Discover Alpthal

If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Alpthal, the activities you have planned can help guide your choice of destination. The municipality lies in the upper part of the Alptal valley, which the Alp stream flows through. Hiking trails, mountain scenery and seasonal winter activities shape the options in the area and at the named trailheads. The Innerschweizer Jakobsweg (Central Switzerland Way of St. James) passes through Alpthal and Brunni, while other trails start in or pass through Brunni, Holzegg and Rotenfluh.

Hiking: trails and elevation changes

The Innerschweizer Jakobsweg runs from Einsiedeln via Alpthal and Brunni to Haggenegg and on to Schwyz. If you are interested in this trail, you will find a route that connects several places. Another option is the Mythen Trail: it starts in Brunni at 1,100 metres, leads via Holzegg at 1,405 metres and then follows a narrow zigzag path to the 1,899-metre summit of the Grosser Mythen. The elevations given and the change from the path via Holzegg to the zigzag trail provide a clear idea of the route.

For a circular hike, the Brunni–Rotenfluh–Brunni trail goes via Holzegg and Rotenfluh and returns to Brunni through the Zwäckentobel; it takes about three hours. This makes it easier to assess the timing of this hike compared with the described route to the summit of the Grosser Mythen, for which no duration is given. The Brunni–Holzegg cable car can shorten the ascent; it operates seasonally. Plan your hike to suit your schedule and bear in mind that trail conditions can vary.

Winter activities in Brunni and Ibergeregg

The panoramic sledging run is located right by the Brunni ski lift. Depending on snow conditions, it is 300 to 600 metres long, groomed and separate from the ski slope. The Brunni ski lift has blue runs and a child-friendly lift speed. In the enclosed snowmobile park, children can ride around a marked course; the park is designed for children aged 5 to 11. These activities differ in what they offer: sledging, skiing and the course in the snowmobile park each provide a different focus for planning a winter visit.

Snowshoe trails are another option. They provide a connection to the Ibergeregg pass summit. In the Ibergeregg nature reserve, the trails include wildlife quiet zones, which must not be entered from 1 December to 31 March. If you are planning a snowshoe route, take this seasonal restriction into account when choosing your route. Another nature route, the wildlife hike, passes through the Mythen wildlife reserve, where wild animals are protected from hunters.

Mountain scenery and alpine cheese

The Mythen Trail leads to a freestanding summit, from where views extend across the Glarus and Uri Alps, Lake Lucerne and the lowlands. A different landscape awaits on the Alpchäs-Wäg: it crosses mountain pastures lined with dry-stone walls. Along this trail, you can sample alpine cheese where it is made. Since availability at the farms can vary, it is advisable to check before your visit whether a tasting is possible. This means that your tour planning can focus both on the route and views and on the opportunity to learn about cheese production.

Chapels and the history of the Alptal valley

The history of the surrounding area also offers specific points of interest. Alpthal’s subsidiary church was consecrated in 1797 in honour of Saint Apollonia and was granted the right to baptise and bury. Near Alpthal, the Haggenegg Chapel was built in 1870 at a site that had repeatedly been venerated after the miraculous image of the “Black Madonna” had been kept there during the French advance of 1798.

The Bruder Klaus Chapel in Holzegg lies near Alpthal, east of the Grosser Mythen, at an elevation of about 1,400 metres; it was blessed on 17 July 1949. The history of the Alptal valley reaches back further: in 1018, Emperor Henry II donated the Alptal to Einsiedeln Abbey. Schwyz’s territorial claim to the valley was confirmed by the Peace of 1350. These dates relate to the Alptal valley and its history.

Discover more destinations: Sattel, Steinen, Oberiberg, Schwyz, Seewen, Stoos, Rothenthurm, Lauerz.

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