Göscheneralpsee
I did this hike on the 26th of June, 2026. I had for long been wanting to go to Göschenertal and when the possibility came, I decided to go. Initially, I had planned to do a loop around Göscheneralpsee, but because of very warm weather, I ended up cutting the hike short and do the trail below. I did go to both sides of the lake, but would still like to come back another time for the full loop.
Full route: Swisstopo
I left Zürich at 6am to be able to start the hike from Göschenen at 8am. Although early in the day, it was already warm, but the first part of the hike was mainly through forest and relatively cold. After about half an hour, the forest opened up and I could for the first time see the mountains and Dammagletscher above Göscheneralpsee.
In the beginning, the trail was relatively flat, winding its way in and out of forest, but after a few kilometers, the path turned left and I started the first ascent of the day. The trail was steep but not difficult, and as I made my way up above the valley, I got the first glimpses to the mountain peaks around me.
After about 45 minutes, the trail flattened out and continued through more open landscape. From here, I had clear views back down the valley towards Göschenen, where I had started the hike not long before and looking ahead, I could see the Dammagletscher. On this part, there were also several smaller waterfalls, which was a nice possibility to cool off in the already warm temperatures.
Just before starting the descent back down into Göschenertal, I had great views into Voralptal, a side valley to Göschenertal. Here, I could see the Flachensteinfirn lying below Vorder Sustenlimihorn and to the right, the peak of Salbitschijen. The valley looked very interesting and I would like to come back and explore it more at a later time.
Most of the descent was through forest and it was nice with some shade and colder temperatures. Once out of the forest and almost down, I could for the first time see the dam at Göscheneralpsee and the area below. Once down, I passed by a campground and a small lake before I started the second ascent of the day up to the Göscheneralpsee.
Down in the valley it was really warm, so I was very happy when I again passed some streams which helped cool me off a bit. The way up to the top of the dam followed a narrow hiking path, zig-zagging its way up to the top. I had been completely alone on the hike until the campground, but up here there were quite some people on the trail, as it is also possible to get to the dam with car or bus.
I finally made it up to the lake and the views were just great and even better than I had expected. Despite the very low water level, the color of the lake as a contrast to the surrounding mountains looked amazing. I took a short rest here to enjoy everything before continuing up on the left side of the lake.
The trail going up above the lake was not too steep and there were again several streams flowing down from the mountains, which the trail passed over. The higher I got and further I went on the trail, the more I could see of the little side valley Chelenalptal and the Chelengletscher. The whole area around the lake is really beautiful and very colorful with the glaciers, different kinds of rocks and the lake below.
About one third into the hike around the lake, I started feeling off from the heat, so I decided to not go the full way around the lake, but instead go back the way I had come and cross over the dam to the restaurant and bus stop on the other side. I would really have liked to do the full route around, but I will just have to come back another time, when the weather is better.
After coming back down and crossing over the dam, I found a place in the shade and had some snacks. I still had an hour before the next bus, as they did not run often, and as I started to feel better again, I decided to do a small walk up on the other side of the lake to a view point. The trail up was easy and not steep and after half an hour I came up to the top.
There were really great views down over the lake and to the Dammagletscher on the other side, which I had not been able to see fully until now. After walking around for a bit, I found a great viewpoint where I took a short break before walking back down to the bus.
Back down again, I caught the bus back to Göschenen, from where I continued back home to Zurich with the train. The hike didn’t go as planned, but it was still a great day and I can’t wait to revisit this area at a later point.
