Schwägalp to Kronberg Hike: Peaceful Valley Route by Säntis

The hike from Schwägalp to Kronberg was the first hike I did in Switzerland. It was my backup route in case my primary plan to climb Säntis didn’t work out because of the weather. You’ll find more about that route at the end of the article.

Parking

In Switzerland I mainly travelled by car, so I needed somewhere to park near the trail. Luckily the parking area for both the Säntis and Kronberg routes is perfectly located — see the map below. There’s also a cable car from the parking lot that takes you up to Säntis. More information is at the end of the article.

Weather

The weather in Switzerland can be a bit unpredictable. I found the app Meteoblue. Another good alternative is the app yr.no. Since the weather in Switzerland often changes very quickly, I recommend checking the forecast for the route before you start and during the hike.

Route from Schwägalp to Kronberg

The route is 10.6 km long and can be walked in 3 to 4 hours. If you return the same way, you’ll cover about 22 km in total.

I did the route in July.

I recommend setting off early, around 8:00, because by the time I arrived at about 11:00 tourists were already arriving by cable car. Until then there was nobody here — just silence, the mountains, and cows mooing in the distance 😂.

The trail isn’t dangerous and there’s no steep climb. You’ll walk through forest, across a farm and meadows, and will very likely encounter lots of cows along the way. A great route for relaxing and unwinding.

From the top of Kronberg you can continue on several different paths. I recommend checking Mapy.com for trail maps or on AllTrails.com for alternative routes. That way you can easily find another path to take and add variety to your trip.

and

Hike and cable car to Säntis

There’s a trail to Säntis from the Schwägalp parking lot. I didn’t take it myself because there was supposed to be fog on the route and it had rained the day before. From what I read online, parts of the trail can be quite slippery and steep, so I didn’t want to risk it and chose to go to Kronberg instead.

There’s also a cable car from the Schwägalp parking lot up to Säntis, so you can spare yourself the stress of the climb. Once up there you can walk along the mountain ridge and nearby trails. That said, there’s no point going up when it’s foggy. You can check the current weather conditions right on the Säntis summit via the webcam.

You can find routes around Säntis on AllTrails.com.

For more information, including accommodation and the cable car, see the official website https://saentisbahn.ch/en.