Hochdorf – Baldeggersee – Hitzkirch

From the nature discovery trail at Baldeggersee, this easy hike leads through meadows and villages into the Seetal. After the steep climb towards the castle, the views open up before the trail reaches Hitzkirch.

From Hochdorf railway station, the Baldeggersee nature discovery trail initially leads out of the village. Five marked stations focus attention on the natural environment around the lake. After a short stretch along the Ron, the observation hide and the small Turbiweier pond lie almost directly beside the trail.

The route soon reaches Baldegg and then the shore of Baldeggersee. Covering 5.3 square kilometres, the lake is one of Switzerland’s landscapes and natural monuments of national importance; finds also attest to pile-dwelling settlements here dating from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Between open meadows and the houses of the Seetal, the trail follows the flat lakeshore as far as Gelfingen.

Here begins the only significant ascent. At the Church of St Wendelin, the hiking trail climbs more steeply into the surroundings of Schloss Heidegg, which stands slightly off the route above the lake. Near the castle, the route reaches its highest point at around 520 m; beyond it, views open up across the Seetal. The trail continues through Hitzkirch, past the Church of St Pankratius, and down to the railway station.