Map
Elevation Profile
Useful Links
Short Description
Amdener Höhenweg (“Amden High Trail”) in St Gall, Switzerland, features a highland moor, alpine foothill forests, as well as views of the Glarus Alps, Alpstein, Walensee, and the Toggenburg region.
The original route is horseshoe shaped, includes a cable car ride, and ends in a different village than it started.
My version skips the cable car and closes the loop, so we don’t have to take the bus back to the start.
Impressions
Seemingly ideal for a warm spring day, we chose this elongated version of the Amdener Höhenweg for our hike of the day. Elongated, because two hours is just too short to still call it a hike in good conscience, and because we prefer walking back to the car to taking the bus back.
The optional ascent was marked by the usual alps (dairy farms and grazing lands) and livestock, a very cute kitten that we almost considered trying to adopt, if we had the space at home, and people coming down from the cable car station where the official named route starts. (YMMV)
Not too crowded apart from the areas near the two villages and the cable car station, we got to enjoy our walk through the high moor and forests in peace and took in the views of the Glarus alps and lake Walen during lunch.
The optional descent was a bit on the steep side, but manageable for us novices.
The whole region had a very pleasant and calming atmosphere. We enjoyed our day 🙂
Would you like to share your own experiences with this hike? Do you have any questions? Something to add? Feel free to leave a comment below 🙂
Route Report / Gallery
Full size images without watermarks are available for licensing to interested parties. Check romans.pictures for a selection of my favorites, or contact me for details.
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
Chickens. 
Kitten 🙂 
Kitten 🙂 
We thought about asking if we may adopt him/her. 
Kitten 🙂 
Chickens 🙂 
View during the ascent. 
Cows, seeking refuge from the sun.. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
View along the “official” trail. 
View from near the top: Glarus Alps. The high moor. 
View along the way. 
View along the way. 
Flowers 🙂 
View along the way. 
View along the way. 
View along the way. 
View along the way. 
View along the way. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. Also, lunch spot. View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
View on the way back to Amden. 
View on the way back to Amden.
NEWSLETTER
Don’t miss a hike 🙂
Basic Data
| Date of Hike: | 2020-05-17 |
| Participants: | Roman, Jenny |
| Technical Difficulty: | T2: Mountain Trail (Partially) |
Stats
Roman’s Version
| Km | 14.25 |
| Net Hours (Est.) | 5 |
| Net Hours (Act.) | 5 |
| Ascent (m) | 839 |
| Descent (m) | 839 |
| Max. Alt. (m) | 1510 |
| Loop? | Yes |
| Cable Car? | No |
“Official” Version
| Km | 9 |
| Net Hours (Est.) | 2 |
| Ascent (m) | 340 |
| Descent (m) | 360 |
| Max. Alt. (m) | 1510 |
| Loop? | No |
| Cable Car? | Yes |