Great Melchaa Trail Sarnen - Stöckalp

The tour starts at Sarnen railroad station. Follow the hiking trail signs in the direction of Flüeli-Ranft. Shortly after crossing the highway and the Melchaa, you will reach the Lourdes Grotto in Sarnen, where you can experience the special silence.

The trail continues to the High Bridge. Before continuing along the edge of the forest to the well-known pilgrimage and vacation resort of Flüeli-Ranft, you should definitely take a look from the wooden bridge down to the Melchaa, which flows 100 meters below.

From Flüeli-Ranft, follow the signposts towards Melchtal. Follow the old Melchtal path past the Leh water catchment to the Büel junction. Depending on the time of year and time of day, you can often spot deer and chamois on this section.

At the Büel point, stay on the western side of the Melchaa and continue directly towards Stöckalp. (You can also branch off at Büel and take a short detour to the village of Melchtal)

With or without a detour, you will soon reach a lovely rest area with a fireplace in the Flüemätteli/Mürli area. After the break, you will soon reach the Turrenbach bus stop. Immediately afterwards, the trail leads back down to the Melchaa and crosses it. The last section of the trail to your destination of Stöckalp, mostly across alpine meadows, is once again exclusively on the western side of the valley.

At Stöckalp, you can take the cable car up to Melchsee-Frutt as an "encore" or return to Sarnen by post bus. Please note that both the cable car and the PostBus only run seasonally. (approx. mid-June to mid-October and mid-December to early April)

Of course, the five-hour tour can also be done in reverse or only in individual sections. The well-known villages of Flüeli-Ranft and Melchtal are ideal starting or finishing points with their refreshment stops and year-round Postbus services.