Glaubenberg · Pilatus Backroads

Forest, ridge air and less obvious central Switzerland.

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

Forest, ridge air and less obvious central Switzerland. 172 km round from Luzern - plan on about 3 h 18 of riding. On the way it passes Sarnen and Pilatus view road. The climb of the day is Glaubenberg pass road. It tops out at 1,543 m. It is a high-mountain day.

Roadbook

1. Lucerne exit gate start · 436 m

   Lucerne is where central Switzerland likes to show off. The town sits at the end of its lake, with the Reuss river sliding out through the middle, old houses with painted gables along the quay, and mountains on every side, Pilatus to the south and the Rigi to the east. The best-known sight is the Kapellbrücke, the Chapel Bridge, a covered wooden footbridge from the fourteenth century with a stone water tower beside it, and painted panels under the roof. A fire in 1993 burned much of it, and the bridge was rebuilt, so the paintings you see are mostly reconstructions, but the shape is old. Nearby the Lion Monument, carved into a sandstone cliff in 1821, commemorates Swiss guards who died in Paris in 1792, and Mark Twain called it the saddest piece of stone in the world.

   For a motorcyclist, Lucerne is both a hub and a reward. From here the roads fan out toward the Brünig, the Susten, the Furka, the Grimsel and the Gotthard, and in the other direction toward the Entlebuch and the Emmental. The town itself is not for riding, with a dense one-way system, many bus lanes and fines that are issued without sympathy, so park in one of the garages and walk. Speed limits are strictly enforced across Switzerland, and cameras are plentiful.

   The best time is late spring or early autumn, when the light is soft and tour buses are fewer. In July and August the lakefront is full and the Alpine passes are open, with the highest ones usually closed from late autumn into early summer. Lake fog in winter can be thick, though the mountains above are often sunny. The air smells of water and woodsmoke when you arrive by the lake road in the evening.

   At a little over four hundred metres above sea level, the town has everything, with fuel stations on every approach, workshops, hotels and restaurants. Try a Luzerner Chügelipastete, the local pastry filled with veal and mushrooms, or just a coffee at the lakeside. Prices are high, and a vignette is needed on motorways, though you will rarely use them in the mountains. Walk the old town in the evening, cross both bridges, and leave the bike for a ferry ride across the lake.

2. Glaubenberg pass road pass · 1543 m

   The Glaubenberg is one of those passes that rewards you for taking the less obvious option. At 1,543 metres, it crosses the ridge between Sarnen in Obwalden and the Entlebuch valley in the canton of Lucerne, through a landscape of open moor and scattered spruce that feels remote even though it lies in the middle of Switzerland. Much of the high ground is a military training area, and the road can be closed on days when firing is scheduled, so it is wise to check before you plan around it.

   The moorland is the highlight. The Glaubenberg lies within the Entlebuch biosphere reserve, where raised bogs, wet meadows and traditional alpine farming have been preserved together. The peat is deep, the plants are specialised, and in early summer the cotton grass makes white patches across the dark ground. Dragonflies, curlews and, with luck, black grouse live in the quiet corners. It is a landscape that asks for slow riding.

   The road climbs from Sarnen through forest in a series of tight bends, then emerges onto the moor, where the gradients ease and the corners become longer and more relaxed. Much of the surface is narrow, and there are a few rough patches, especially after winter, so a steady speed is sensible. The descent toward Flühli and Sörenberg is open and fast, with views toward the Schrattenfluh, a wall of limestone cliffs that stands guard over the valley.

   In winter the road is closed, and in a snowy spring it may open late. Summer mornings give the best conditions, when the mist lifts off the moor and the air smells of wet grass and resin. A warm layer is wise, because the moor is open and the wind can be cold.

3. Sarnen food stop food · 473 m

   Sarnen is the capital of Obwalden, and it wears the title lightly. The town sits at the northern end of Lake Sarnen, a long blue lake in the middle of Switzerland, with the Pilatus above and a line of wooded hills on the other side. About nine thousand people live here, and the main street has the usual arrangement of bakeries, banks and cafes, with a large parish church that stands on a rise above the old centre.

   What gives the town its identity is the Landsgemeinde, the open-air assembly where citizens once voted by raised hand. Obwalden held its last in 1998, and the stone ring on the Landenberg hill, where the assembly met, is still a place that people visit. The hill is named after a legendary bailiff in the William Tell story, and a path leads to the top, with views over the lake and the old town. Nearby, the village of Flüeli-Ranft is the home of Nicholas of Flüe, known as Brother Klaus, the fifteenth-century hermit who is revered as Switzerland's patron saint and credited with helping to hold the Confederation together.

   As a food stop it is easy and pleasant. There are cafes on the lakeside, where you can sit with a view of the water, and restaurants serving local specialities such as cheese, sausages and dishes with potatoes and cream. Fuel is available, and the town is large enough to have everything a rider needs, from a tyre shop to a supermarket. Parking is straightforward near the lake.

   The roads that leave Sarnen head in several directions: north toward Lucerne, east over the Glaubenberg, south along the lake to Giswil and the Brünig, or up toward Melchtal and the old pilgrimage valley. It is a hub, and in summer it is busy with traffic. Early mornings are calm, and in the late afternoon the light comes across the lake and turns the water gold, which is a good moment for a last coffee.

4. Pilatus view road stop · 1000 m

   Pilatus is a mountain with a legend, and the road that skirts its flank gives you a different view of it than the one from Lucerne. The peak, 2,128 metres at its highest, is a jagged limestone ridge with a long, flat top that looks, from the north, like a sleeping dragon. Medieval stories said that the spirit of Pontius Pilate haunted the mountain's lake, and the authorities of Lucerne banned climbing it for centuries, in case the disturbance brought a storm. The name may in fact come from an old word for a cloud-covered mountain, but the legend is better.

   Above you, the cogwheel railway that climbs Pilatus from Alpnachstad is the steepest in the world, with a gradient of up to forty-eight per cent, and has been running since 1889. Gondolas and cable cars also run from Kriens, and a visit to the summit gives a vast view over Lake Lucerne and the central Alps. In clear weather the display of peaks and lakes is magnificent.

   Riding the lanes around the mountain is a pleasure of a quieter kind. The road toward Glaubenberg climbs from Sarnen and Alpnach through moorland and spruce forest, a landscape of raised bogs and wet meadows that is protected moorland next to the Entlebuch biosphere reserve, with long, open curves, little traffic and a surface that is usually good. The pass at Glaubenberg, at about fifteen hundred metres, is a lovely road to ride on a weekday morning. In spring, the high sections can have snow or mud, and cows wander freely, so keep an eye out.

   For fuel, Hergiswil, about four kilometres away, and Alpnach have stations and supermarkets, and the shore of Lake Lucerne has restaurants. Hergiswil is also known for its glass factory, where you can watch glassblowers at work.

   Look for the view of Pilatus from the south in the evening, when the setting sun lights the cliffs a deep red.

5. Back to Lucerne exit finish · 436 m

   Back at Lucerne. That is the ride. You lose 564 m on the way down to it, hard.

Where this sits

Rides near here