Walking time as schweizmobil.ch states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 2 h 45. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Schweizmobil.ch
9.9 kmStage distance
175 mAscent, measured
2 h 25Official time
2Stage number
Closed on set dates: The Reusssteg footbridge between Seedorf and Flüelen is closed to walkers and cyclists for renovation from 31 August to 30 October 2026. Follow the signposted detour; our line still crosses the bridge. Source, read 13 October 2026
Along the shore by Isleten and Seedorf to Flüelen: 10.1 km, 2 h 25, 80 m up and 80 m down, the longest stage and the flattest. The Harderband tunnel, about 300 m with lights and art, lies between Bauen and Isleten. The Reusssteg footbridge between Seedorf and Flüelen is closed for renovation until 30 October 2026: follow the signposted detour; our line still crosses the bridge. On the ground, follow the signposted detour.
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
Bauen to Flüelen
Loading topographic map…
Flat (<5%) Gentle (5–10%) Moderate (10–15%)
Green: Bauen to Flüelen. Grey: full trail. Elevation follows this mapped track.
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
Bauen
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.
Stage end
Flüelen
Town
The stage ends by the station; the ship landing is 0.1 km on. SchweizMobil links no place to stay here: the train or the ship takes you to a base such as Brunnen.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Walking time for this leg
Bauen to Flüelen: 2 h 25 · graded Wanderweg (yellow-signposted hiking path).
Measured on the mapped line: 2 h 45. schweizmobil.ch, read 13 October 2026
Make it your trip
Walk by day, sleep in a base
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.
Rütli to Brunnen
SchweizMobil's four stages, one a day, riding the ship or train to a base each evening.
Loading the forecast for low point (434 m) and high point (617 m)…
Weather by month
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (434 m) and the highest point (617 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
Weather
Mixed
Mixed
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Mixed
Mixed
High point, day / night
4°/-2°
5°/-2°
10°/1°
14°/5°
18°/9°
21°/13°
23°/14°
22°/14°
18°/10°
14°/7°
8°/2°
4°/-1°
Low point, day / night
5°/-2°
6°/-1°
11°/2°
15°/6°
20°/10°
23°/13°
24°/15°
24°/14°
19°/11°
15°/8°
9°/3°
6°/-1°
Rain, mm
79
80
90
94
136
166
168
170
118
109
108
96
Snow at high point
Possible
Possible
Frost
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Possible
Daylight
8 h 55
10 h 16
11 h 49
13 h 32
15 h 01
15 h 51
15 h 33
14 h 17
12 h 38
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
Prepare for the Weg der Schweiz
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
The Reusssteg closure at Flüelen
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).
The 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).
SchweizMobil 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).
Every 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).
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
To the start at the Rütli
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).
Bauen 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.
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.
Open this trail in the app.Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Route map & 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.