Ebenalp

I went some yrs back and found it beautiful and relaxing. Certainly it is a very easy hike. Yes, you ride up and hike down. In between on a precipice you have a meal with a great view and experience. There are other hikes from this area if u have more time. It is def a vg first hike to start out.

Ebenalp...

Yep, ride up and down BUT, in between, there are:

1. Good hikes. From the station you can head up to Hut Ebenalp and even further up, via a beautiful hike, to the Schaefler hut. Or you can head down from the cable car station to Gasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli. Drop your backpack, reserve a table for dinner, and hike around until dinner time.

2. You can eat at any of the huts but I encourage you to eat at Aescher. Roesti is the best!

3. Don't forget to soak your feet in the stream next to the valley cablecar station the next day when you are done. Just do it :)

And I think this is a link to a map:

http://www.ebenalp.ch/de/sommer/wanderkarte

Enjoy!

Switzerland is probably THE BEST country for giving out free info and maps at the local tourist office. http://www.appenzell.ch/en/home.html

AMEN. I have enough that I have been considering...kind of seriously...scanning them all in, year by year, and saving hi res PDFs of them. Easy-peasy to send a PDF to someone and it seems that since it is tourist 'propaganda' they would be pleased to 'spread the word'.

I have a map of Ebenalp in my hand right now. I just had to open the filebox and select from the right years. ;)

Laura: Is there a way to post or send something like a PDF to someone via the Rick Steves site/infrastructure if I did scan some of these? I am sort of surprised that RS hasn't initiated something like that, unless it would detract from the primary business. I would understand that.

We stayed in Appenzell town in the Ebenalp area our first two nights in Switzerland and loved it so much, we tacked on three extra nights there, at the end of our three week Switzerland circuit. (Hotel Adler ... loved it ... great breakfast ... guests only are served cheese fondue some nights, by request. The best.) Hiking was our goal in the Ebenalp area, Pontresina, Zermatt, Lauterbrunnen Valley, even Lausanne through the vineyards. Wonderful hikes in the Ebenalps, some more difficult than others. The classic is the hike from Ebenalp to Aescher where you must stop for a beer and soup or rosti. From there, you can go down to Seealpsee and on to Wasserauen, where you catch the train back to Appenzell or wherever you are staying. The hike down from Aescher is steep but doable. When we hiked down, children had ropes around their waists that Dads held onto. However, while they skipped down the stone steps, we carefully inched our way down hanging on to the secure cable. But then, we are mid-60s.

Thank you for all the information! I am really looking forward to being in Appenzell and the hike up at Ebenalp.

From the top of the Ebenalp lift try the hike up to Berggasthaus Schaefler. Great food and the most amazing view you have ever seen. It is about an hour hike up and then an hour down again, Our whole family of five stayed the night there two years ago. In fact there are over 20 of these berggasthauser all over the area. Check out www.alpstein.ch.