Pilatus- Golden Round Trip

We went adventuring yesterday and ended up doing the Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip. We drove to Lucerne, parked at the train station and walked to catch a boat on Lake Lucerne. We took the cogwheel train up to the top and the gondola back to Lucerne. It was an absolutely gorgeous full day with exceptional views of Switzerland.We bought our tickets at the counter in front of Lake Lucerne and hopped on the beautiful steam boat for our cruise to Alpnachstad. Once we arrived in Alpnachstad we headed to the steepest cogwheel train in the world. There were people handing out tickets for specific times to board the train, so we walked back to Lake Lucerne so the girls could have a little swim while we waited for our time on the train. It was a hot August Sunday so there was a long line for the cogwheel train, but with the ticket and time to come back, it was all quite smooth and easy.

Then we got on the cogwheel train. It’s a little red train that goes up one carriage at a time in quick succession. There are 10 railcars carrying 40 people each so the line goes quite quickly. The train goes at a 48% incline, which they boast is the steepest in the world. It took a while to reach the top, but it was such a gorgeous ride and a beautiful day so we were all enjoying the ride.

Once we reached the top of Pilatus, we got off the train and headed to find lunch. We ate at the big round self-serve lunch spot to the right. There are many choices for eating on top of Pilatus, but the place on the right was really good! I had chicken curry and it was incredible. I’m usually quite disappointed with top of mountain food, but this was absolutely delicious. Hadley and I split the dish, André had tomato soup and Heike got macaroni and cheese (Swiss style, with onions and potatoes). Delicious.

We decided to climb the stairs to a top look out spot after lunch to earn our dessert and coffee break. It was a gorgeous hike and only 10 minutes up a switch back staircase. Then we came down and enjoyed some apple strudel with custard.

From there, we took a gondola down to the toboggan and rope park, which are absolutely spectacular. I’m already trying to figure out how we can spend the night at a hotel next time so that we can do all these amazing things in Pilatus. We couldn’t fit everything into one day. I think a weekend here would be so much fun. We got off the gondola and found the toboggan ride. We had to leave everything (even our phones!) in a locker before getting on the toboggan. We each rode with one of our daughters as the minimum age for going alone is 8 years old. The line was very long and very slow, but once we were on our toboggans, it was absolutely incredible. We went past cows with their bells ringing. It was just gorgeous. And it was all of our first times tobogganing! So much fun and highly recommended. Next time we really want to do the rope park.

How to do the Golden Round Trip:

Take the train to Lucerne (or drive and park at the train station)
Buy tickets for the boat and cogwheel ride (aka The Golden Round Trip- Buy tickets in front of the boat)
Get on the boat from Lake Lucerne and get off at Alpnachstad
Get on the cogwheel train from Alpnachstad to Pilatus
Take gondola from Pilatus to Kriens (you can get off at the first stop and do the toboggan and rope park or get off one stop before Kriens for a fabulous playground)
Take the #1 bus from Kriens back to Lucerne

This was an easy day out, full of transportation. Boat, Train and Gondola. If you are taking visitors here, you can definitely do this whole day without any hiking.

This was a full day. We left our house around 10am and got home at 9pm. Make sure to check the webcams and forecast before heading out as the weather changes quickly and you want to get a gorgeous clear day for all the spectacular views. Also, the Golden Round Trip runs May-October.