How is it that you plan to walk 13.5 kilometers (and the kids agree!), but during the hike, you shorten it to 9 kilometers to their great applause… and end up walking almost 17 kilometers? And the kids don’t complain too much? Because this time, it’s not you who’s responsible for the extra kilometers, but an external member of the hiking party, whom no one dares to protest against. Thanks, Roger!
And why did we change our plans so spontaneously? The goal was clear: to complete the Vier-Seen-Höhenwanderung, according to official descriptions, one of the most beautiful routes in central Switzerland. As the name suggests, it leads around four mountain lakes and measures 13.5 km in its original version.
We shortened it at the end – instead of climbing up to the Jochpass and descending to Trübsee, we took the chairlift. However, when we were at Trübsee, someone suggested that it would be a shame to take the cable car down to Engelberg when we could walk there instead. And so we did…
I summarize our entire hike in this article.
Getting to Melchsee-Frutt
Thanks to good connections to the rail network, you can easily travel from Lucerne to Sarnen by Zentralbahn train and from there by PostBus to Stöckalp. From there, a cable car will take you to Melchsee-Frutt. The return journey is by train from Engelberg to Lucerne. When planning your trip, please note that the Postauto from Sarnen only runs once an hour during the summer season (June 14 to October 19, 2025), always at x.44 (7:44 a.m. to 4:44 p.m.). If you are traveling in the opposite direction, buses from Stöckalp run every x.40 (8:40 a.m. to 5:40 p.m.).
The price of the Stöckalp – Melchsee-Frutt cable car: a one-way ticket is required. It costs CHF 23, or CHF 11.50 with a Half-fare card. Children under 15.99 years of age travel free of charge when accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. Melchsee-Frutt belongs to the Magic Pass “family,” so if you have one, you can travel for free.
Since this is not a loop trail and the start and end points are relatively far apart, I really recommend using public transport. We again used a Tageskarte, a day ticket, which we bought for 55 francs.
Start of the trail: Melchsee-Frutt
The starting point is the top station of the cable car at Melchsee-Frutt. From here, the 4-Seen-Höhenwanderung trail leads past the Frutt-Resort to the panoramic lift. The viewing platform offers stunning views of the peaks in the canton of Obwalden and a picturesque view down to Lake Melchsee, featuring its photogenic chapel at its upper end. The lift takes you down to the lake, from where you continue along the shore through idyllic alpine pastures and past a rock face popular with climbers to the dam of Lake Tannensee. Here you will also find a lovely barbecue area with wood provided.
Lake Tannensee
The lake, which is popular with fishermen, can also be walked around from the opposite shore. Since the next picnic spot (the hut at the bottom right of the photo) was occupied, we took a break on a wooden bench a little further away with a beautiful view of the next stop on our route, Lake Engstlensee.
If your children or your legs are already protesting at the start of the route, you can take the “Frutt-Zug” train, which runs between Melchsee-Frutt and Tannalp, instead of walking.
Tannalp
From Lake Tannensee, the route follows an asphalt road. Shortly afterwards, you will arrive at Tannalp, where you can enjoy refreshments at the Gasthaus Tannalp restaurant. Right nearby is an alpine cheese dairy where you can buy fresh local products.
From Tannalp, the trail descends downhill along the rock massif, offering beautiful views of the Gental Valley. As the descent is quite steep, the trail is secured with a chain railing.
Engstlenalp a Engstlensee Lake
Engstlenalp has been a protected nature reserve since 1973. The historic Engstlenalp Hotel and Rossbodenhütte chalet are great places to stop for refreshments. Be sure to stop by and enjoy something tasty.
The route then continues along Lake Engstlensee and then climbs to Jochpass. Here, part of our group split up – the smaller part climbed up to Jochpass, while the larger part (yes, I admit, I was part of it 🙂 ) headed to the chairlift station and took the lift up to Jochpass. You pay for the lift ride at the top, and the trip costs CHF 6.50 with a Half-fare card.
At the top, we decided to take the chairlift down to Lake Trübsee because the descent was very steep and the weather wasn’t great. So if you take the chairlift up to Jochpass and then down to Trübsee, you’ll shorten your hike by about an hour. You will also pay an additional CHF 7.50 with Halb-tax for this section of the ride.
Lake Trübsee – end of the hike (not quite for everyone)
From Lake Trübsee, walk along the lake to the cable car, which will take you to Engelberg. From there, you can comfortably take the train back to Lucerne.
End of the hike for us – descent from Trübsee to Engelberg
As I mentioned earlier, we decided to walk to Engelberg. That meant we had to cover 6.5 kilometers and descend 800 meters (yes, and we didn’t even want to walk 2 kilometers with a 500-meter descent before that, I know!).
Summary
- The Vier-Seen-Höhenwanderung hike takes approximately 4.5 hours to complete and covers a distance of around 13.5 km. It depends on which shores of Lake Melchsee and Lake Tannensee you choose to hike along, both of which are easily accessible.
- Options for shortening the hike:
- Frutt-Zug train to Tannalp
- Engstlenalp – Jochpass chairlift
- Jochpass – Trübsee chairlift
- The hike can be completed in either direction.
- Bikers also use the route, so please be careful and considerate of each other.
- The route is not suitable for strollers. However, if you want to visit Melchsee-Frutt with small children, I definitely recommend it! There is even a nice themed trail around Lake Melchsee that is easy to walk with a stroller. In winter, this resort is very popular with families with children.
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