The Dossen: unfamiliar trails in a very popular area

One of the most famous mountains in Switzerland is the Rigi. As it's relatively close to Zurich, I've been up there plenty of times already. One time from Arth-Goldau, many times from Weggis or Vitznau, sometimes I went for myself, sometimes I took my friends along. No matter with whom or in which season however, the goal was always the same: Rigi Kulm, the highest point in the whole mountain range. A few times I also walked up the Rigi Hochflue, which is the last (or the first, depending on how you look at it :)) peak of the mountain range, but it never crossed my mind to visit the area in between. This changed when I saw a reel on Insta about the Dossen, which simply looked spectacular and seemed to be much less visited than its popular neighbors. So, I put it on the list for a visit in spring and fortunately, the time to check it out came sooner than expected. :) While I was checking the map the day before the hike, I realized that the train from Arth-Goldau, which goes up all the way to Rigi Kulm, stops quite a few times along the way. That was new to me as I had never used that train before. Since I had planned to do an easy spring hike, the train was the perfect excuse for skipping some part of the ascent and so I headed to Arth-Goldau on a sunny Friday morning. The train wasn't very full and sitting down to enjoy the ride, the journey was already over 10 minutes later, as I got out at the station of Kräbel. In theory, I could have gone a station further, but as I was in the area for the first time, I wanted to explore as many trails as possible. :) From Kräbel, there was only one way to go and starting to walk on a narrow hiking path, I headed directly into the woods. That was perfectly fine however, as the sun was already pretty strong and I didn't mind doing the first part of the ascent in the shade. :) Fortunately, the trail didn't go upwards straightaway, at first, it more or less kept the altitude and only after some time, it eventually began to lead upwards. Before long a turnoff appeared and turning left, I soon came upon a clearing with a first view. Looking towards the Wildspitz and the Lauerzer lake, I took a quick break to admire the scenery.

If only every first view would be as nice :)

The lovely view remained until I reached the Dächli restaurant at the end of the clearing. As it was way too early to have a drink, I walked past it and right into the first steep slope of the day. By now, the trail was wide and gravelly and luckily being back in the shade of the trees, I made my way upwards slowly but steadily. Passing a couple of turnoffs, I came upon a small protection hut at the end of the slope and decided to take a break there. Resuming the ascent about 10 minutes later, I left the forest and its steep slope behind and started to walk on a wide path that shortly afterwards turned into a paved road. The ascent in that section was gentle and the walking on the road as easy as it gets, so it was a good opportunity to make some headway. After some time, a small chapel appeared and right there a turnoff led onto a grassy hillside. Having no desire to continue my walk along the street, I took the chance and turned onto the narrow hiking trail. It was a lovely change, as the meadows were full of blooming flowers, some cows could be seen a bit higher up and the ground was just so much nicer to walk on. :)

What would you prefer? A trail like this or a paved road? For me, the answer is easy :)

Unfortunately, the "detour" didn't last very long and way too soon I was back on the road. Rigi Klösterli however, wasn't that far away anymore and reaching the settlement about ten minutes later, I walked past the huge chapel and right afterwards took the turnoff towards Rigi Staffel. I didn't come very far though, as a bench just outside of Rigi Klösterli was too inviting to pass and so I sat down for another break. :) Once I was ready to move on, a wide hiking trail led back into the forest, where not much later on, another turnoff appeared. Taking a left turn towards Rigi First, the part that now followed was easily the best so far. Being back on a narrow trail once more, it led over meadows and through forests, had some very nice views in between, while at the same time the ascending slope was gentle and there were absolutely no people at all. :)

Would I have taken no break before, I would have taken one here :)

Too bad that that part didn't last very long either, as way too soon I had reached the settlement of Rigi First. Right there, I was able to choose from no less than six trails, so I first had to figure out where exactly I had to go. :) Well, I knew I wanted to take the path that led past the Schild on its right side and when I finally had figured out which one it was, it only took a few steps on the trail to come across a sign, which said that in winter it was closed due to its proneness of falling ice. Oh oh, what was I to expect? :) Obviously, in May there was no ice anymore and so I started straightaway to walk along the wide path that led into the woods once more. Soon I noticed that it seemed to be a pretty popular way as there were much more people than on the trails before. A few times the view also partly opened up, hinting at a marvelous scenery, but mostly the trees were in the way. So, I just walked on, until the path eventually began to narrow, the trees started to recede and steep rock walls began to rise to my left. Finally, leaving the forest behind, the full panoramic view opened up to my right and immediately it was obvious why the trail was so popular. While the view from Rigi Kulm is fantastic, the view from the "Felsenweg" (as that trail was called), was just as fantastic or maybe even a little bit better. :)

Simply gorgeous!!

Looking at the Lake of Lucerne and the Alps of Central Switzerland, I couldn't just walk on, I had to take some time to admire the scenery. :) Unfortunately, the numerous benches along the way were all occupied, as it was around noon already and many hikers had decided to eat their lunch there. Well, what a perfect spot to do that! So, leaning against the guard railing, I enjoyed the panorama for the next 15 minutes, before eventually, the time had come to head towards the Dossen.

