The Swiss Path round the Urnersee, the southern arm of Lake Lucerne, in SchweizMobil's four stages: from the Rütli landing up to Seelisberg, along the shore by Bauen and Isleten to Flüelen, then up the east side by Sisikon to Brunnen.
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
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Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Four stages, SchweizMobil's own, each of about 7 to 10 km. Every stage ends at a ship landing or a station. SchweizMobil links places to stay only at Seelisberg and in Brunnen, so most plans sleep in one base and ride the lake ship or the train to and from each day's ends. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: 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.
Bauen Town or village
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.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Closed on set days: km 8.4–8.6 of stage 2. 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.
Stage 2: 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.
Flüelen Town or village
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.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: From Flüelen along the east shore to Sisikon: 7.3 km, 2 h 15, 300 m up and 300 m down.
Sisikon Town or village
The stage ends by the station; the ship landing is 0.3 km away. SchweizMobil links no place to stay here: the train takes you to a base such as Brunnen.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 4: From Sisikon over the slopes above the lake to Brunnen: 8.3 km, 2 h 40, 480 m up and 480 m down. The stage ends at the Brunnen ship landing, about 0.7 km from the station.
Longest day: day 1, 3 h.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are the times published by schweizmobil.ch where a stage has one, with the time measured on the mapped line beside it; a day that walks part of a stage gets a share of the stage's time by distance and climb. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
| Stage | Night at | 2026 | 2027 | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Rütli to Bauen | Bauen · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 2. Bauen to Flüelen | Flüelen · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 3. Flüelen to Sisikon | Sisikon · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 4. Sisikon to Brunnen | Hotel Schmid & Alfa notice | 2026 dates not published | not published | Book online |
Loading the forecast for low point (427 m) and high point (892 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (427 m) and the highest point (892 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 | Mixed | Mixed |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/4 | 0/4 | 2/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 2/4 | 0/4 |
| 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°/-2° | 6°/-1° | 11°/2° | 16°/6° | 20°/10° | 23°/14° | 24°/15° | 24°/14° | 19°/11° | 15°/8° | 9°/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 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
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
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.
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 SchweizClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: Lake Lucerne ships: current timetables · SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 1 detours · SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 2 detours · SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 3 detours · SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 4 detours · SchweizMobil: Reusssteg closure (route 99, stage 2). Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
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.
SchweizMobil gives 35 km in four stages, about 9 h 20 of walking, with 1,400 m up and down, in 4 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers plans from 2 to 4 days on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
No published season; a low lakeside route. No page we read gives a walking season.
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. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
No booking is needed for the walk, the ships or the trains.
Yes: the whole route and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 6 official notice pages (Lake Lucerne ships: current timetables; SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 1 detours; SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 2 detours; SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 3 detours; SchweizMobil: route 99 stage 4 detours; SchweizMobil: Reusssteg closure (route 99, stage 2)); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
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