Walenstadt – Quinten – Weesen

This hike is long enough to fill a day but it is so beautiful that you will hardly notice the time. It offers views of lake Walensee during the entire walk and you will be surrounded by impressive mountains. The Churfirsten are towering just above, there are lovely meadows, cute little wooden houses, chapels and a lovely village shop in Quinten.

Oh, and of course one of the highest free falling waterfalls in the world. Don’t miss this!

We start in Walenstadt which is situated directly on the eastern shore of Walensee. This walk ends at the other end of the lake. In the summer the best way back is by boat so you’d want to park close to the lake. In the winter the train would be your best transport back.

On the walk we conquer about 800 hm, the first 500 of which are done within the first hour of walking. But as soon as we get to the top, we are rewarded for our efforts. Open meadows, lovely houses and the views of the lake are what awaits us up here. Actually, we get to enjoy views of the lake all the way up to here.

We cross the meadows and are soon on the way down on the other side. On this section the path gets slightly uneven, covered with roots and little rocks. This is what makes this a medium rather then an easy walk – so bring proper footwear.

The path leads back down close the the lake and soon we see the first houses. After 2 to 3 hours we first arrive in Quinten-Au and soon after Quinten.

This small village is worth a break to really enjoy. We can only reach it on foot or by boat and therefore there are no roads.

There are a couple restaurants overlooking the lake and plenty of benches to relax right next to the boat landing. A little village shop offers garden produce and in the summer you can buy figs on every corner. Benches, a bit further up, allow us to have a sit while overlooking the vineyards and the village.

Quinten is the half way point of the walk. If 3 hours of hiking are enough for you, we suggest to choose the half between Quinten and Weesen as you do not want to miss the waterfall.

Leaving the village, we enjoy the easy walk along the lake shore. Soon after, a second steep uphill starts, this one however only conquering 200 hm. Once we have reached the top, lovely meadows again open up. Did I mention the lake views? Well there are more here.

Not far now and we reach the Seerenbach waterfalls. With 585m, this is one of the highest waterfalls in the world. That’s right, not just Switzerland or Europe, the whole world! To really see it, you will need to do a 10 minute detour from the hiking path. Which we think is very well worth it. This waterfall is seriously impressive.

Once we managed to tear our eyes off the waterfall, we carry on towards Weesen. Soon we come across a few more wooden houses and a chapel scattered across an open meadow. Our tip: There are two lovely benches on the other side of the chapel for a lovely and quiet break.

Moving on from here, the path gently slopes down towards Weesen. On the way we see lovely houses which seem to be set up for the sole purpose of making everybody passing by properly jealous. And it certainly works. The good thing: some of them are available for rent as a holiday home.

Before you get into Weesen you will get to the beach area of the village which in the summer can be very busy. Should you be here on a warm off season day, enjoy the lovely grassy bathing areas.

Arriving in Weesen we make our way to the bus station as the boats don’t run in the winter. The path leads us around the western shore of the lake were in the summer the boat would leave. We enjoy one last look of this beautiful lake before following the Linth channel to the bus station.