Spring in the air takes us to explore the Cherry Blossom Trail (Chriesiwanderung) on Lake Zug, where the trees are in full blossom between the second half of April and the beginning of May. The entire route - which starts in the town of Zug and reaches Goldau - follows the east coast of the lake and is about 20 kilometers long. Due to time constraints, we decided to divide it into two sections: a first one from Zug station to Walchwil and a second one from Walchwil to Arth-Goldau station. Therefore, in this article, we tell you about the first part of the route, from Zug station to Walchwil, and give you some useful tips for planning your visit.
We love... the Zug Cherry Blossom Trail!
Spring is in the air and even though the weather has been a little more crazy than usual recently, the desire to be outdoors and to get back on the trail has convinced us to explore the cherry tree trail on Lake Zug (Chriesiwanderung in swiss german), where the trees are in full blossom between the second half of April and the beginning of May. The entire route – which starts in the town of Zug and reaches Goldau – follows the east coast of the lake and is about 20 kilometers long. Due to time constraints, we decided to split it into two sections: one from Zug station to Walchwil and a second from Walchwil to Arth-Goldau station. In this article, we tell you about the first part of the route, from Zug station to Walchwil.
Walk overview & map
The hike we propose is a linear route of about 11 kilometres, which starts conveniently from the Zug train station, close to the city centre and the lakeside promenade. It is an easy route, with a minimal difference in altitude and mostly on paved or gravel roads. Because of its proximity to the city centre, it can easily be combined with a short tour of Zug’s old town, a little-known gem that is certainly worth a visit if you are in the vicinity. We chose to walk the path towards the south, but it is of course possible to walk it in the opposite direction, should you prefer to end the hike in Zug. In any case, the entire coast to Walchwil is served by the S2 train line, which makes several intermediate stops, excellent both for returning to the starting point and for shortening the route during the hike. Although spring – between mid-April and early May – is the best season for this route, the trail can be walked almost all year round and during the summer the view of the lake and surrounding mountains will not make you miss the cherry blossoms.
Along the route, you will not find any refreshment options, with the exception of the two towns of Zug and Walchwil. However, there are a couple of barbeque areas, should you wish to make use of them.
- Central
- Autumn, Spring, Summer
- Easy
- 3:00 h
- 11.1 Km
- 273 m
- Central
- Autumn, Spring, Summer
- Easy
- 3:00 h
- 11.1 Km
- 273 m
Would you like to use our hiking map?
For a safe hike, it is important to have the support of maps and GPS. That’s why we plan and track all our hiking routes using Outdooractive, a platform for tracking outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling and more. By subscribing for free to the website you can browse the entire route database, copy our routes, edit them and create your own and of course share them with friends.
If instead you want to know why you should sign up for a PRO or PRO+ subscription and why we have already done it, we have told you about it here along with 5 other essential apps for hiking in Switzerland.
Walking route
Zug and the first part of the hike
Our excursion starts at Zug Train Station. We get off the train and go to the lakeside promenade to start our walk right from the town’s elegant and lively lakeside promenade. In addition to the lakeside promenade, Zug also has a small but quaint old town, which we invite you to visit because it is truly a gem. The walk won’t take you more than 30 minutes.
After the visit, we leave the old town through the Zytturm – the old town gate – and start our way slightly uphill towards the hiking trail. A little further on, we find a very characteristic old building, dating back as far as the 12th century: it houses the Burg Zug Museum, the town’s historical museum. We continue a little further on and reach an imposing staircase leading to the Catholic Church of St. Michael. If you are curious, you can go inside for a look.
The next kilometer and a half runs along urban streets and buildings. With the exception of a short stretch characterized by elegant historic houses, the rest is of little interest to us and we can hardly wait to get out of town and meet the first trees in blossom! And indeed there they are, a little further on! Lots of young cherry trees proudly looking down on the lake from above! Here we also find a panoramic bench and decide it’s time for lunch. We then continue on to the Brunnenbach stream and the small farm shop Bröchli, which sells garden produce, ice cream and a few handicrafts.
Towards Walchwil
After lunch, we continue on our way towards Walchwil. A few steps and we find ourselves once again on the edge of an urban center. We don’t want to return into the middle of the town! So we climb a little higher and reach a big building, which we later discover is a hospital. Once past the hospital building (don’t worry: the outdoor areas are not fenced off and are walkable), a section of the hike begins that runs through the forest on a gravel and stone path. On a sunny day this could be a pleasant cooling moment, but today the weather is anything but spring-like and we would prefer to stay in the sun a little longer. In any case, along this section of the trail you will find a couple of barbecue areas and several small waterfalls at the edge of the path. The area is in fact full of small streams bringing water from the mountains to the lake. The forest hike is about 4 kilometers long, beyond which begins what is probably the most scenic part of the trail. Here, in fact, there are several farms and many flowering trees surrounded by the colors of Lake Zug and the surrounding mountains. A truly marvelous sight. This section of the trail is about one kilometer long, after which we start our descent towards Walchwil to reach the train station. From here, the S2 line will take us back to Zug and then home.
How to get there
Arriving by public transport
See the location in Google Maps. The starting point of this excursion – Zug Train Station – can be easily reached by public transportation. To find the best travel option for you, as always we recommend using the SBB website or the SBB App, that you can also use to check the timetables and operating status of the lines and purchase tickets.
Arriving by car
See the location in Google Maps. The starting point of this excursion – the city of Zug – can also be reached by car. To find the best travel option for you, as always we suggest you use Google Maps. Zug has many paid parking options. At this link (in German) you will find information on parking and the rates charged.
Tips
1
Do you want to know the right time to walk this trail and enjoy the full blossom of the cherry trees? The Zug tourist office provides information on its website or directly on the phone!
2
Just outside the historic centre of Zug, you will find a very characteristic old building, dating back as far as the 12th century. Today, it houses the Burg Zug Museum, the city’s historical museum. If you have time, we recommend a visit. You can find all information about opening hours and admission fees here.
3
Are you planning an excursion here and have doubts or concerns? Leave us a comment below and we will give you a feedback as soon as possible!
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