Wichelsee winter hike

A few steps from Sarnen station lead to the village square with the town hall, a witness to the centuries-old federal independence of the canton of Obwalden. After crossing the town hall bridge, the hiking trail follows northwards, sometimes left and sometimes right along the Sarneraa to the Aa bridge at the former Kägiswil railway station, over which the Kernserstrasse leads. Crossing this and the railway track, you turn northeast and after passing under the motorway, you reach the Wichelsee nature reserve.

The area, which formed around the lake created by the dam in 1957, was designated a nature reserve in 2005 as a habitat for rare animal and plant species as well as a valuable landscape and recreational area. A variety of different bird species breed and gather here, enriched by rare migratory birds and winter guests. In 2007, a fish ladder was constructed at the dam of the Sarneraa power plant, allowing fish to ascend naturally in the residual water into the lake and the upper course of the Sarneraa again.

From the dam, the path changes northwards onto the embankment, which borders the collector of the Grosse Schliere. At the end, a footbridge crosses the Grosse Schliere, then it passes the southern end of the military airfield and over the motorway bridge to Alpnach station. Here, the hike can be continued on the east side of the railway line to the Kleine Schliere and on its left embankment to the delta of the Kleine Schliere. Passing the shipyard and through an avenue, you reach Alpnachstad station.