The Schäfler Ridge is one of the more famous areas of the Alpstein mountain range. You don't necesarily have to hike on the ridge to enjoy the view. Many people hike up to the Schäfler mountain hut, which is perched on a peak at the start of the ridge. You can snap your photos a safe viewpoint and enjoy lunch with a view. This is a good choice for casual hikers and those with smaller children.

Adventurous hikers can continue past the hut onto the ridge itself. This part of the trail is dangerous, with steep slopes and exposed sections with cables. This ridge trail is definitely not for everyone, only for experience hikers comfortable with risk. I've done it twice and feel very stressed both times.

How to get there

This trail is accessed with the Ebenalp cable car - Schwendetalstrasse 82, 9057 Wasserauen. There is metered parking near the cable car, payable with coins or parking app. It can be very crowded on weekends, so best to arrive early to get a spot.

By train, go to Wasserauen, Bahnhof, which is directly across from the cable car station.

Tickets

You'll need a ticket on the Ebenalp cable car but it depends on where you intend to hike. If you hiking to the hut and back or doing our ridge loop trail, you'll need a round trip ticket on the cable car.

We suggest buying the ticket online so you can skip the line.

Hike to Schäfler hut

From the top of the cable car, follow signs to Schäfler. It takes 1h20 to reach the hut and ridge viewpoint. If you aren't hiking the ridge, you can have lunch at the hut, then walk back the way you came. This would also be a great place to spend the night, but you'll need to book far in advance.

Trail to hut: moderate • 4.8 km round trip from cable car • about 2h40 • 320m up and down
See trail map.

Ridge trail

If you want to hike the ridge, continue past the Schäfler hut, following signs to Seealpsee. The first couple minutes are on a narrow path with a very steep drop off to one side - no fence, just a handrail on the rock wall next to you. Then you'll navigate a ladder and other obstacles as you traverse the ridge.

After about 30 mins, the trail starts to fork in several directions. We did a loop, traversing the mountain back to the Ebenalp cable car.

Ridge trail loop: moderate difficulty but risky • 7.5 km loop • 3h30 • 450m up and down
See trail map.

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Another popular option is to hike to the Mesmer hut, then down to the Seealpsee lake. This is a very long route and has more tricky exposed sections (rated T4) to navigate. See trail map.