A Guide on Hiking the Schäfler Ridge
Travel Tips for Schäfler
Staying in St Galen versus Appenzell will be a longer commute but also save you tons of money.
Owning some version of a Swiss Pass or a GA Pass will get you a 50% discount on the Ebenalp cable car.
Take the paved road up to Seealpsee and the mountain forest trail down. More on that later.
Plan for a meal at Berggasthaus Schäfler because the food is good and the prices shockingly cheap.
It’s possible to change trains shortly after departing Wasserauen to reach your final destination faster.
Trail markers are mustard yellow signs mounted on poles. Look for them when hiking so you know you’re on track.
Hiking the Schäfler Ridge
Hiking the alps is a goal of ours in every country while traveling Europe. In Italy we’ll explore the Dolomites, in France we’ll section hike the Tour du Mont Blanc, and in Switzerland we climbed Schäfler. The Schäfler ridge is tough to reach because it’s hours by train from a major city but it’s absolutely worth the effort!
The ridge looks like a fantasy landscape. It’s peaks are broad, coarse, and jagged. Berggasthaus Schäfler is a mountain house perched on top of Schäfler overlooking the gnarly ridge line where terrain forces hikers onto a narrow trail. This is where they must trust their balance and a chain for stability. So of course, the daunting ascent of Schäfler sounded like a perfect day for us! How could we pass up that kind of hike or photographic opportunity?!
The hardest parts of hiking Schäfler when living out of a backpack is deciding where to stay, and figuring out what to do with all your belongings. The first problem was easier.
You either climb up and stay on the mountain or visit from a town nearby. Appenzell is a postcard perfect town and closest to the mountain but costs a premium to stay in. Plus cowbells may keep you awake. Alternatively, reaching Berggasthaus Schäfler gives you access to their cheaper dorm rooms with a restaurant and bar. We chose the latter. Hiking up a mountain carrying literally everything you own sounded miserable so we still had to solve our second issue. We discovered that the Ebenalp cable car station at the base of Schäfler actually holds luggage for those going up Schäfler. Weight dropped! Now that we had our night’s stay and luggage sorted out we could hike! Here’s how we reached the alpine lake Seealpsee, the top of Schäfler, plus and our hiking tips.
Starting Your Hike
Both Seealpsee and Schäfler trailheads can be reached by car, or by taking a train to the Wasserauen train station. It’s a fairly remote station an hour by train from St Gallen where we stayed the night before. Don’t worry about train tickets selling out or missing a train. We rode a Saturday train to Wasserauen and had plenty of space plus many options on departure times.
On a clear day the mountains are visible for the entire train ride from St Gallen. Their enormity really hits once you arrive in Wasserauen where you’ll be greeted by alpine pastures, mountains all around, and para gliders above. You’ll also see the Ebenalp cable car station directly across the road from the train station. Cable car staff will hold your luggage in their office if you’re using their services. They also have free maps of the area’s trails. Stop by this station for a map before hiking.
Hiking To Seealpsee
From the Wasserauen train station, start hiking down the road towards the mountains (west) away from the cable car station. You have two trail options to reach Seealpsee.
The first is to continue following the road you’re on heading west. It’s paved all the way to Seealpsee and is a very direct route. You won’t feel like you’re hiking deep in nature, but you’ll be an efficient hiker with more time at the lake. You’ll also quickly discover that whomever classified this road trail as “medium difficult” is a liar. It is very steep! The steep sections aren’t long but I promise you’ll feel them. You’ll also find that there isn’t much sun protection on the road. Along the way you’ll also have access to intersecting trails that climb the Schäfler mountains. Feel free to explore, but stick to the road if you’re just trying to reach Seealpsee.
The second trail option to Seealpsee is the mountain forest trail near the Wasserauen train station. It’s is a pretty hike through the woods and includes a small waterfall. Exiting the train station, head left (west) toward the mountains and look for barns and pastures on your left near the paragliding booth. You’ll see hikers going up steep hills behind the pastures and into a forest. That’s the trail you’re looking for, but not a trail you want to be on! You won’t get to enjoy all the pretty features around you because you’ll be distracted by huffing and puffing your sweaty self up this unnecessarily steep trail full of high steps and loose gravel.
