Hike to Klöntalersee – Indian summer with a soundtrack

If you want to get to the mountains quickly and easily from Zurich (and no, the Uetliberg does not belong to the category of mountains in my opinion), sooner or later you will end up in the canton of Glarus. Näfels, for example, can be easily reached by train in 1.5 hours. The journey to the main town of Glarus doesn’t take much longer either. The Glarus region is characterized by large differences in altitude, as it goes steeply up the mountain flanks to the left and right starting from the Linth plain. Because of these narrow valleys and the famous Schabziger cheese, the Glarus region is also teasingly called “Zigerschlitz” or, in the words of the Glarus hip-hop band Luut & Tüütli (translated into High German, this means “loud & clear” ;)) “Im Schlitz”.

To be honest, I don’t know how active Luut & Tüttli still are. In any case, I bought their CD “Als Chänteds Bärgä Versetzä” about ten years ago and listened to the song “im Schlitz” for a while in repeat mode. Although a few years have passed, the Glarus region has been inseparably linked to this song for me ever since.

I think Luut & Tüütli are quite right to dedicate a song to their homeland, because the Glarus region has some beautiful excursion destinations on offer. We wanted to take advantage of the mid-season for a trip to the Klöntalersee. In summer, it can get quite crowded here, but with the falling leaves, most day and camping tourists disappear.

It’s a pity, because if you’re looking for some Indian summer feeling in Switzerland, you’ll find a colourful spectacle in the Klöntal.

As expected, it was incredibly quiet around the Klöntalersee. We crossed isolated cyclists and walkers with dogs on the way. On the lake itself, only a few boats were still bobbing back and forth, all the others were already being transported to winter storage. We enjoyed the idyllic autumn atmosphere and the few rays of sunshine that fought their way over the Glärnisch massif. As a reward, we also treated ourselves to a good portion of apple strudel in the Rhodannenberg restaurant.

Now it’s your turn. Soundtrack and enjoy the autumn pictures of Lake Klöntalersee!

Up the valley along the Löntsch in the direction of Klöntalersee

The Sweet Reward

The map shows our route, the outward and return routes are practically identical. The route is about 9.5 km long, includes an ascent of 350 meters and a descent of about 350 meters in altitude. It took us just under 2.5 hours (without a longer stop). The starting point is the Riedern Post bus stop (bus line Näfels – Glarus). From April to mid-October (summer season), a post bus runs from Glarus directly to Lake Klöntal.