Best walks in the canton - Part 6

Our author; Harry Ziegler, reveals why he now enjoys a hike around the Zugerberg, unlike in his youth.

"So, family, we’re going off into nature today," my parents used to announce. Nature was almost always synonymous with a walk on the Zugerberg. As a child, I found this circuit of the Zugerberg to be not much fun – because we mostly had to march along in our Sunday best, which certainly hindered my wish to get down in the dirt. So the walk didn’t include any playgrounds or puddle-jumping. Boring!

The fact that I later took the same path past the Vordergeissboden and the Hintergeissboden as a boy scout, and thereby experienced a number of adventures, hardly changed my negative attitude to this path. I therefore didn’t walk it again for decades. Until the moment when my family, my dog and I knew every blade of grass and every bump on the path on our usual walks, and the desire to walk somewhere else arose more and more.

Ideal for ventilating your head
I don't know what led me to propose this circular hiking trail on the Zugerberg as an alternative. But the more often we followed this path, the greater the enthusiasm. What I had forgotten was the scenic beauty once you’ve left the mountain station of the funicular and the Vordergeissboden behind you. When you then look past the forest towards green meadows – you can really feel content to be in Switzerland. And this feeling is guaranteed if you breathe in and out deeply several times: you feel relaxed, your head is ventilated, negative thoughts are not exactly displaced, but fade into the background. And all while enjoying the three-quarters of an hour hike (at a leisurely pace).

Rest before turning back. The couple look down on the Hintergeissboden (on the right).

This circular hiking trail is now called the "Hase". And is also manageable for people who are not hardcore hikers. It is also accessible for strollers. If you’re walking with a stroller, you only have to make a diversion in the Räbrüti-Hintergeissboden section, to avoid a turnstile, But this is easily possible thanks to the nearby road.

What makes this walk quite relaxing for parents is, on the one hand, the large Schattwäldli playground, as well as the option of visiting a restaurant if the rumbling tummies of the offspring show the first signs of hunger. This problem can be easily solved at one of the restaurants at the beginning of, and along the route: Zugerberg, Vordergeissboden and Hintergeissboden. And of course, the restaurateurs also offer something for the parents.

My dog and I like this walk better every time. It’s an example of how original reluctance can become love.

Note: In this series, our authors present their favourite route in the canton of Zug.