Winter hiking with kids on Mount Rigi & Pilatus

Hello, I am planning on hiking with my family on Mount Rigi and Pilatus next week. We are staying in Lucerne March 21 - 25 (and on to Wengen March 25 - 28). I have a question about the hiking trails. We have a 7, 5, and 2 year old. The 2 year old will be in a backpack carrier. Does anyone have specific recommendations for easy trails that are currently open?

I think Des Alps trail and the Rigi First Loop Road look like good options on Mount Rigi. I am not sure if we need to have our trails planned out ahead of time, but traveling with little ones it is better to have all options ready. Also, are there any “easy” trails at the top of the Rigi?

My husband has a fear of heights so we will not be going to the top of Pilatus. I may ride the cable car up to the top with my 2 year old while my husband has the bigger kids at the playground that is at the first cable car stop. Do children use that this time of year? It looks like there are some short hikes near the playground. Is that accurate? Thanks so much for your assistance!

We live in Florida and our kids will see snow for the first time on this trip :)

Hi GeigerFamily,

Nice choices: Mt.Rigi and Mt.Pilatus :-)

More information on both can be found here:

• https://www.myswissalps.com/rigi
• https://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus

Points to note:

• Do check the weather forecast before heading out, weather in the mountains can be unpredictable. Should it be unfavourable, sometimes they will close the cable cars.
• On a similar note, check also that the cable car or cogwheel trains are running. This can be found in the "route" tab in the above links. Some of the mountain cable cars may be having a maintenance break.
• As you are hiking, check the timetable so you are back in time to take the train down.

I think the Rigi Loop Road is a sensible choice, it is considered easy so should be fine for you and your family. If you are wanting a longer hike, perhaps the Panoramaweg would work. Easy and with wide paths. You start this hike at Rigi Kulm and it ends at Rigi Scheidegg. I did this walk a long time ago and from memory it took around 2 and half hours? The Classic Rigi walk is another easy walk, taking around 1 hour 10 minutes. This starts at Rigi Kulm and ending at Rigi Kaltbad.

The playground at Mt. Pilatus is called Pilu Land and yes you will need to alight at the first stop, Krienseregg. I am sure you will find children playing here if the weather is pleasant :-)

For hikes in the area, if your children are willing to, especially once they have seen the playground ;-) there are a few dotted around, all fairly easy but I would check with the local tourism office to see if these trails are open. As some trails are not recommended for walking till May.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Yolanda

Yes, this helps! Thank you, Yolanda. I will most certainly check the weather forecast the day before. Seeing as we only have a few days, do you think it’s worth a trip up to Mount Rigi if the forecast is cloudy/partly cloudy or rain? We are prepared with water-resistant clothes and shoes. However we did not have room to pack umbrellas.

Hi GeigerFamily,

I would still go ahead if the forecast is cloudy. I would check the webcam if the forecast is rain as usually this indicates it could be snowing at the summit. You can check the mountain webcam here: www.rigi.ch/en/inform/webcams

Regards,

Anna

Thank you, Anna. We will check the webcam in the morning. (I have been looking at the webcam almost every day for a couple months. So beautiful!)