Toggenburger Höhenweg

The Toggenburger Höhenweg is an approximately 87 kilometer long hiking trail in the canton of St. Gallen that leads from Wildhaus to Wil in northeastern Switzerland .

Stages

The hiking route through the Toggenburg is to be mastered in five daily stages. Each stage takes around six to eight hours.

1st stage: Wildhaus - Amden / Arvenbüel

The Toggenburger Höhenweg begins at the valley station of the chairlift to Oberdorf in Wildhaus. The 21 kilometers lead the hiker over Dunkelboden , the Iltios , the Alp Selamatt , past the Wildenmannlisloch , the Vordere Selunalp , the Tritt (at 1770 m the highest point of the entire route) and the First to Arvenbüel . A total of +/- 966/740 meters of altitude has to be mastered on this stage .

2nd stage: Amden / Arvenbüel - dance floor

The second, 18-kilometer stage (+/- 700/530 meters in altitude) leads from Arvenbüel to Alp Oberchäseren , Alp Bütz , the nature reserve of the Elsialp plateau , “Usser Gheist” to the “Tanzboden” alpine farm.

3rd stage: Tanzboden - Chrüzegg

The third stage leads 16 kilometers from Tanzboden via Alp Oberbächen , the Regelstein (1315 m, viewpoint) and the village of Ricken to the 1264 meter high Chrüzegg (above Atzmännig ). In this stage, +/- 550/1100 meters in altitude have to be mastered.

4th stage: Chrüzegg - Mühlrüti

The fourth stage runs from the Chrüzegg over the Schindelberg , the 1292 meter high Schnebelhorn and the Hulftegg to Mühlrüti . At 11 kilometers (+/- 520/840 meters in altitude) it is the shortest of the five stages.

5th stage: Mühlrüti - Wil

The last stage, 19 kilometers long, +/- 523/710 meters in altitude, starts in Mühlrüti and runs to the chapel “St. Iddaburg ”(viewpoint), where Count Heinrich accused his wife Idda of adultery in the 12th century and is said to have pushed her into the abyss. The path continues over Steig, through Dietschwil , past the Giessenfall (height 20 meters) to Wil.

Accommodations

There is a large number of inns, huts and restaurants along the way. These are not available to hikers all year round: during the winter, the higher-lying houses are often closed for a long time.

Transport links

The hike can be interrupted in almost any place along the way: There are always trains (e.g. Iltiosbahn , Selunbahn , etc.) or paths down into the valley to the next bus or SBB station. From there you can easily get to the starting point of the Toggenburger Höhenweg back to Wildhaus.