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Longbyt · #24 24.08.2009, 19:29

Glarus to Klöntaler Plätz. Time - 4 hours, Distanz - ca. 12 km, ca. 600m uphill, ca. 250m downhill.

Photos and map here.

The hiking trip to the Klöntaler Lake is a great day out. Unfortunately the GPS device didn’t like the fresh mountain air and refused to function. However, as it was such a good hike, I decided to add it to the other GPS hikes anyway. When we do it again, we can add the link.

This would be an ideal trip on which to take visitors to Switzerland who want a magnificent view and like to have earned it but are not too adventurous. Children would love the chance to go swimming in the Lake after the exertion of the walking.

The starting point is easy to reach by public transport. The trains in both directions were a bit crowded but the distances are quite short. IR train from Zürich to Ziegelbrücke, train connection to Glarus, hike to Klöntal Plätz with a Postbus back from Klöntal Plätz to Glarus and rail connections via Ziegelbrücke to Zürich.
However, this is on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer. Check the Postbus timetable before you start off or you may find yourself with a LONG wait - until next spring.

The Route.
After leaving Glarus the track goes over the Allmend. If the wind-sock is up, there is shooting going on and the gate will be closed and you’ll have to take the other signposted route to Klöntalersee.

The path is clearly marked, easy to walk and partly goes through the woods, which is pleasant as the day gets warmer. After passing the Vord. Saggberg we noticed the large 'elderly' building used for holidays camps and owned by the Glarus Schools. This was built well before the days of ‘Cheap holidays for all in the Maldives’..

At the Schwammhöchi the view opens out over the valley with the Klöntaler Lake below. A magnificent sight. The outside tables were already set for lunch when we arrived but the staff were quite happy to move the place-mats to one side to allow us to sit at a table with the best view. After a break we continued; a good path, crossing the road from time to time, leads down to the lake.

Turning left, we went past a camping site, through woods, passing small beaches, one of them being ideal for our mid-day break. Later the track climbs a little, narrows and hugs the cliffs with a steel-rope hand-hold. It is plenty broad enough though and the surface good so it is much more a safety precaution for winter conditions than a necessity in summer.

At the other end of the lake, Klöntal Plätz, there is another restaurant, but we arrived shortly before a bus was due to leave for the return journey, so we postponed refreshments. Unfortunately, the bus had to turn round at Rhodannenberg and after changing to another vehicle we lost our ‘go and bag the back seats’ which had perfectly suited our party of 4 high-spirited EF-ers + one long-suffering husband. Sitting on the steps in the second bus, with our own panoramic window in front of us, was probably just as much fun and we still had time for the ice-cream in Glarus so it hardly mattered.

It was a great hike, with great weather and in great company.

Does anyone know where we can buy a three-tone horn like the post-buses have? One of the hikers, who also cycles, thinks it would be a very useful piece of equipment, guaranteeing him a clear path ahead when he rides over mountain passes…

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