Grotzenbüel (Braunwald) –Seblengrat–Gumen–Grotzenbüel (Braunwald)
- Distance: 8.5km
- Duration (with breaks): 3h 30min
- Route type: circle
- Start/end: Grotzenbüel mountain station
- Highest point: Gumen (1901m)
- Elevation gain/loss: 460m/460m
- Difficulty: moderate
- When to hike: mid-December to mid-March
- When did we hike: End of January
Why this route?
While this was my first time in the region, I had an impression that Braunwald Panoramaweg is a must. It’s in the name, right?? We chose this route not only because of potentially great views but also because it’s a rather high path for winter walking. Besides the surrounding mountains, it also features an ice tunnel. Something more exotic 🙂
How to get there?
By public transport: from Zürich there is a train to Linthal (1h 30min). You should leave at Linthal Braunwaldbahn stop (one stop before Linthal) and from there head to a funicular that will take you to Braunwald village (10-15min).
Once at the village, take a short walk up a hill to Hüttenberg station, from which you can get a cable car to Grotzenbüel station. This is where your hike starts. Head up past the restaurants and you’ll see pink winter trail signs. Very likely there will be many other day hikers heading the same direction, so just follow them.
By car: as Braunwald is a car-free mountain village, there is no faster to get to the start when coming by car. You need to park your car somewhere close to the funicular station of Linthal and from there go the same way as hikers coming by public transport.
So how was it?
From the morning we were absolutely spoiled by the beautiful weather. 5 minutes into the walk, we stopped to get rid of the jackets and hiked the rest of the day in sweaters. So the sun and blue skies added a lot to the experience.
As the hike already starts pretty high, we were surrounded by spectacular views from the beginning. We decided to walk anti-clock-wise and for the first 15-20min shared the path with skiers and snowboarders. They are damn fast, so clearly we were the ones to watch out 🙂 After this shared section we headed into the forest, where a narrow path climbed up the hill.
It was a true winter wonderland where tree branches are heavy with snow and even a half-meter step outside the path would lead to at least a knee-deep dip into the snow. Sooooo much snow.
As it was a sunny day, we could have a decent lunch break without getting cold quickly. It was just like summer days in the Alps – us sitting on a bench surrounded by spectacular views and casually eating sandwiches.
After lunch, we went further towards Seblengrat station. There were a few steeper sections, but they were very doable. As Seblengrat is a cable car station, there is a restaurant at the top, that is open for those wishing a warm lunch with the views. We did not linger there too much and descended down. On the way down I really appreciated my hiking sticks as the afternoon snow was getting slippery and sticks provided extra support.
Between Seblengrat station and Gumen, the highest point on the trail, there is the exotic intermezzo of the trail – an ice tunnel! It was a very cool section with long icicles hanging from the ceiling and even growing from the ground. As everything was covered in ice, thankfully there was a rope helping the hikers to pass the tunnel. Even the rope had huge balls of ice hanging on some parts. Anyway, it was an entertaining section for sure.
Soon after it, we reached Gumen, where there is a restaurant as well. However, we descended a bit below to a viewpoint section that had the most royal benches to sit on. We chilled there for a while, observing paragliders and ski resort visitors. What a beautiful day to be outside.
The way down was a bit steep and slippery, especially without any spikes or snowshoes. From a fellow hiker, I learned to just sit on my butt and slide down. The path was wide, with no way to slide anywhere off it, so I highly recommend this method. Very comfortable and fun!
The last section of the hike was mostly in the shadow as the sun was blocked by the mountains on our right. That’s when we knew that it was still quite cold and so we sped down the path back into the sun and the Grotzenbüel station. Sweaters are only working for sunny conditions. Once the sun is out, the real winter temperatures hit.
Overall, it was a very scenic winter trail. Tall mountains were around us the whole time, it was truly a panoramic path. Compared to the #191 path, which we did a day before, this one was more demanding and to our taste closer to hiking, thus a bit more difficult. At times it is a bit steep both upwards and downwards, both still nothing dangerous or technical.
It is a popular day hike, which at times merges with bustling ski trails. For those looking for solitude, the best chance would be hiking in the early or late hours of the day. We were hiking during the peak hours (from 12:00 till 15:30) and met quite a lot of hikers, although we never had to wait for others to continue hiking.
Tips
- For those coming by public transport, I suggest buying your ticket to Braunwald instead of Linthal. That way your ticket will be valid for funicular as well without paying anything extra.
- There seemed to be a groomed path from Grotzenbüel station all the way down to Braunwald (although please double check) as we saw people walking down while we took a cable car. That way you could save some money on cable car tickets and have a longer walk. Given that you still have energy and time for it 😉
- You can find more information about the route on the Swiss go-to website for outdoors - Switzerland Mobility.