Hike Maderanertal

A circular hike in the Maderanertal valley offers everything that mountain hikers love: a steep ascent is followed by a fantastic high-altitude hike. After a stop at the hut and the much gentler descent, a refreshing swim in a picturesquely situated mountain lake beckons. The route runs on natural surfaces throughout.

When you are in the Maderanertal valley, you immerse yourself into a different world. While down in the narrow Reuss valley, heavy traffic rages on the motorway, four kilometres further east you are enveloped in grandiose silence. Already in former times, the Maderanertal was a universe of its own. The east-west incision in the terrain is so deep that no sunlight can reach the valley floor for five months of the year.
Thus, it is an area where one may not necessarily want to live in. Nevertheless, there are several small villages and scattered settlements in the valley. Nature and people here are still a little less highly clocked than elsewhere, which is also quickly noticeable to visitors from outside. But the big advantage of the valley, which is rich in shade, is the short distance to the sun: the wonderfully south-facing Golzern plateau can be reached in a few minutes by cable car.
The sunny slope can be explored on a varied circular hike. The hike is also suitable for children, but this requires a certain effort. From the top station of the cable car up to the Windgällenhütte, the destination respectively the turning point of the hike, there is a climb of a whopping 600 metres in altitude to overcome. The best way to do this is to complete the ascent right at the beginning by turning around in clockwise direction. At first over alpine pastures, then through loosely staggered trees, the ascent is rapid. It reaches its climax in a couloir-like valley through which the narrow path zigzags uphill.
At the alpine hut Oberchäseren, however, most of the ascent is done: from now on, the path is mostly flat or only slightly uphill. The view into the wide valley background is magnificent. The rugged walls and sharply jagged peaks that surround the Maderanertal contrast wonderfully with the idyllic lake of Golzerensee, which you will soon see shimmering in the depths.
The enjoyable high-altitude hike ends at the Windgällenhütte of the Academic Alpine Club of Zurich, where hikers, alpinists, speleologists, and nature lovers meet. The descent back to Golzern has a much lower gradient than the ascent - knees and hip joints will be grateful. The path leads over stony alpine pastures, then crosses the Stäfelbach brook and leads into light mountain forest. On the way you can enjoy beautiful views of the Golzerensee.
The descent ends at the hamlet of Seewen. To get to the lake , one has to walk back a few hundred metres into the valley. The extensive meadows along the shore are ideal for a long rest, and bathers have a raft in the water at their disposal. Level paths lead back to the top station of the cable car Bristen-Golzern.