Appenzellerland – possibly Switzerland’s best kept secret!
The glorious Appenzellerland hiking region is made up of two Swiss half-cantons – Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
It reaches from just above famous Lake Constance to the stunning Alpstein massif. Appenzellerland is basically Switzerland condensed, featuring mountain lakes, rolling hills and impressive mountains. Some of the higher mountains keep the snow through all of the year. There are cows with bells, beautiful historic houses, cheese dairies and numerous mountain huts where you can buy fresh milk. And the public transport system might be unrivalled in the world.
Most importantly though, Appenzellerland offers a variety of hikes. And because of the large area of rolling hills, any hike can be extended and shortened as fits your mood – the wonderful public transport will always bring you back to where you need to be!
Read about the picturesque town of Appenzell and the surrounding area on the Swiss tourism page mySwitzerland.com.
There is information on events, highlights, activities, accommodation and some wonderful impressions of the area.
Take a gondola to an amazing lookout point high above the stunning Alpstein with views to 4 countries. And experience the incredible rotating restaurant!
This is a beautiful hike passing through quiet, beautiful woods and moorland and then slowly climbs to enjoy stunning, 360 degree views from Hochalp. After leaving Hochalp it continues through pretty alpine meadows to Urnäsch.
This is a wonderful gentle stroll from Weissbad in Appenzellerland. It passes through woods and meadows to Appenzell with fantastic views of Alpstein and then returns to Weissbad along the babbling river Sitter.
This wonderful short hike starts and finishes in the centre of the pretty Appenzeller town of Gais passing over rolling hills and the "peaks" of Sommersberg and Gabris. With of course, glorious views all around!
The week before we'd made a wonderful hike close to the Appenzeller town of Urnäsch so we decided to visit the area again. This was an equally beautiful hike from the town of Urnäsch, enjoying glorious views from along the Hochhamm, down through the pretty woods around Färenstetten and back to Urnäsch. Stunning!
This is a glorious hike over a broad ridge between Urnäsch and Appenzell. It passes over the little peak of Hundwiler Höhi and has simply stunning views over the rolling hills of Appenzellerland and further across to the Swiss and Austrian alps. And there's a wonderful little river close to Urnäsch. Beautiful.
For such a simple and relaxing stroll, this hike in north-east Switzerland has wonderful views to 4 countries. There are views across Lake Constance to Germany, a vast expanse of the Vorarlberg Alps in Austria, most of little Liechtenstein and of course Switzerland. A lovely way to spend a couple of hours!
This stunning hike starts from Rebstein in the Rhine valley and ends in the town of St Gallen. It passes through beautiful and less well known areas of Appenzellerland. It is a perfect long day hike at almost any time of year - even in winter!
New Years Day 2016, a severe shortage snow and heavy fog in the Rhine valley. So we decided to hike up to Kronberg in Appenzellerland and hope, hope, hope we would be able to get above the fog... We were lucky!
