Fribourg Canton, Plaffeien (Schwarzsee)
Distance: 9.98 km.
Walking time: 2h 35 min, but signs suggested 2h 55 min (1h 50min climb)
Elevation gain: 622 m total. 550 m from Schwarzsee to the summit, additional 72 m on
the way back.
Highest point: 1,616 m.
Access: Car or bus.
Parking: at Seestrasse - 46.664560, 7.274179
We visited and walked around Schwarzsee multiple times during summer and winter time, it is truly a stunning place. If we have family or friends visiting from other countries, we always take them to Schwarzsee. This time, we decided to reach one of the summits surrounding the lake.
Overall, we really enjoyed this pathway and the views were stunning. We felt, that this summit was the smallest of the surrounding mountains. Considering that the route is steep with a lot of gravel, we would recommend wearing shoes with appropriate, deep soles or hiking shoes / boots / sandals. We did not hike during peak summer holidays, but we met quite a number of hikers - saying this, it was not crowded until the last 1/3 of the way back. We did not meet many kids or other babies. We felt it was quite OK to hike with our baby backpack, but possibly it can be too steep for little kids. There was no seating points on the way to the summit but there were 2 benches at the top.
The whole route to reach the summit was rather steep, it felt like a good workout! Initially the pathway starts with a private road, which quickly turns into a single track going in and out of the forest. We enjoyed the views at the mountains at the side and our back. Over quite a reasonable section the route became very wide, giving an illusion that it is flat - but do not get fooled. In fact, the incline was quite steep at this section, but it was well hidden by it's uneven terrain. Possibly 2/3 into our way up, we came across a fields of cows and a BULL. We were only separated by 1 field string. We were quite scared, as we have never encountered any bulls before on our hikes. It observed us as we slowly tried to walk past. The last 1/4 of the hike is through a very pleasant single track with stunning views. The way back was also very pretty. For about 1/2 of the hike we were walking towards the mountains. After a while, it opened up to the other side of the mountains which was not visible before. Soon after we started declining fast, we joined another pathway which was very wide and busy with other hikers. On this part of the route we stumbled upon another BULL. This time, there was no fence / wire between us. Other hikers in front of us seemed to be quite fearless and others even stopped to admire the bull. Again, we tried to squeeze as far as possible from it and slowly walked pass it. The last 1/4 of the way down was very, very steep and on top of concrete slabs - be careful for your knees!
It is possible to picnic / BBQ at Schwarzsee lake. There are also a number of restaurants around and a spa hotel.
You can also check out our posts about walking around Schwarzsee lake in summer and winter.
We put together this loop hike, however you can refer to SchweizMobil website here for more information about hiking routes.
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