Because it was so beautiful, here's another picture. :) This was the last view, just shortly before I left the "Felsenweg"

Saying goodbye to the "Felsenweg", the path ended at a wide gravel road, where I turned towards the right. What followed was a rather dull walk along that road, until after about 10 minutes the crossing of an old train bridge brought some sort of entertainment. Just afterwards was a BBQ area, as well as the turnoff that eventually led me onto the Dossen ascending slope. Looking at the steep rise in front of me, I first took a short break to eat a snack and drink some water. That turned out to be a wise decision, as once I entered the slope, the trail knew only one direction: upwards. Having no shade at all, the ascent turned into quite a sweaty affair, but the views that came with it, easily made up for the effort. :)

The outlook towards the end of the ascent. Rigi Kulm is the peak to the right with the huge antenna :)

Fortunately, the slope wasn't that long and about 20 minutes after I had set foot on it, I already came upon the small Dossen. A bench was there, but as it was occupied there was no reason to stay and so I directly moved on towards the main peak. Five minutes and a lovely ridge walk later, I stood upon the Dossen and marveled at the fantastic panorama. The Rigi mountain range was in full view, the Alps of Uri as well and even the Säntis could be seen at the horizon, it was just as stunning as I had imagined it to be, ever since I had seen that reel on Insta. :)

The view from the ridge, just before the main peak. On the summit itself, the Lake of Lucerne unfortunately was mostly hidden by trees

There was a bench on the top of the Dossen as well, but it too was occupied when I arrived. The family however said goodbye a few minutes afterwards and left me alone with three farmers that were doing work on some fences nearby. They didn't bother me at all and when they also left about ten minutes later, I even had the peak to myself for a while. :) Taking an hour-long break, I enjoyed a hearty lunch, the weather, the scenery and just how beautiful Switzerland can be on a sunny spring day. :)

The view towards the other side. Can you spot the Säntis at the horizon? :)

During that hour, only one more couple shared the peak with me for about 15 minutes, otherwise there was no one else, which was quite surprising, knowing how popular the Rigi mountain range is. Well, as you can imagine, that suited me perfectly fine. :) Eventually leaving the summit, I started to descend on the other side and looking down the slope, I was glad to see that the descent seemed pretty gentle compared to the ascent before. :) Mostly, the trail led along the edge of a forest and 15 unhurried minutes later, I already had reached the junction at Hinter Dossen.

A gorgeous view towards the Alps of Uri at the very beginning of the descent

Right there, I once again had a few possibilities, but as I wanted to use the train to head back to Arth-Goldau, there basically was only one choice and so I took the trail towards the station called Fruttli. At first, I had to descend along a rocky path towards a farmhouse, before I walked through some lovely meadows lined with trees. A turnoff appeared at the end of that section and I turned right into the direction of a small settlement. Walking along a gravel road for a while, I eventually came upon today's last turnoff and took a left turn. Once more exchanging the road for a proper hiking trail, I crossed over a vast meadow, before the trees started to get denser again.

Taking a look back while crossing the meadow

Five minutes later, I decided to take a last break and while I sat there enjoying the view towards the Wildspitz through the opening of some trees, I thought it was a good idea to check the timetable of the hourly train. Well, I suddenly came into a hurry, as the next one was due in about 20 minutes and since it was already late in the afternoon, I absolutely didn't want to miss that one. :) A bit more than a kilometer was still to go and so I set off at once, walking a bit faster than before. The path soon led deep into the forest and right into a super steep descending slope. Reaching the end of that slope rather sooner than later, I came upon a sharp turn shortly afterwards and while the edge of the forest was close now, the station of Fruttli already could be seen through the trees. At last coming out of the woods, I was glad to see that the train wasn't there yet and making my way to the station, I waited for no more than five minutes before it arrived. :) Hopping onto the train and heading back home, I had to conclude that today simply couldn't have been better. The views, the weather, the trails, everything was just perfect! It was one of those hikes, where I'm really looking forward to bringing along my friends. :)

Highlights of the day: the "Felsenweg" and the view from the Dossen

This hike is for you if:

- you want to get away from the masses at Rigi Kulm

- you're looking for some of the best views you can get over the Lake of Lucerne

- you want to explore some lesser known trails in the Rigi mountain range

- you're looking for an easy hike with plenty of options to shorten it

This hike is not for you if:

- you're looking for a technical demanding hike

- you want to be away from people, settlements or civilization in general

- you don't like to walk on gravel or paved roads during your hikes

As you can imagine, the trails on the Rigi mountain range are marked almost perfectly. Only during the descent from Hinter Dossen down to Fruttli, there was one turnoff where the sign was a bit hidden and I therefore almost missed it. Otherwise, there was no problem at all in finding the way. If you want to avoid the crowds, I suggest doing this hike on weekdays and if possible in spring or autumn. In summer, I'm sure it will be pretty busy too. Please note that the "Felsenweg" has a guard railing and is super well maintained, so even though it's partly narrow and surrounded by rock walls, there should be no problem walking along it. Nevertheless, I would heed that sign and wouldn't go in winter, due to the possibility of falling ice. As you might know, there are tons of trails on the Rigi mountain range, so the hike above is only one option out of many. If you want, you can shorten or extend the hike I did or even choose a completely different route up to the Dossen, just about anything is possible. :) There is also a cable car going from Kräbel to the Rigi Scheidegg, so you could skip some altitude if you want to. In the end, if you're looking to escape the crowds at Rigi Kulm and want to check out something new, the Dossen for sure will be worth your time. At least, it was a nice change for me and the stunning views that I got along the way, definitely will bring me back to that part of the Rigi mountain range. :)