Walking Utliberg station to Uto Kulm with seniors

We are group of 6 people with some senior people. we want to visit Utliberg from zurich by S10 train. From UTLIBERG station to Uto Kulm how long does it take by walkin? Will it be very steep & stranuous for senior members (with age group of 75)

Hi Sulnata -

Uto Kulm has a very nice restaurant and the observation tower gives great views.

This map will show you the exact details -

map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=swisstopo&lang=d e&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo .pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisst opo.zeitreihen,ch.bfs. gebaeude_wohnungs_regi ster,ch.swisstopo.swis stlm3d-wanderwege,ch.swisstop o.landeskarte-farbe-10&layers_visibility=f alse,false,false,false &layers_timestamp=1864 1231,,,&X=244962.00&Y= 679369.50&zoom=11

The climb is 58 meters in about 400 meters. It is steep enough that some may wish or need to stop a couple of times along the way. It is short enough that most people can make it, even if they have to stop now and then.Depending on your state of fitness, the walk can take 10-20 minutes. I used to count on ten minutes when I was walking up to the hotel.

If you are staying at the hotel, they will pick you up at the station.

Slowpoke

Thanks . Is it better to visit Dolderbahn from Romerhof instead of Uetliberg?

Hi Sulnata -

<<"Thanks . Is it better to visit Dolderbahn from Romerhof instead of Uetliberg?">>

I don't know; I don't understand the question. Better for what purpose? Dolderbahn is a funicular ..."bahn" means "train." Uetliberg is a mountain.

Slowpoke

What i meant was since going to uteliberg involved some steep walking and my purpose of going up was to get good view of zurich city ,would going up by dolderbahn from romerhof be better in the sense involve less steep walking at top and yet give me zurich city view

Hi Sulnata-

I suggest that you ask at ourist Informationin the main station at Zürich. They can probably suggest a location that meets your needs..

Just don't forget that walking is a legitimate form of public transportation in Switzerland, and that in general the Swiss (no matter how old they are) are perfectly happy to walk up hills or down.

To understand these following comments, please refer to the map that I linked earlier. You can zoom out, then zoom in on the eastern side of Zürich, including Zürichberg. Also, I have linked to another map of the area on top of Zürichberg near the Zoo.

There are good views of Zürich from the Hotel Dolder (or Waldhaus Dolder) , I am sure. That is accessible from the Dolderbahn. It is an expensive luxury hotel. They probably have a terrace where you could stop for a cup of tea or coffee. Don't know, but it seems likely. Whether or not they are available from any of the funicular stops is not clear to me. I have walked from the upper station of the Dolderbahn (Bergstation Dolderbahn) to Adlisberg - nice restaurant - a few times, and recall that you cannot really see down to Zürich from there. I am pretty sure that there are too many trees around the station. If you do walk up to Adlisberg, you are far enough onto the plateau that you do can look down on Zürich. The walk is not steep, but it still is significantly uphill.

On Zürichberg, there is another way to see down to Zürich. I am trying to recall exactly what the best place is. It is somewhere along the highest road from the end of tramline #6 (stop named "Zoo" near the zoological garden) in the northwest direction to the funicular Rigiblick, which is accessible from tram line at Station Selbahn Rigiblick on tramlines #9 and #10. There are two streets which make that connection. The lower is Susenberg Strasse. A bus #39 runs along that street and connects the two stops. I am pretty sure that there are too many houses along that street for a good view. The street that you want is has several names; at the end nearest the Zoo stop it is "Orellistrasse." From the Zoo stop it has a moderate climb and somewhere along it are quite good views down to the city. The views are good enough that there were Russian artillery batteries up there when Naoleon's troops were attacking Zürich.

Directly above and slightly to the northwest of the top station of Seilbahn Rigiblick is Restaurant Spice im Rigiblick. ( I recall that it has two Michelin stars. Expensive.). From their terrace, there are wonderful views of Zürich. Although there is some climb involved, it can be taken gradually.

