Sattel Hochstuckli Rondos Alpine Playland

This fun mountain resort has a huge outdoor amusement center for kids called Rondos Playland. It includes a bouncy castle complex, trampolines, an inner tube slide, and summer toboggan. There is also a long suspension bridge and a variety of family-friendly trails. It can quite crowded on sunny weekends and holidays, so best to go right when it opens.

Since it’s at a lower elevation than most resorts, it’s summer season starts very early, in mid-April and runs through early November. Since it’s so close to Zurich, you could even go for a Wednesday afternoon after school.

Sattel Hochstucki overview

Here is the summer map for Sattel Hochstuckli.

After riding a gondola up to Mostelberg at 1200m, you’ll find an outdoor amusement center with bouncy castles, trampolines, summer toboggan, suspension bridge, restaurants, and a variety of trails. Sometimes we do a hike, then reward the kids with the amusements. Sometimes I just let the kids spend the whole day just playing, while I lounge and read a book.

Video of the trail

Short video of our day at Sattel in May 2018.

Getting to Sattel Hochstuckli

This mountain resort is located east of Lucerne in Central Switzerland (see on Google Maps). You need to ride a gondola to reach the mountain amusements.

Sattel Hochstuckli is easy to reach by public transportation or car.

By car: Drive to Sattel and follow signs to the Hochstuckli Revolving Gondola (Eumatt, 6417 Sattel). There is a big parking lot next to the gondola. It costs CHF 5 for the day.

By public transport: The shortest route, with the least connections, is taking a train to Arth-Goldau, then the S31 train to Sattel-Aegeri. Then a 10 min walk to the cable car station as shown below.

Planning your day

Tickets for the gondola and amusements

There are lots of options, which you can see in the online price list. You can either pay for things a la carte or get a day pass that includes everything. 

Day pass: The easiest option is to buy a day pass, which includes the gondola ride, unlimited rides on the summer toboggan and innertube ride, and entry to the bouncy castle play area. In 2022, this costs CHF 35 per child, CHF 45/adult (adults cannot use the . You can get a family day pass, which includes the adults. For example, CHF 99 for one adult and two children.

Gondola only: If the parent is just supervising (not riding the toboggan or innertube slide), you don’t need a day pass. Just buy a return ticket on the gondola. In 2022, this return ticket costs CHF 26. Discounts for SBB GA and Half-fare cards. If you want to supervise your child in the bouncy castle area, that is free (at least it used to be) but tell the cashier because you need a ticket for that.

A la carte: If you get to the top and change your mind, you can buy individual rides on the toboggan run (1 ride for CHF 5, 5 rides for CHF 23). 

It’s best to just tell the cashier what you want to do and they’ll sell you the right ticket.

Opening times

Sattel Hochstuckli is typically open for summer season from late April to end of October.

The cable car runs from 8:30 – 17:00, until 17:30 in summer. The amusements are open from 10:00 – 17:00 in summer, a little shorter hours in spring and fall. See current opening times.

Photo story

Bouncy Castles

At the top of the gondola, you’ll find the bouncy castle complex, the toboggan run, a restaurant and a kiosk. If you didn’t buy tickets below, you can buy them here, including single rides on the toboggan run. 

Each child gets a ticket on a elastic neckband. Each time they enter the bouncy area, they scan the ticket. Entrance to the bouncy castle complex is free for one supervising adult. 

My kids always hit the trampolines first. There are several but your child might have to wait for their turn. There are lots of different bouncy castles, some better for little or bigger kids. They change occasionally from year to year so it might look different when you go. On very hot days, the bouncy plastic can also get very hot. So we try to hit the bouncy castle early in the day, then go hiking.

There are also benches just outside the bouncy complex, sometimes under umbrellas. When my kids were old enough to jump unsupervised, I bring a book to read while I waited.

Alpine slide

The alpine lake is 600m long and very fun. If you have the day pass, you have unlimited rides. Otherwise, it costs CHF 5 for one ride or you can buy a 5 or 10 pack (for a slight discount), which can be shared among multiple people. You can buy those tix at the Kiosk, not at the entrance to the Rodelbahn. You need to be 6 to ride alone. Children under 6 ride free when riding with an adult.

The line can get quite long on a nice day.

Innertube Slide

This crazy slide is included in your day pass. You ride single or double on these innertubes and slide down a long, slightly steep ramp. Then you walk up a moving sidewalk back to the top and do it again. I didn’t see anyone fall off the tubes but every time I did it, I was sure I’d fall off.

Suspension Bridge

Right next to the summer toboggan, you’ll find the long suspension bridge, which is fun to walk across even if you aren’t hiking.

Trail Options

Here’s the summer hiking map for this area.

For smaller children, the BrückenRUNDweg trail is a 2 km loop that includes the suspension bridge, the yellow #2 trail on the map above. It is suitable for strollers and has picnic areas with grill pits along the way. If you are going with a stroller, note that you must walk the trail clockwise, as strollers are only allowed to go in one direction on the bridge.

We prefer the RUNDweg Engelstock, a 5.4 km loop which has big panorama views of lots of surrounding peaks including Mt. Rigi. The first half of the trail has interactive stations for kids. There is a couple restaurants and two picnic areas with grill pits along the way. The trail is often ready to walk by late April and also open in winter as a groomed winter walk.

See details for the Engelstock Loop trail.