Hike to Ebenalp – Schäfler – Äscher Hütte – Seealpsee – Wasserauen

If you’re looking for one of the most famous day hikes in Switzerland, try the hike from Ebenalp to Schäfler, Äscher Hütte, Seealpsee, and Wasserauen. It has it all: dramatic ridgelines, cozy mountain huts, crystal-clear alpine lakes, and postcard-worthy views. Located in the Appenzell region, this hike combines accessible gondola rides with moderate trails, making it doable in a day while still delivering unforgettable highlights. Whether you’re here for the famous cliffside Äscher hut or the views of Seealpsee, this 6-hour trail showcases some of the very best of the Swiss Alps.

Getting there

The best place to start is Wasserauen. You can reach Wasserauen taking the train from Zürich HB to Gossau and transfer to Wasserauen. The trip will take around 2 h. Alternatively, you can drive, which takes around 1:30 h from Zürich. If you come by car, there is a large paid parking next to the Talstation, where many hikes are starting. The parking is quite cheap, we paid less than 5 CHF for a whole day.

Starting point: Take the gondola to Ebenalp. The cost for a single ride is 12 CHF with Halbtax and 24 CHF without (as per 2025).

Finishing point: Wasserauen parking lot.

Distance: there’s plenty of trails you can take. The trail we did was around 17 km, although if you make it the whole way to Mesmer you’ll hit the 20 km.

Total time: approx. 6 h

Elevation gain: 603 m

Fitness difficulty: Moderate.

Technical difficulty: Mostly easy, but from the Äscher Hütte to the Seealpsee it’s a rocky and potentially slippery train.

Facilities: There are restaurants and bathrooms in several locations, including Ebenalp, Schäfler, Äscher, and Seealpsee. Some of the places ask for some coins for using them, so have them on hand. You can also refill your water bottle in many of those, just be sure to ask where you can have drinking water.

Notes: The Seealpsee is safe for swimming.

The hike itself

Ebenalp – Schäfler

After finding parking (be aware that if the weather is good, it gets crowded), we headed towards the gondola to Ebenalp. After driving to the top, we climbed up to Ebenalp (a 10 min walk) and then decided to explore Schäfler. It takes somewhat less than 1 h from Ebenalp to the top of Schäfler.

There’s really nice views from Schäfler, and we stopped there to have our breakfast, contemplating the clouds below us.

We checked out an alternative path to descend towards the Äscher Berghaus, but there was a really nice big red label telling us that it was dangerous, and since we didn’t have the best shoes, we decided to return through the safest path.

Schäfler – Äscher

From there we headed to the Äscher Berghaus, coming back from the same side we climbed to Schäfler, which took approximately a bit more than an hour. Funnily, we saw a family hiking up with a baby who could barely walk. That’s the training the Swiss receive, so don’t feel bad when they overtake you!

The wall we hiked next to was very crowded with climbers as well, as it’s a great place if you like this sport. The hut itself was extremely crowded, but had all the necessary facilities. It’s really scenic, so it’s worth going a bit around to get good views. There were also few paragliders flying around the wall, as there’s a paragliding school in the valley.

Äscher – Seealpsee

During our descent from the Äscher Besghaus we saw quite a few people struggling to go down due to poor shoes. The descent is steep, has a lot of rocks, and is often wet, making it slippery, so know what you’re doing. After going through the hill, we reached the Seealpsee. It’s a beautiful lake, that has a 1.7 km path around it. There were multiple people jumping into the clear waters (although the temperature was only 9ºC!), and a couple of groups were preparing a BBQ.

Short detour in route to Mesmer

To extend a bit our hike, we continued our path towards Mesmer, and saw two gorgeous waterfalls and a hobbit town (cute little houses integrated in stone) next to the path. There were also very interesting rock formations. However, a big cloud seemed to fall towards the valley, so we decided to cut this part short and went back towards the lake.

Seealpsee to Wasserauen

From Seealpsee, we took the path to Wasserauen. The path back is 2.8. km, and takes about 1 h. The first part of the path goes still through the valley, but it soon becomes a forest. There’s a small stream that you have to cross, and then you start descending stairs, while the stream acquires more and more water, becoming a nice waterfall. While the free fall section of the waterfall(s) is not too high, it’s quite a big descent if you consider all the drops that the stream is doing. Once you reach the end of the forest, you’ll be able to see the parking lot next to the Talstation.

Highlights of the hike

• The views of the Äscher Hütte are really amazing, as it’s a very special construction.
• The path to Mesmer is really beautiful.
• Following the waterfall on your way back is very relaxing.