Canton to renovate controversial hiking trail near Lake Ägeri

The Rossallmig-Sod hiking trail on the border between the municipalities of Oberägeri and Unterägeri is damaged and, in some sections, difficult to traverse. The canton now plans to repair the section and to better separate hikers and mountain bikers.
 

Anyone hiking on the trail between Rossallmig and Naas needs sure footing: the section on the border between Oberägeri and Unterägeri, above Lake Ägeri, is steep, heavily eroded, and criss-crossed with roots. It’s now scheduled for renovation this summer – the building application from the Office for Spatial Planning and Transport (Amt für Raum und Verkehr) is available for public review at the Office for Forests and Wildlife (Amt für Wald und Wild) until Wednesday, 6th May.

The building application states that traversing the sometimes steep path is "only possible to a very limited extent when the ground is wet." Add to that effect of the mountain bikers, whose braking further damages the trail surface. In addition, hikers and mountain bikers frequently stray from the path, thereby damaging the forest floor.

Separate path for mountain bikes
The canton and the landowners – the corporations of Unterägeri and Oberägeri – therefore intend to upgrade the path. Particularly steep and slippery sections will be made safer with steps made of round timber. And hikers and mountain bikers will be kept separate in two sections in order to reduce conflicts. Appropriate signage will be installed, and the new loops will also reduce the gradient, making the path more pleasant to walk overall.

To prevent bikers from accidentally taking the wrong route, tree trunks will be placed at junctions, according to the project description. And where the paths converge, clearly designed sections will ensure greater safety. Ultimately, the section should once again meet the requirements of a simple hiking trail.

Trails must be regularly maintained to ensure that hiking remains safe.     Photo: Matthias Jurt
How the path will be routed in the future (red: hiking trail, black: bike route).         Photo: Screenshot of the building application
 

The total cost of the work is CHF 13,000, writes René Hutter, head of the Office for Spatial Planning and Transport of the Canton of Zug, in response to an enquiry. The planning and design costs to date have amounted to CHF 7,000. The canton will bear the costs, while the municipalities will be responsible for maintenance. According to René Hutter, the path will remain open throughout the construction work, which is expected to begin in July and be completed by the end of August at the latest. There may be occasional and temporary disruptions, however.

Dispute led to the Zug Administrative Court
The project was preceded by several years of legal wrangling, as evidenced by a ruling of the Zug Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht ) in January 2025. This all started in 2016, when the corporations of Unterägeri and Oberägeri determined that the original path along an old forest road was hardly being used anymore.

Instead, many people chose the direct route along the ridge – the current path. Accordingly, only the new route was cleared of fallen timber during forestry work, while the old path was left to return to nature. The Zug Department of Construction (Baudirektion) then officially rerouted the hiking trail to its current route by decree in 2022,.

This didn’t sit well with the Swiss Hiking Federation (Verein Schweizer Wanderwege). In 2022, they filed an appeal with the Zug Administrative Court against the Department of Construction's decision: the current route was not an adequate replacement, as the new path was steep, difficult to traverse, and eroded. The old route, on the other hand, was described by the federation as "well-frequented, easy to walk, and low-maintenance."

Decision in favour of the canton
An out-of-court settlement, which had been sought in the early years, was not reached, despite on-site inspections, technical reports from external companies and an initial construction project by the Unterägeri Corporation dating back to 2024. This project was intended to create the new hiking trail, a proposal the Swiss Hiking Federation generally welcomed.

Ultimately, the Zug Administrative Court ruled in favour of the canton, leaving the Swiss Hiking Federation to bear the legal costs of CHF 2,000. The court deemed the new hiking trail to be a suitable replacement for the old one, provided it was properly maintained. This is finally happening – and the years-long dispute should soon come to an end.

The full construction project application can be read (in German) on:
https://zg.ch/de/dam/jcr:6b8645da-cab8-430a-9c06-4275b318328b/Bauprojekt%20Neubau%20Wanderweg%20Rossallmig-Sod.pdf