This easy winter hike near Lucerne follows a wide groomed path down the mountain. It’s a quiet wander around the hills and through forest, with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.
This hike is a good choice for families, as the trail is mostly downhill and easy walking. In addition, since the walking trail is the same as the sledding route, you can optionally bring a sled and enjoy it on all the downhill sections. If you want to hike farther, this area has lots of snowshoe trails that explore far and wide.
| Location: | near Lucerne, Central Switzerland |
| Address: | Dallenwil-Wirzweli cable car Wiesenbergstrasse 25, 6383 Dallenwil |
| Car: | Parking at cable car: 46°55’31.0″N 8°23’12.2″E From Lucerne 22 mins, Zürich 50 mins |
| Transit: | Train station: Dallenwil + free shuttle to cable car station From Lucerne 20 mins, Zürich 1hr20 |
| Trail: | 5.3 km loop, about 1hr45 |
| Difficulty: | easy, groomed snow |
| Elevation: | highest point 1580m, 30m up, 380m down |
| Cost: | Cable car fee: CHF 28.40/adult Discounts with Swiss travel cards. |
| Open: | mid Dec to end of March |
| Services: | restaurants in Wirzweli village and top of cable car |
| More info: | www.wirzweli.ch • webcams |
Location
This trail is located in Wirzweli, a mountain area near Lucerne in central Switzerland. The trail is accessed by a cable car.
Ski resort map
Here is the Wirzweli winter map. The yellow lines are the cable cars. The solid pink line is the groomed winter hike. The dotted pink lines are snowshoe trails. The purple dashed line is the sledding route.
Trail map
Here is the trail map for the winter hike, from Gummenalp down to Wirzweli. In winter, the snow on this trail is groomed by machine so you only need regular hiking shoes. This trail is shared by sledders, so on the downhill parts listen for oncoming sleds. There was no one sledding the day we were there.
This trail is about 5.3 km long, plus the initial 800m walk from the Wirzweli cable car over to the Gummenalp cable car. Our family spent about 1hr45 mins on the trail.
See trail map on Komoot • Schweiz Mobil • OutdoorActive
Longer option: If you want a longer hike, you can snowshoe up to Gummenalp instead of riding the cable car up, then join the winter hiking trail for the way down. This adds about 3 km distance and 300m of elevation gain.
Getting there
By car: Drive to Dallenwil then up the hill to Wiesenbergstrasse 25, 6383 Dallenwil. Park in the large parking lot next to the cable car station. In 2021, it cost CHF 5/day to park.
By public transport: Take a train to the Dallenwil station. From here, you can ride the free Wirzweli shuttle bus up to the cable car. But you need to call them to order the shuttle – +41 41 628 23 94. It takes about 10 mins to come pick you up, so best to call at least 15 mins before you arrive. The shuttle bus only fits 8 people, so you may need to wait a bit.
Ticket prices
To reach this hike, you need a return ticket on the Dallenwil-Wirzweli cable car and a one-way ticket on the Eggwald-Gummenalp cable car. These tickets are bought separately at each cable car station. You can pay with card or cash at both places. See current prices.
In 2022, a return ticket on the Dallenwil-Wirzweli cable car costs:
- CHF 22.40/adult
- CHF 11.20/SBB Half-fare or child aged 6-15
- Free : children under 6, SBB Junior card, GA, Tell Pass.
- CHF 8/dogs (SBB dog tickets accepted)
In 2022, a return ticket on the Eggwald-Gummenalp cable car costs:
- CHF 6/adult
- CHF 3.50/child
- CHF 2/dog
You can rent sleds at the top of the Gummenalp cable car, CHF 7/adult and CHF 5/child.
Opening times
Winter season at Wirzweli is mid December through end of March. Due to the low elevation, snow conditions are not always great and winter trails may not be open. So check the winter trail status before heading out.
The Dallenwil-Wirzweli cable car runs daily every 20 mins from 7:40 – 18:20. Travel time is 7-10 mins and the cable car fits 44 passengers. 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 or snow boots with good traction. You don’t need snowshoe attachments. If you have traction cleats, bring them just in case parts of the trail are icy. I would bring hiking sticks for balance (best with snow baskets so they don’t sink into the snow).
It’s an easy hike, but I would bring a bottle of water and snacks. See also: What to pack & wear on a winter hike.
Snowshoe rentals
If you want to try the snowshoe trails, you can rent snowshoes and poles at the cable car station. It costs CHF 20/half day, CHF 25/full day, CHF 60/family (2 adult & 2 children). See more info about snowshoe rentals.
Where to eat
At the top of the Gummenalp cable car, you’ll find Restaurant Gummenalp, which has indoor and outdoor seating. There are other restaurants in the Wirzweli village but they may be closed on slow days.
Photo story of the trail
Here is the parking next to the Wirzweli cable car station.
There are two cable cars that run together.
View from the cable car to Dallenwil.
What you see when you exit the cable car.
Following signs to Gummenbahn, which is the cable car that takes you up to the trail. It’s about 800m (8 mins).
Signs for all the snowshoe trails, so many!
To get to the other cable car, you are walking on a road.
Here is the Gummenbahn cable car. There are no staff at the valley station. If the cable car is there but the doors are closed, you can push the white “Tür offen” button to open the doors. Also push the “Call” button to let the staff know that you are ready to come up. Get into the cable car. The doors will automatically close and ride to the top.
At the top station shown here, you can pay for your one way ticket, cash or card.
Before we started the hike, we did a little detour to this viewpoint at the cross.
Nice views down towards Lake Lucerne from up here.
Heading back down to Gummenalp to start the winter hike.
Now on the groomed winter hiking trail, shared with the sledding route.
Some picnic tables at the top, maybe for outdoor fondue next time.
A bit through the forest, but still lots of views.
The trail is mostly flat or mild downhill, really easy.
Wish this was a restaurant.
Such pretty views over to Mt Pilatus.
Friends chatting on the trail.
Maybe the prettiest part.
Another pretty farm.
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Now looping back to the Wirzweli village.
Keep following the sledding trail down. At this sign, we were a little confused and left the sledding path and ended up on a snowshoe trail, which was a little hard going in regular boots. Don’t do that.
See that hiker. She’s on the correct winter hiking trail, not like us.
All trails lead back to the road, which you follow back to the cable car station.
Back to the Wirzweli cable car station, where we ride back down to our car.
I hope you enjoy this winter hike!