This map gives a good idea of the region.

map.search.ch/?x=631m&y=-347m&z=256&poi_id=68c5 f4b22b265d75-tel&poi=bergbahn,gastr o,haltestelle,parkhaus ,viasuisse,zug

Separately, I will add a post about a different viewpoint on Uetliberg.

Slowpoke

Hi Sulnata-

There is a place on Uetliberg near Uto Kulm with excellent views of Zürich and also to the west. It is at Uto Staffel. Please look at the Swisstopo map that I linked in an earlier post. Zoom out just a little bit and you will see this place.

At Uto Staffel, along the trail direction Felsenegg, is a very nice and not extremely expensive restaurant.

It is called Berggasthaus Uto Stafel. It sits on a saddle, with excellent views in either direction. It is surrounded by a terrace with magnificent views. As a courtesy, you might buy a cup of coffee or tea before using their terrace to see the views. Or, you might wish to have a meal there. I have attached a view of Zürich taken from their in April 2014, when there was unusually clear weather over much of Switzerland.

This link is in German, but a google search will reveal reports in English.

www.uto-staffel.ch/

Study of the Swiss topo map that I linked earlier will show you that it is on almost the same altitude ( a bit over 800 meters) as the train station. Unfortunately, you must first walk upward a bit, then downward, to reach the saddle. On the way back up to the station from the restaurant there is bench half way where you can stop to rest. The climb is noticeable, probably 25 or 30 meters, on a really good path, and not as steep as the climb up to Uto Kulm.

Worth considering.

Trains up and down from Zürich main station run every 30 minutes, from early in the day until late at night, so you would not have to rush to get one

Slowpoke

Hi Sulnata,

Another option is to take the Seilbahn Rigiblick (funicular) up to the top station, where there is a small park adjacent to the Seilbahn station. Access to the park from the Seilbahn is on level ground, and there is a nice view over Zürich, the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich) and the mountains beyond.

To get there from Zürich Hauptbahnhof (main station), take the #10 tram (direction Zürich Flughafen) to the tram stop called "Seilbahn Rigiblick" (6 stops, 9 minutes). The bottom station of the Seilbahn Rigiblick is at the far end of a small plaza near the tram stop. Standard Zürich public transport fares/tickets apply, and it is in the central fare zone (zone 110).

Alpenrose

Hi Alpenrose-

<<"Access to the park from the Seilbahn is on level ground, and there is a nice view over Zürich, the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich) and the mountains beyond.">>

Great idea - glad that you have a good memory of the area.

Here is an aerial image from SwissTopo

map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=swisstopo&lang=d e&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo .swissimage&layers=ch. swisstopo.zeitreihen,c h.bfs.gebaeude_wohnung s_register,ch.swisstop o.swisstlm3d-wanderwege,ch.swisstop o.landeskarte-farbe-10&layers_visibility=f alse,false,false,false &layers_timestamp=1864 1231,,,&X=249108.00&Y= 684146.00&zoom=12

I did not recommend it because I could not remember the region around the Bergstation. Every time I have gone up there, I have been meeting friends, and I (and we) have always immediately looked up the hill, since we we immediately started the walk uphill - either toward the forest or to the restaurant, and I have only come down at night, usually rushing because a car was about to leave.

It should be the perfect answer for Sulnata. Of course, a clear day is required. ;-)

If they want a nice walk, they could walk over toward the Zoo or the last stop of the #6. However, it may be more than the older members of their party would want to do. For some reason, I have always come down on the #6 in the daylight.

I found a photo taken in early November 2014 from near the Zoo. As noted before, at that location you are too far back from the "edge" to see the city itself.

However, it is a nice view of the clouds over the mountains, even if a bit hazy.

There are some beautiful places on the lake itself. I have attached some photos taken near Hurden and Rapperswil, several miles further along the lake to the southeast, at the place where the road and railroad cross the lake at a shallow spot between Pfäffikon and Rapperswil. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from Zürich main station. The walk across the narrow place in the lake is easy, with a nice boardwalk through the nature preserve.

But, it is a bit far from Zürich for a casual visit.

Slowpoke

Thanks a lot Sĺowpoke

Thanks Alpenrosr666