climbs, but no narrow traverses, tricky terrain, or scary dropoffs next to the trail. This is a good one for families or any casual hiker who wants to try snowshoeing.
| Location: | Central Switzerland |
| Address: | Niederbauen cable car: Seelisbergstrasse 2 6376 Emmetten |
| Car: | Parking at cable car GPS: 46°57’21.1″N 8°31’07.4″E From Lucerne 30 mins, from Zürich 1hr |
| Train: | Bus stop: Emmetten, Post From Lucerne 1hr, from Zürich 2hrs |
| Trail: | 6.8 km loop, about 2.5 hrs |
| Elevation: | highest point 1640m |
| Trail condition: | easy, half groomed snow, half marked path in snow |
| Physical difficulty: | moderate, 230m up/down |
| Open: | mid Dec through March, depending on snow conditions |
| Cost 2022: | Cable car Adult CHF 22, Child CHF 12 Free with Tell Pass. No discount with SBB GA, Half-fare or Junior cards |
| More info: | niederbauen.ch • webcam • weather |
Location
This trail is located near Lucerne in central Switzerland (see on Google Maps). The trail is accessed by a cable car.
Ski resort map
Here is the Niederbauen winter map. The path from the cable car to the viewpoint is groomed snow, no snowshoes required. The rest of the routes on this map are snowshoe trails, marked with poles of the corresponding colors: blue, red, and yellow. We did a loop that included everything shown here. If you want to a do a shorter hike, you can just skip the yellow and/or red loops when you get to that part.
Trail map
Here is a trail map, based on Strava tracking us as we followed the official marked snowshoe route. This route may vary when you go. The full route is about 6.8 km. It took our family (with two teens) about 1hr50 walking time, 3hr total time on the trail.
See trail map on Komoot • Schweiz Mobil • OutdoorActive
Without snowshoes: If you don’t have snowshoes, you can do the first part of the hike to the Hundchopf viewpoint. Then walk back the way you came. This section is on groomed snow and does not require snowshoes.
Getting there
By car: Drive to Emmetten, a small village south of Luzern. After passing the Stockhütte cable car and bus stop, you’ll reach the Niederbauen cablcar station: Seelisbergstrasse 2 6376 Emmetten. There is metered parking directly adjacent to the cable car station. You can pay with coins or the EasyPark or ParkingPay mobile apps. There is also a larger parking lot near the bus stop, a short walk away as shown below.
By public transport: Take a train to Stans, then transfer to bus 311, direction Seelisberg. Get off at Emmetten, Post, then walk up the road 280m to the cable car station.
Ticket prices
In 2022, a return cable car ticket costs CHF 22/adult, CHF 12/child aged 6-16, under 6 free, dogs CHF 9.50. SBB Half-fare, Junior cards and other discounts are not accepted. You can pay with cash or card.
Operating Times
Winter season at Niederbauen is mid December through March. The cable car runs from 7:00-12:00 and 13:00-19:00. The cable car fits about 8 people, so you might have to wait a bit to go up. It officially runs every 30 mins, but if there are more than 4 people waiting, they run it on demand. Check current opening times.
What to wear & bring
You should wear warm layers appropriate to the weather forecast and waterproof outer layers to stay dry in the snow. For footwear, you should wear waterproof hiking shoes and snowshoe attachments. Hiking sticks would be helpful for the steeper parts (best with snow baskets so they don’t sink into the snow).
Bring at least 1L water per person and snacks. See also: What to pack & wear on a winter hike.
Snowshoe rentals
You can rent snowshoes and poles at the cable car station. I don’t know the cost. You can call 041 620 23 63 to reserve.
Where to eat
At the top of the Niederbauen cable car, you’ll find Berggasthaus Niederbauen, which has a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. In winter, it’s open Wed – Sun. There are no other services along the trail.
Photo story of the trail
Riding up to Niederbauen
Here is the valley station for the Niederbauen cable car.
Here’s a view from the cable car in fall. It will be more snowy when you go in winter.
Here is the Berggasthaus Niederbauen restaurant at the top of the cable car.
Starting the trail
The trail starts by following the groomed path behind the restaurant.
Views of Lake Lucerne from the start of the path.
The groomed path leads to the right of the Niederbauen Kulm peak. In summer, you can hike safely to the top.
Follow the winter hiking poles. They are color coded based on which loop you are doing: blue, red, yellow.
Easy walking on this first part.
Lovely views down to the lake.
A little uphill but not too steep.
More uphill.
Hundchopf viewpoint
Arriving at the viewpoint.
Stay on the path at this part because there are dangerous cliffs nearby.
The end of the path at the Hundchopf viewpoint. You can see Stoos across the lake. Be very careful exploring here as there is not barrier at the end. You could easily walk too far and fall off the mountain.
Nice view of the Niederbauen Kulm peak from here. You can safely admire it from behind the fence.
Hiking back to the snowshoe trail
When you are done admiring the view, walk back on the same trail and take the snowshoe fork to your left.
This narrow path heads off into the hills. You definitely need snowshoe on this part so you don’t sink into the snow.
You leave the regular hikers behind and enter a beautiful quiet landscape.
The trail leads to another cliff edge before turning right and heading down into the forest.
Yellow signs for summer hiking. Do not follow these.
Now going down a ravine.
A short shady bit in the forest. It’s downhill but not too steep.
A fun ramble over little hills.
Mountain peaks always in view.
Hiking through some river gulleys. There is water underneath, so stay on the marked path.
Taking a break in the shady. We had a nice warm winter day for this hike.
Joining the red & yellow snowshoe loops
Continuing straight on the red loop. We could have turned right following the blue poles to do a shorter hike.
Following the yellow poles out to another viewpoint.
At the end of the yellow loop, you get this viewpoint. Definitely worth the small extra effort.
More views down to Lake Lucerne.
Heading back on the yellow trail.
Joining the red trail here.
There were two parallel paths leading to the junction with the blue trail. It doesn’t matter so much which one you take.
Hiking back up to the cable car
Here is the junction of all three loops: blue, red, and yellow. Now you turn left and hike straight up the hill to reach the cable car. This is the hardest part of the hike, very steep. We took a lot of breaks. But I preferred hiking up. We saw some people hiking down this and it looked difficult to not slip and fall.
Here’s looking back on the steep part.
At the top of the climb, we rejoin the groomed path back to the cable car.
From the top, you can see our snowshoe path on those hills below.
If you do this hike, tag us on Instagram @swissfamilyfun so we can see your photos. Have fun out there!
2 responses
This winter hike is totally awesome. We did it with friends on the 25th of February. We stayed in Emmetten for 2 nights. Did Niederbauen and Kwenelalp but from Emmetten. It was because of one of your fondue hikes on kwenelalp. The day we went to Niederbauen there was fresh snow and we couldn’t walk in our hiking shoes. The lady at the guesthouse was very helpful and called up 5 pairs of snowshoes. They cost CHF 10 to hire from the station. We were the only ones on the mountain on freshly fallen snow. It was totally awesome. We hiked to Hundschopf and back. 😀
Thanks for this helpful report. Sounds like you had a really fun adventure!