Pizol Panorama Mountain Trail

This short and easy panorama trail has spectacular mountain views without requiring much work. Ride a series of lifts to the top of this Pizol resort, then stroll along the wide, relatively flat trail, suitable for little kids and strollers.

They even have “crossbuggies” to borrow if you need an all-terrain stroller. After the hike, you can stop at the big play area at the Furt middle station, with trampolines, swings, climbing structures, and water play.

Location

Pizol is located in Eastern Switzerland about 1hr10 drive south of Zürich. See on Google Maps.

Pizol summer hiking map

Here is the official Pizol summer hiking map. This panorama mountain trail goes between the top of the Gaffia-Pizolhütte and Pardiel-Laufboden lifts. Since the Pardiel lift is not always running in summer, best to plan on riding up from Wangs to Pizolhütte. If you ride up from Wangs, on the way back down, you can stop at the Furt middle station and visit the Wasserwald, water play area (details at the end of this post).

Trail Overview

The path is a 3.7 km loop, but you can make it shorter by simply turning around when your kids have had enough. It’s a relatively flat, wide dirt path, suitable for strollers.

At the top, there is a restaurant and toilets at Pizolhütte. At the Furt middle station, there is another restaurant and a picnic area with fire pits and wood.

In the Pizol area, I can also recommend:

• Heidipfad trail – 4 km theme trail for children with interactive play stations
• 5 Seen Wanderweg (5 Lake Hike) – 10 km tough hike to five gorgeous lakes, shorter alternative also described

See more hikes and activities at Pizol

Getting There

The Pizol Panoramaweg can be accessed by either the Pizol cable car in Wangs or Bad Ragaz. We prefer the one in Wangs so you can stop at the Wasserwald play area at the middle station on your way back down the mountain. But the Bad Ragaz side is less busy, since the Wangs side services the very popular 5 Lake Trail.

By car: Get yourself to the town of Wangs, taking exit 50-Sargans off the A3, then following signs to the Pizolbahn. There is a big parking lot, which costs CHF 5 for the day. The elevator pictured below takes you up to the gondola station from the parking lot.

By transit: Take a train to Sargans, Bahnhof, then a bus to Wangs, Pizolbahn. The bus drops off at the far side of the Pizolbahn parking lot, a short walk from the cable car station. The bus runs about every 30 minutes.

Opening Times & Schedule

The lifts are generally open from 8:15 – 17:30, with an hour break at lunchtime. The last ride down from the top at Pizolhütte is 16:00 and the last ride down from Furt is 17:30. Check website for current schedule.

Tickets

This hike requires a simple return ticket from Wangs to Pizolhütte, which in 2019 costs CHF 44/adult. SBB Half Fare and Junior cards are accepted. They also sell a “family ticket”, which includes 2 adults and all children under 17 for CHF 110. They accept credit cards. Check website for current prices.

Photo story

First you ride a gondola to the middle station at Furt, then two chair lifts to the top. Here we are on the first chair list from Furt to Gaffia.

Looking up the mountain from Gaffia station before we get on the second chair lift.

The hut and restaurant at the top of the Pizolhütte lift. Great views from here even if you don’t feel like hiking. Last lift down from here 16:00.

Start the Panorama Mountain Trail

Follow signs to “Laufboden” which is the other gondola station at the top. Once you get there, loop back and return to your starting point.

Here’s a bird’s eye view of the trail, which I took from the 5 Lake Hike above. You can see the Pizolhütte on the left to Laufboden on the right.

The path is dirt and gravel but wide and obstacle free, easy for little kids and strollers. 

Here’s the little lake along the path, where we spent a long time throwing rocks.

The highest point of the trail (not that high) is this panorama mountain map.

It’s fun picking out other mountains we’ve visited over the years.

Don’t forget this Grand Tour photo opp. The trail continues on the ridge toward Laufboden.

The trail is short, so we spent some time simply relaxing and enjoying the view.

We went a little off-trail to make things more interesting.

It’s a popular place for paragliding, so we enjoyed watching them take off for awhile.

Playground and Wasserwald at Furt

As I mentioned above, I recommend stopping at the Furt middle station on your way back down, where you’ll find restaurants and play areas with trampolines, swings, climbing stuff. Watch your time as the last cable car down from here is 17:30.

From the Furt middle station, it’s a two minute walk to Wasserwald, a water play area in the forest next to a river. There are a variety of water features to play with, as well as the river itself. There is also some play equipment.

There is a marble run, with marbles to purchase for 1 CHF. I recommend bringing your own.

A waterfall and sculptures.

At this station, you can pump water across the stream into the buckets, trying to fill them up.

A picnic area with a fire pit and wood.

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