Weg der Schweiz · Stage 1
Walking time as schweizmobil.ch states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 2 h 56. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Schweizmobil.ch
From the Rütli landing up to Seelisberg and down to Bauen: 9.4 km, 3 h, 520 m up and 520 m down, SchweizMobil says. The climb from the lake to about 873 m above Seelisberg is the biggest of the trail. The Rütli is reached by lake ship.
Best season: No published season; a low lakeside route. No page we read gives a walking season. SchweizMobil grades every stage as a yellow-signposted hiking path (Wanderweg), between the lake at about 434 m and about 873 m above Seelisberg. The services are seasonal: the lake ships run their winter timetable from 19 October 2026 to 16 April 2027, and the youth hostel at Seelisberg closes from 25 October 2026 to 25 March 2027. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Trailhead
The start, at the Rütli ship landing on the Urnersee: the lake ships are the way in. The places to stay SchweizMobil links near the start are up the first climb at Seelisberg: the youth hostel there takes groups only, and a farm offers sleeping on straw.
Stage end
Town
A small village on the lake, with a ship landing and a bus stop. SchweizMobil links no place to stay here: take the ship on to a base such as Brunnen, and back the next morning.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Make it your trip
No booking is needed for the walk, the ships or the trains. SchweizMobil links places to stay only at Seelisberg, on the first climb, and in Brunnen at the end: none at Bauen, Flüelen or Sisikon. So stay in one base, such as Brunnen, and ride the lake ship or the train to each day's start. Hotels book online on their own sites; the straw stays on farms book through a farm-stay platform. The youth hostel at Seelisberg takes groups only.
SchweizMobil's four stages, one a day, riding the ship or train to a base each evening.
Plan this journeyOver Seelisberg and along the west and south shores: two stages.
Plan this journeyUp the east side of the lake by Sisikon: two stages, each from a station.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (434 m) and high point (873 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (434 m) and the highest point (873 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed |
| High point, day / night | 6°/-1° | 6°/-2° | 9°/1° | 12°/4° | 16°/8° | 20°/12° | 22°/13° | 22°/13° | 17°/10° | 13°/7° | 9°/3° | 6°/0° |
| Low point, day / night | 5°/-1° | 7°/-1° | 11°/3° | 16°/6° | 20°/10° | 23°/14° | 24°/15° | 24°/15° | 19°/11° | 15°/8° | 10°/3° | 6°/0° |
| Rain, mm | 96 | 92 | 105 | 110 | 146 | 170 | 180 | 176 | 136 | 126 | 126 | 115 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 54 | 10 h 16 | 11 h 49 | 13 h 33 | 15 h 01 | 15 h 52 | 15 h 33 | 14 h 17 | 12 h 39 | 10 h 59 | 9 h 25 | 8 h 33 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
The Reusssteg, a 38 m footbridge between Seedorf and Flüelen on stage 2, is closed to walkers and cyclists for renovation from 31 August to 30 October 2026. A detour is signposted: follow the signs. Our line still crosses the bridge. SchweizMobil lists its detours and closures on each stage of the route (SchweizMobil's detour record, read 13 October 2026).
SchweizMobil: Weg der Schweiz, route 99The Rütli and Bauen landings are reached by the Lake Lucerne ships. The ships run their autumn timetable until 18 October 2026 and their winter timetable from 19 October 2026 to 16 April 2027: check that your ship still calls at the Rütli and Bauen before you plan a late-autumn walk. Special timetables apply on 18 October and 4 November 2026, for shooting events at the Rütli (the lake ships' timetable page, read 13 October 2026).
Lake Lucerne shipping company: timetablesSchweizMobil links stays only at Seelisberg and in Brunnen. The youth hostel at Seelisberg (25 beds) is for groups only, hired as a whole, and closes from 25 October 2026 to 25 March 2027. A farm at Seelisberg and another at Brunnen offer sleeping on straw, booked through a farm-stay platform; Brunnen has hotels (SchweizMobil and the stays' own pages, read 13 October 2026).
Swiss Youth Hostels: SeelisbergEvery stage is a yellow-signposted hiking path (Wanderweg), with 1,400 m of climbing in all. The trail was given to the Swiss in 1991, for the 700th anniversary of the Confederation, and the Harderband tunnel on stage 2, about 300 m long, has lights and art in it, the tourist board says (SchweizMobil's stage records, read 13 October 2026).
IG Wiege der Schweiz: Weg der SchweizGetting there
Travel around Rütli to Bauen.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
The start is the Rütli ship landing, reached by the Lake Lucerne ships; from Lucerne, the boats to Brunnen and Flüelen leave from jetty 1. Check the winter timetable from 19 October 2026 (the lake ships' timetable page, read 13 October 2026).
Lake Lucerne shipping company: timetablesBauen has a ship landing and a bus stop. Flüelen and Sisikon have SBB stations by the stage ends, and ship landings close by; ships also call at Isleten on stage 2.
SBB: timetableThe trail ends at the Brunnen ship landing. SBB trains leave from Brunnen station, about 0.7 km away, and the ships from the landing.
SchweizMobil: Weg der Schweiz, route 99Take your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection, and keep the ship times with you: the Rütli and Bauen are reached by lake ship.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
SchweizMobil publishes the Weg der Schweiz as regional route 99, Seelisberg (Rütli) to Brunnen: four stages, 35 km with 1,400 m up and down, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (the four stage relations of the Weg der Schweiz, relation 20990994, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 34.9 km, cut where the stage relations meet and walked in SchweizMobil's direction. It crosses the Reusssteg footbridge near Flüelen, which is closed until 30 October 2026: follow the signposted detour there, not the line. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
SchweizMobil: Weg der Schweiz, route 99Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation