It was the last day of the summer season in the Swiss mountains. It was a though choice to pick the location of our day out on the mountains. It had to be also conveniently located to be easily reached by railroad or any combination of public transport. And obviously fast enough to allow us to spend at least 6 hours on the mountain, without having to wake up too early.

Basel is always our home hub in Switzerland. So, making the most of the end of the 2022 summer season meant our hike trip had to be nearby. We initially wanted to go in the Hasliberg area to hike the Marble Run Trail and the Dwarf trail or hike up to Oeschinensee, but the weather was not looking good in either location. I did my research and settled upon Mount Rigi, within easy reach from Basel. But then, the evening before I remembered that a while ago I chose Titlis over Pilatus. And somehow, Pilatus has always lingered in my mind as a nice child friendly location because of all the dragon myths surrounding it. And honestly, what mountain would be better for a passionate of mythos and stories, especially if there are dragons involved? Read about it here.

I like to self-organise all of our vacays so on a late Saturday evening, I began what I love most: plan our Sunday trip. I opted for an ascent on the world’s steepest cogwheel railroad starting from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm.

The train departs Alpnachstad every 40 minutes or so, starting at 8:10 am. But make sure you check the time table, as it gets pretty crowded during weekends. We were lucky enough to board the train without having to wait. Others were not that lucky. Plan ahead and arrive earlier to catch your ride. Otherwise, you can waste a lot of time waiting for the next train up the mountain.

As of 2024, if you buy your tickets online you can also reserve your seat on the train for an extra 5CHF/person. See here.

We chose to ride the cogwheel train up to the Pilatus Kulm, then take the various gondolas and aerial cableways to descent to Fräkmüntegg, then to Krienseregg and finally to Kriens. The entire trip costs now 78CHF/adult and half price for kids aged 6-15. Half fares are also possible if you have one of the Swiss travel passes. Eric enjoyed yet again a free ride (the perks of being 5 years old).

Doing the same route in reverse is also possible, but as it turned out, the sky was clearer in the morning on the Pilatus Kulm, rather than late in the afternoon. We did this as a one way trip, arriving by train in Alpnachstad and leaving from Kriens. Alternatively, it can be done from Kriens as a return trip on the gondolas to Krienseregg, Fräkmüntegg or all the way up to Pilatus Kulm, but you will miss on the opportunity to ride the steepest cogwheel train in the world.

The ride on the cogwheel train lasts about 30-35 minutes. But time flies as you pass steep green meadows, dense forests and sturdy rock formations. As you start to ascent, the view behind is the best, with the Lucerne and Alpnach lakes surrounded by striking mountains. As you near the top, the view in front of the train is breathtaking.

As you get off the cogwheel train, make your way to the panorama. Going up the stairs takes you to the outdoor terrace. Go straight and follow the path on the right that takes you to one of the two viewing spots: Oberhaupt. The other one is Esel. The hike is of medium difficulty (Eric ran the whole thing) and very short, less than 5 minutes, although the official map below says otherwise. The trail is marked with light blue on the map below. We chose to do the trails that were included in the treasure hunt challenge. What a great way to keep kids focused and on track!

The top of Pilatus offers plenty of other things to do: there’s a flower trail, the option to hike to Tomlishorn (medium diffculty- 40 minutes), and more. But, we stuck to our dragon theme: there’s a short and easy dragon trail and the Dragon world. To access the Dragon world, return to the indoor panorama area and descend the stairs in front of the souvenir shop. Sadly, the Dragon world was reserved for an event when we visited, but it supposedly features a film and interactive games. Should be fun. The Dragon trail can be entered next to the shop. There’s a glass window that opens up to a path that is partly cut in the mountain. The trail is very short, about 10 minutes, going through tunnels dug into the rocky mountains with cutouts that allowed us to glimpse outside. This is the brown trail on the map. There’s a second trail of medium difficulty that partly shares the route with the previous one (the trail marked in dark blue). It’s still going through the tunnels.

The descent to  Fräkmüntegg takes about 15 minutes on the gondola ride. If you can, take a seat in the front. These are located on the left of the gondola. There are 6 of them, so hurry. Lovely views.  Fräkmüntegg is perhaps the intermediary station that is the most rewarding in terms of activities. There is a self service restaurant with good food and reasonable Swiss prices: the small (but plenty) spaghetti bolognese 10CHF, french fries – a large bowl for 6CHF, the dragon rosti – 18.90 CHF (melted cheese potatoes and 4 mid size sausages – extra hot).

We chose to do 3 activities here (there are others, of course).

Apart from the obvious hiking trails, there’s a treetop path. Get off the gondola and follow the signs for Wipfelpfad. It is free of charge and so much fun. You basically walk a thick rope set up high in between treetops and follow 12 nests, secured by nets. In 6 of the nests, there are informative boards that talk about the area. Playful and educational? Yes, please! Don’t forget one of the clues is right next to the treetop entrance.

Our next choice in Fräkmüntegg was the Dragon glider. This is right next to the Wipfelpfad. The glider, like most attractions here are open 9am-5pm, with 1 hour lunch break ending at 1pm. The glider went through the forest, winding above the rope park, before finally leaving us next to the Drachenalp. The ride lasts about 5-10 minutes top. Adults pay 8CHF, children pay 6CHF. There’s the option of gliding alone or as a pair. At Drachenalp, there’s a small kiosk selling snacks or you can have a picnic. Another clue for the dragon challenge awaits next to the kiosk. You need to walk up to Fräkmüntegg station after going on the Dragon glider.

The rope park is one of the best I’ve seen. There’s also a kid version available, for youngsters below 8 years of age, that contains 7 stations and involves all sorts of fun activities. This is the Pilu rope park. To reach is descent the stairs from the main restaurant at Fräkmüntegg and go to the left. Another clue for the challenge is available here. Fräkmüntegg station has plenty of bbq areas and apart from the main restaurant there’s the Drachenalp kiosk, as well as the one located next to the toboggan run.

And this leads me to the last activity that we did in Fräkmüntegg: a ride on the longest summer toboggan run in Switzerland. With a length of 1350m, the toboggan run swirls thorough dragon dens and steep curves and guarantees to put a smile on your face. To reach the toboggan run, follow the path to the right starting from the main restaurant. There are signs everywhere, just follow Fräkigaudi. The hike to the starting point takes about 10 minutes. It’s an easy hike, except for a steep 50 meters area at the end. One ride costs 9CHF/adult and slightly less for kids below 16 years old. It can get very crowded. On the Sunday we went, the waiting time was 35 minutes. More info on prices and operating hours here.

Fräkmüntegg also offers the possibility to sleep in tree tents. Quite expensive for a tree tent, but perhaps worthwhile for the overall experience.

I would recommend spending most of the time here in Fräkmüntegg. The views are unbelievable, numerous activities, excellent hiking paths. The descent to the last mountain station, Krienseregg, takes about 15 minutes. Krienseregg is beautiful, but the views are no where near as mesmerising as the ones in Fräkmüntegg. The main restaurant has a beautiful outdoor terrace set up high over the Pilu playground, which is a modest one compared to others we’ve seen in the Swiss Alps. It still has the common elements: swings, mini rope parks, climbing walls, the occasional dragon, etc. The Pilu playground contains one of the clues for the dragon challenge I mentioned above.

Several hiking trails are available here, among which the circular Dragon moor trail takes you through the area and teaches the young ones about the landscape and the features of the moor. Follow the signs “drachen moor”, the path starts on the right as you descent from the cable air. It’s a circular easy route, on flat terrain, going through the woods, of about 2.4km.