Schwyz Canton & Lucerne Canton, Goldau.
Distance: 4.1 km.
Elevation gain: 47m.
Elevation loss: 470m.
Walking time: 55 min.
Access: Car, bus or train.
Access to the top of Rigi mountain is via a train from Goldau or Vitznau. There are also multiple cable cars, but those don't arrive at the top of Rigi.
Rigi Klösterli is also only accessible by train.
Goldau and Vitznau can be accessed by pubic transport.
We managed to do this lovely walk at the top of Rigi during our long weekend of exploring Zugersee, Ägerisee and the surrounding mountains and hills. Rigi has the highest vintage point of the area, overlooking lakes Lucerne, Zug and Lauerz. We thought it was slightly ambitious to hike to the top of the mountain with our son; but we also enjoy it when the views sink into us during a hike. We compromised with a descend hike from the top of Rigi (Kulm) to a lower train station.
The train was quite busy with fellow hikers and tourists. Saying this, Rigi Kulm didn't feel overly crowded, as some tourist places can be. As soon as we started declining, there were less and less people around.
Directly on the hiking route, there are 2 restaurants/cafes. Close to the top, there is a very cosy and pleasant Kessiboden (cash only when we visited in 2021). Restaurant Bahnhöfli is slightly further away from top. There are more cafes and restaurant around, however on other hiking routes.
There are plenty of hiking routes between Rigi Kilm (the top) and intermediate stations. Some paths are marked as mountain paths, hiking routes and others are even 'pram friendly'; as long as one doesn't mind going downhill with their all-terrain pram.
The map is available at the ticketing office and inside the trains. It can also be viewed on Bergfex website.
Most of the path follows route no. 63, which is a hiking path and a suggested route by SchweizMobil.
There is a short climb from the train station to the peak of Rigi that takes a couple of minutes. After that, the views extend in each direction and it is breathtaking looking at all of the lakes. The routes junction at Rigi Staffel is confusing - it is easy to make the same mistake we did! Thankfully we realised fast and we managed to join the path, which took us to Klösterli. Once we passed Rigi Staffel, we didn't meet any other hikers and it was very quiet. The path was not as open towards the views as the peak, but it was overlooking into the smoother side of Rigi.
The hiking path no 63 can be viewed on SchweizMobil website here. Information on all trains and cable cars going towards Rigi is available on Rigi Tourist Website here. Tickets and timetable of the historic trains from Goldau to Rigi Kulm can be accessed Rigi Tourist Website here. More information about Rigi mountain can be read over on MySwitzerland website here.
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