The trail takes you higher than needed so you’ll find yourself descending into Seealpsee. It’s a tough option making the paved road seem flat so I don’t recommend this hike.
Since you chose the paved road, you’ll reach beautiful Seealpsee within an hour. Right away you’ll be floored by the sapphire water and peaks around the lake. There’s a mountain house on the lake that serves food and drink with indoor and outdoor seating. There’s also a toilet available so don’t pee in the lake. Hiking around Seealpsee takes maybe half an hour. Swimming is permitted as long as you can tolerate that frigid water!
Hiking To Schäfler
You have two options to reach Schäfler from the train station. The first option is to ascend 1500 meters up a grueling trail for four hours. There’s nothing wrong with that and it makes a great day hike, but you can cut that ascent in half. Walk across the street from the train station to the Ebenalp cable car station and ride it to the top of their route which shaves off half the ascent. You’ll pay a small fee (smaller if you have a travel pass) but you’ll have saved hours of hiking. That’s perfect if you want more time at the summit.
Once the cable car reaches the top you’ll be able to enjoy the para gliders taking off. You can and should also take a detour downhill and view the Aescher Hut. On your way to Aescher you’ll descend through a cold mountain cave, pass by a mountain chapel on the edge of a cliff, and have striking views of the mountains for the entire hike. The Aescher guest house uses the mountain face as a wall making it one of the most visually iconic mountain huts in the world. Expect a crowd taking photos at this location and use it for a quick snack with a killer view. There is also a full restaurant inside if you want to wait for patio seating or didn’t bring your own food. From Aescher, return to the cable car station and follow the path and signs further uphill toward Schäfler.
The trail from the upper cable car station to Schäfler is a steep beginning, then it mostly flattens out, and then there’s nothing but quad busting switch backs in the home stretch. On a clear day you’ll see Berggasthaus Schäfler on the summit for the entire hike as shown in the image. That’s your end goal! If the weather is bad, you won’t see it until you’re close, and remember, up here you won’t have any cover from the elements. From the cable car station, follow the signs to Schäfler which will take you to the right of the Berggasthaus Ebenalp. That has tons of food and drink, but it’s less than a couple of hours until you reach the summit. However, use the restroom here if you need one because there are no other options until you reach the top of Schäfler. There’s also tons of food and drink at Schäfler but with a far better view.
Passing Berggasthaus Ebenalp ends the early steep section and takes you to the middle flatter section. Read flatter as, “sometimes flat, mostly just not steep”. This section will be on a narrow trail hugging the north side of the mountain you’re hiking. You’ll have solid views of the beautiful pastures to the north and an excellent view of the approaching Schäfler range. You’ll reach Chlus at the end of this trail section which also marks the end of anything flat. Chlus looks like a stable but marks an important point in the hike where three major trails intersect. Head left (south) to reach Seealpsee in the valley, head right (north) to reach the trails around the range, or go straight (west) up the switchbacks to reach the summit. Most of the elevation gain hiking to Schäfler from Ebenalp is in this last little stretch. Get ready to be tired!
The final push is a fairly short distance, but it’s very, very steep! If you haven’t realized by now, Swiss steep is much worse than American steep. Pace yourself so you won’t have to rest every couple of switchbacks. Otherwise expect to be a sweaty mess as you reach the top. Two thirds of the way up you’ll reach a saddle in the ridge which is flat and perfect for photos. Just don’t stop for long! From the saddle you’re about ten minutes of hiking from the top, done with switchbacks, and only have a short steep hill remaining.
Reaching the top is unforgettable!
You’ll immediately be hit by views of all the peaks in the range. The smell of fresh food and beer from Berggasthaus Schäfler will hook you. And you should let it, you’ve earned that beer and Rosti! Grab a table if you can find one or make mountain friends by asking to join a table with space. Everyone up here loves hiking, the mountains, and a good conversation over a beer. I highly recommend spending the night here because you’ll get spectacular sunsets and sunrises with good weather. Breakfast is included in the cost of a room. The facilities are clean and spacious, plus meeting other hikers is fun. Staff is incredibly friendly and speaks English well. I can’t wait to return!
