Isenthal - Alpeler
I did this hike on the 12th of April, 2024. I had been looking for snow free areas, relatively close to Zürich, and came across this valley. I had done hikes around Vierwaldstättersee, but not in this area, so I decided to go and see how far the snow would allow me to hike.
I really like this valley and has since this hike, been here once more on a hike to Scheidegg.
Full route: Swisstopo
I took a train from Zürich to Altdorf, and here changed to a bus that took me to the stating point above Isleten. It was a really beautiful April morning, and on the first part up towards Isenthal, there were a couple of viewpoints with great views over Vierwaldstättersee and the mountains in direction Altdorf.
After the initial ascent, I came out of the forest, and had great views into the valley and Isenthal village. As it was early April, the cherry trees were in bloom, which made for some nice scenery walking towards Isenthal.
The trail leads you through Isenthal, after which it goes up on the other side of the valley. From up here, there was great views, and I could see the mountains in the side valleys. Before reaching the cable car at St. Jakob, I turned off the road and started the ascent up towards Alpeler.
Walking up, I could see back into the valley in direction Isenthal, and towards the mountain peaks on the other side of Vierwaldstättersee. You walk on gravel road, which at some places are quite steep, but not for long.
Once I was up, and had reached the area below the peak of Alpeler, I took some time to walk around, and also decided to have my lunch break here. The weather was really nice, and it was almost snow free everywhere on the flat parts.
I really like hiking in spring when all the flowers start emerging from the ground. After my lunch break, I began the descent towards the bus stop at St. Jakob. There was more snow on this part of the trail, but nowhere did I find it problematic.
Walking down, I came across several smaller waterfalls, which all were really nice. Due to the melting of the snow, there was a lot of water, which some places made the area around the waterfalls quite difficult to navigate, without getting wet feet.
Parts of the trail here also runs along a river, and it was a nice end to the hike. Half way down, you turn into the forest again, and follow part of the same trail down as you went up.
Back down, I went to the bus stop at the St. Jakob cable car, from where I made my way back to Altdorf and then Zürich.
