Horgen: Trails, Nature and Culture on Lake Zurich

The Horgen district includes the western shore of Lake Zurich, the Sihl Valley and the Albis mountain range. The hiking landscape also features hills, gorges and extensive forest areas. By the lake, in the wooded valley and along historic trails, you can experience the region’s many different sides.

Hiking trails between the lake and the Sihl

One official hiking suggestion is a marked, accessible route from Horgen railway station via Au (ZH) to Wädenswil railway station. The Horgen–Aabachtobel–Au walk has a different character: it starts in Horgen on Hüttenstrasse and leads through the Aabachtobel gorge. Here, sandstone and marl layers of the Upper Freshwater Molasse are exposed; in places, the trail follows metal stairways alongside pools and rocky sections.

The hike leads to a waterfall on a tributary stream and then to Lake Zurich and the Au peninsula. Sections of the lakeside path cross reed beds on wooden walkways. You can finish at Au railway station or the Au peninsula boat station. As trail conditions can change, check the current conditions before setting out.

The muleteers’ trail over the Hirzel between Horgen and Sihlbrugg offers a glimpse into history. The hike follows the routes used by muleteers, who transported goods there by mule for around 600 years. The marked trail recalls a trade route between Lake Zurich and Central Switzerland that was used from 1230 to 1830. It brings a specific historical connection between places and the landscape itself into focus.

Forest, wetlands and the Au peninsula

No trees have been felled in the protected Sihlwald forest reserve since 2000. The forest is characterised by centuries-old beech trees and a high proportion of deadwood, which provides a habitat for rare insects and fungi. The Zurich Wilderness Park visitor centre in Sihlwald has a playground, fire pits and covered picnic areas where you can take a break. The Sihl Adventure Trail runs in seven stages from the Sihl towards Zurich through Zurich Wilderness Park Sihlwald.

The Hirzel wetland landscape is another defining feature of the region: it stretches from the municipalities of Hirzel and Schönenberg via Horgen to Wädenswil, covers 480 hectares and is one of the six wetlands of national importance in the Canton of Zurich. The Au peninsula offers a different mix of landscapes, with meadows, forests, vineyards, little Lake Au, the shore of Lake Zurich and a bathing area. An exhibition in a historic barn explores viticulture in the past and present, as well as its influence on the region. Access is seasonal. At Zurich Wilderness Park Langenberg, you can observe wolves, brown bears, moose, wild boar and other wild animals along forest paths in spacious, naturalistic enclosures.

Museums and history in Horgen

The Sust Museum Horgen is housed in the oldest known building in the municipality. The house, which is more than 500 years old, served as a goods transshipment point and customs post until 1835. Since 2022, the museum has presented changing exhibitions on the history of the village and the lives of the people of Horgen. At the museum in the church tower of the Catholic parish of St. Josef, you can learn more over three floors about the history of the Catholic parish of Horgen from 1872 to 1978.

On the Hirzel, the Johanna Spyri Museum is housed in the former village schoolhouse, where Spyri attended school in the 1830s. The exhibition is devoted to her life. In Käpfnach, a 1.4-kilometre ride through a railway tunnel leads to the visitor experience at the mine. The Käpfnach Mining Museum is housed in a former coal bunker and explains local coal mining through films, diagrams, lamps, tools and fossils.

Another chapter in the region’s cultural history is told by the Horgen-Scheller archaeological site: it gave its name to Horgen culture, which dates from 3300 to 2800 BC. Horgen-Scheller is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps. Together with the museums and historic trails, it offers a view of the region across different periods and perspectives.

Discover more destinations: Horgen, Rüschlikon, Thalwil, Hirzel, Adliswil, Schönenberg, Kilchberg, Wädenswil, Richterswil, Langnau Am Albis.

Go to the main travel overview: Zurich.