Gütle – Rappenlochschlucht – Staufensee – Ammanbrücke – Gütle

The Rappenlochschlucht is a great walk in any weather because it is very shady, so you would not even notice the weather anyway. Plus it is very good “return on investment”! Very little effort but gain very dramatic views on this walk. But be warned – if you are don’t like high, exposed platforms, this hike may not be for you – otherwise it’s great fun!

Start at the parking lot opposite Gütle Restaurant and follow the signs to the
Rappenlochschlucht. Soon you will reach the Rappenlochstadl, a little restaurant. Just behind it is the entrance to the gorge in form of a wooden bridge.

The path now leads along the stream called the Dornbirner Ach and there are a number of impressive waterfalls along the way.

The path is very gentle and only occasionally leads along a short set of stairs. There are bridges to cross and boardwalks above the water to walk along.

Soon you will reach a fork in the path where you can turn left to reach a viewpoint further inside the Rappenlochschlucht. This is a dead end but very short and well worth exploring. At it’s end you are directly in the depth of the gorge and you have a view of the leftovers of a car bridge that had spectacularly crashed into the gorge some years ago (luckily no one was injured as the bridge collapsed in the middle of the night). Before this happened, the path lead directly through the gorge with some stunning views and some tunnels to pass. Now unfortunately this part is closed but still impressive to look at.

To continue the hike, turn right at the fork and soon you will reach a set of stairs made up of 187 steps. Brace yourself and start the climb, it really is not that long.

At the top of the stairs a very high, exposed boardwalk starts leading above the top of the gorge with spectacular views of the water below.

This is the exciting part of the walk – high above the gorge!

Soon the path start gently sloping downhill until it reaches the Staufensee lake at then end of the gorge.

Walk around the lake. At the far side you will reach a power station that is over 100 years old and one of the oldest in Austria. And it is rather pretty. Walk around the house and you will get a glimpse of the turbines inside the power station through a glass wall.

Keep walking around the lake and enjoy the quiet of the area.

Having completed the walk around the lake, you will come back to where the stairs from the boardwalk come down. Now you have the choice to return back on the way you came if the walk was long enough for you.

If you feel like extending the hike a bit further, cross the little bridge and on the other side turn uphill on the paved path on the other side. Soon you will reach a flimsy looking car bridge on the top. Take a look down from the bridge to see the boardwalk along the gorge below.

Don’t cross the bridge but turn into a small path to the right just before the bridge. The path now leads gently uphill through the woods. Along the path you will have a great view of the valley below and on a clear day even of Lake Constance in the distance.

After a little while you will reach Amannsbrücke, a 150 year old wooden bridge that crosses another gorge. There is an information board where you can read about the history of the bridge. Look out of windows in the middle of the bridge allow for a look down into the depth of the gorge.

After the bridge, the path leads gently downwards, back towards Gütle with some lovely views of the mountains along the path.

Once back in Gütle you have the choice of two Restaurants if you need a refreshment after the walk. There is also a crib museum directly next to the parking lot and a Rolls Royce museum directly opposite.