Parpaner Rothorn
I had for some time wanted to go to the area around Arosa and hike up to Parpaner Rothorn and I finally managed on the 20th of July 2025.
After looking at Schweizmobil and a hike from Lenzerheide to Arosa (Mittelbünden-Panoramaweg), I decided to hike the trail below, starting at Litzirüti before Arosa and ending at the top of Parpaner Rothorn.
Full route: Swisstopo
I took the train to Chur from Zürich and then a train from Chur towards Arosa. I decided to start in Litzirüti, both to add a few more kilometers to the hike but also because I wanted to hike in the forest. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the colors of both the lakes and flowers hiking through the forest were amazing.
Passing through the outer part of Arosa, I made my way up to Schwellisee where the gravel roads I had mainly been walking on, turned into hiking paths. The views from the hiking path above the lake were great with a constant change of the lake color due to the passing clouds.
After Schwellisee, I continued along the hiking path enjoying the flowers and open views behind me. There are many trails in this area as it is also a very popular place for mountain biking but everywhere, I found it to be very clearly signed.
After about half an hour, I reached Älplisee, which had an amazing turquoise color. In the background, I got the first glimpse of Älplihorn, the peak just in front of Parpaner Rothorn.
I continued upwards where the hiking path got a bit narrower with more lose stones and rocks but I did not find it problematic. I passed another lake, Totseeli, before I reached the top of the valley and had great views down toward Älplisee and the mountains in the background.
Continuing the last climb up to Parpaner Rothorn was exhausting, but also very beautiful. The landscape changes and I almost felt like I was walking on another planet, everything being very orange and dry.
In summer, there is a lot of mountainbikers coming down from Parpaner Rothorn, so there were a lot of traffic, but the trails for the most part had good space between them.
I finally reached the top of Parpaner Rothorn and took my time as the views were absolutely amazing. You have a 360 degrees view to the mountains in Graubïunden, and even though it was a rather cloudy day, I could see very far.
After a long break, I did a small climb down to the cable car, which took me down to Lenzerheide, from where I took a bus back to Chur and then a train to Zürich.
