Egelsee – hike in Aargau near Bergdietikon

Instagram is a wonderful app for discovering new places or looking for inspiration for your next weekend getaway. When I first saw a picture of Egelsee on corigold’s Instagram profile last fall, I was blown away. That’s where I want to go! Now there is not just one, but countless ponds in Switzerland that bear the name “Egelsee” (does anyone know why that is?). But thanks to the geotag used, I quickly found out that this enchanting lake is located in the immediate vicinity of the densely populated Limmat valley at the foot of the Heitersberg in the Aargau Bergdietikon.

Since the Egelsee can only be reached on foot or by bike, the crowds are kept within a tolerable range even on weekends. This makes it an ideal place for all those who don’t feel like spending Sunday bath towel on bath towel in the Letten or in the hustle and bustle around the lake basin. Funnily enough, a short flash survey in my circle of acquaintances showed that hardly anyone (including long-established Aargau residents) knows the Egelsee.

Actually astonishing, because the journey from Zurich by S-Bahn (to Dietikon) and the bus (line 305 towards Kindhausen) takes exactly 30 minutes. For us, it took a little longer because the bus driver in Dietikon was of the opinion that he was serving line 306 and therefore took a wrong turn. Of course, the mistake was immediately noticed by the local passengers and so we came back to the right road after an entertaining odyssey through neighborhood streets. We get off at the final stop Kindhausen. You can’t get any closer to the lake by motor. From here, however, it only takes 40 minutes on foot.

Hike to the Egelsee

The first part of the trail leads past fields, behind us lies the Limmat valley. After a few minutes we reach the sparse forest. There are still a few meters of altitude to overcome before the nature reserve. The moor lake only shows up when you get close. Surrounded by dense deciduous trees and embedded in a hollow, it seems somehow mysterious. When we arrive at the shore, we look for a secluded spot. Since it is already noon, there is a lot of activity. The two bathing areas are already well attended. Nevertheless, the rush is limited. Equipped with a picnic and a good book, I could easily spend the whole day here.

The map shows our route. We didn’t walk directly back to Kindhausen, but hiked on to Spreitenbach. The route is about 5.5 km long and includes an ascent of almost 300 meters to the lake. The pure running time is just over an hour. In Kindhausen and Spreitenbach there are regular bus connections to Dietikon (and from there to Zurich).

Hike Spreitenbach – Egelsee – Kindhausen: Key data of our tour in Aargau

Starting point	Bus stop Spreitenbach, shopping center
Length	5.5 km
Elevation gain	↗ 309 m 128 m ↘
Duration	1:15 p.m.
Destination	Bus stop Kindhausen