St. Gallen, Grabs
Distance: 10.3 km.
Walking time: 2h 10 min
Elevation gain: 417 m.
Highest point: 1,500 m.
Access: Car or bus.
Parking: at Parkplatz Voralpsee
We didn't plan this route for our hike that day, but we enjoyed it a lot. Initially, we planned on climbing ~700m up to the cliffs; however, the snow didn't melt enough (we came to Voralp in mid-May) and so we decided to hike at lower altitudes. There are multiple hikes in this area and we decided to merge two different hiking routes - Rheintaler Höhenweg and a pathway change decided on the spot.
The route was very scenic throughout the entire walk. We got the feeling that the Grabs area was not very tourist-oriented and that the majority of people visiting the parking were from not very far. Most people would walk directly to the lake and we met very seldom fellow hikers on this route. We also didn't spot many benches, two locations which I can recall are more-or-less at picture numbers 2 and 3. Usually our son really enjoys hiking with us as he gets to see many animals around our travels; however, on this walk we didn't come across many.
At the first incline, the hike follows a tarmac road, later a car-width gravel road and then a single grass track. Once reaching the top of this incline, the pathway follows a car-width gravel/dirt road. After arriving at viewpoint no. 4, we followed the dirt road until we deviated into a grass single-track path. This is where we started to climb upwards again. The pathway was not very clear and for a few moments we walked next to the forest. We reached a chalet around which there was a spectacular view at the facing mountains. This was also a start of a short, but very, very steep stone pathway until we reached the viewpoint at picture no. 2. From there, the decline was a car-width pathway until the parking; firstly covered in grass, later in gravel, concrete blocks and tarmac. The decline was quite consistent.
There is a diner/snack bar Grillhuesli Voralpsee at Voralpsee, which is slightly off this pathway, but it is definitely worth visiting the lake.
To read more about our short walk to Voralpsee lake, click here.
More information about this hike can be found on SchweizMobil website here.
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