Skip to content
CurveScout

CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Abbey of St Gall and Kehrsiten

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
317 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 01
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 317 km round trip from Sankt Gallen - roughly 5 h 01 in the saddle. It goes by way of Robenhausen, Kehrsiten and back through Robenhausen. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Scenic road chapters

Abbey of St Gall → Robenhausen

Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 62 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.

Chapter facts
Length
65 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Abbey of St Gall

    In the centre of St Gallen, a city in north-eastern Switzerland between Lake Constance and the Appenzell hills, the twin towers of a baroque cathedral rise above a wide square, and beside them stands one of the oldest and most beautiful libraries in the world. The Abbey of St Gall was founded in the eighth century on the site where the Irish monk Gallus had settled in the early seventh century, and it became one of the great centres of learning in medieval Europe. The abbey precinct was listed by UNESCO in 1983.

    Read the complete Abbey of St Gall write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Abbey of St Gall is where the day begins. Next is Robenhausen.

  2. 2. Robenhausen

    In 1858 a local man named Jakob Messikommer began digging in the peat bog at Robenhausen, on the southern end of the Pfäffikersee in the Zurich Oberland, and he spent decades uncovering a remarkably rich Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement. His finds, from stone axes to woven textiles and charred bread, travelled to museums around the world and helped make Swiss lake dwellings famous. Today Robenhausen is one of the components of the UNESCO Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, though what remains lies underground in a protected wetland.

    Read the complete Robenhausen write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Robenhausen comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kehrsiten.

  3. 3. Kehrsiten

    Kehrsiten is a small settlement on the southern shore of Lake Lucerne, at the foot of the Bürgenstock, a steep, forested ridge that juts out into the lake, and it feels almost cut off from the rest of Switzerland. A narrow road follows the shore from Stansstad, squeezed between the rocks and the water, and ends here; beyond, the cliffs of the Bürgenstock drop straight into the lake. For most visitors, Kehrsiten is the place where the boat from Lucerne stops and the Bürgenstock funicular begins, climbing steeply through the forest to the resort on top, which has been welcoming guests since the late nineteenth century.

    Read the complete Kehrsiten write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 158 km into the recorded legs you reach Kehrsiten. Next is back through Robenhausen.

  4. 4. back through Robenhausen

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Robenhausen write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Robenhausen, late in the day. Next is Abbey of St Gall.

  5. 5. Abbey of St Gall

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Abbey of St Gall write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Abbey of St Gall. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Abbey of St Gall to Robenhausen

Abbey of St Gall → Robenhausen is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Robenhausen to Kehrsiten

Robenhausen → Kehrsiten is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Kehrsiten to back through Robenhausen

Kehrsiten → back through Robenhausen is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Robenhausen to Abbey of St Gall

back through Robenhausen → Abbey of St Gall is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

More motorcycle rides nearby