Day Trip: Walensee

Oh the Walensee. So close to Zürich and so absolutely gorgeous. We took a little day trip to the Walensee on Saturday and goodness it was relaxing. There is nothing to do except enjoy nature and slow down a bit. My go to guide for any sporty day trip in Switzerland is always from my friend Tanya. I follow her instructions and enjoy the best of Switzerland’s natural beauty.

We drove to Weesen and parked in the parking lot at the boat launch. We did not plan accordingly and enjoyed a relaxing two-hour wait for the little ferry to arrive. The girls did not notice any of this waiting as there was a playground, lake, river, and plenty of other things to keep them busy. I ended up walking to the little Spar (a 3 minute walk) to grab some lunch supplies for an impromptu picnic while the girls swam.

When the ferry arrived, it was magical. The blue of the water was unreal. I wondered if we should just stay on the boat as it makes its way around the Walensee. (I will definitely do this next time. And thanks to everyone who mentioned visiting Quinten next time, we are going there as soon as possible!) The ferry from Weesen to Betlis only takes a few minutes.

We looked up at the sheer rockface in search of Seerenbach, the tallest freefall waterfall in Switzerland. There was no waterfall (it is summer after all!)! We were hot and did not feel like a 30 minute walk to a waterfall really anyway! But the lake is absolutely amazing and we could spend all day here waterfall or not.

Betlis has rocky beaches (sharp, steep, rock, not pebbles, so wear water shoes) which our girls loved playing in and swimming. The ferry dropped us off and did not return for a few hours (Always check the ferry schedule). We started on the hike towards the waterfall and instead ate at the restaurant while the girls played in the playground and tried to hold chickens.

One thing I thought was completely amazing was eating among the cows. We walked from the ferry to the restaurant and had to unhook the wire fence a few times as we walked along. Switzerland is absolutely amazing and even this little day trip is the reason. We ate among the chickens, cows, goats, mountain bikers, right at a working farm. Awesome. Why not?

This was an incredibly gorgeous day trip from Zürich. The girls were out in nature swimming in the lake, climbing in the river, playing in the playground, took a ferry, saw all the farm animals, and ate at a farm restaurant. This was such a relaxing day out. The ferry only comes every few hours so there is no rushing anywhere. Everything is so close and there was no crowd. Absolutely perfect.How to get there:

A 39 minute drive from Zürich HB to Weesen. Park at the boat launch at Weesen (See). The ferry takes you from Weesen to Betlis. Get off the ferry in Betlis and either enjoy the beach, hike 30 minutes to the waterfall, or enjoy the restaurant and animals. This was a wonderful day trip from Zürich.