Mt. Rigi Day Trip

Piece of cake. Just walk to the boat docks, find the one that goes around the lake and stops at Vitznau. Hop on. The boat makes a few stops before Vitznau. Get off, and walk 50 feet to the cog railway station. Buy a ticket inside. Get on the next train. It takes you up to the peak of Mt. Rigi. There's not too much there, but beautiful views. You can have a regular meal in the restaurant. You can just take the same train back down to Vitznau. Or you can take a different train down to Arth-Goldau (I think the scenery is a bit better). Then from Arth-Goldau you take a train to Brunnen. Visit the good Brocki (thrift store), near the train station. Eat at the Weisses Rossli restaurant. Then walk to the lake, and hop on the next boat going back to Lucerne.

If you have the Swiss Rail Pass, everything mentioned in this post is covered. Well, ok, not the food part.

You can take a boat to Vitznau, then about 100 ft to the train to Rigi Kulm, the top of the mountain. There is a snack bar there as well as a hotel. You can hike down hill with a few viewpoints along the way to Kaltbad, then take the cablecar down to Weggis, then walk to the dock and take a boat back to Luzern.

There are lots of permutations of things to do. You can also take a train down to Arth-Goldau and change to a train back to Luzern from there. Or just ride the Rigibahn back down to Vitznau from there.

BTW, Kaltbad is a spa, so you could bring swimsuits and go for a soak.

Thanks! Just what I needed. Much appreciated Sam and Travelerguy!

Was thinking about starting out in the morning and going to Stoos first just to ride the funicular. Not the ridge hike. Then back down and over to Art Goldau and then up Rigi. What say my experts here?

There's not too much there, but beautiful views

On the Rigi website you will find an interactive panoramic map. This will help you to see just how large Rigi is and all the ways up and down as well as hiking routes. Not small, limited or boring at all!

Scroll down on the link to choose the map. Can also see detailed info regarding hikes.

https://www.rigi.ch/en/experience/hiking

Was thinking about starting out in the morning and going to Stoos
first just to ride the funicular. Not the ridge hike. Then back down
and over to Art Goldau and then up Rigi

@Conman737, you are looking at about two hours travel time for each location (give or take), so six hours total for: Luzern-Stoos-Rigi Kulm-Luzern.
It just depends on what your personality is like. If I wanted to see both locations in a limited time I would just go for it. Leave early in the morning and be prepared for a long day. In the SBB app save all your routes beforehand, give yourself a few options, hold it all loosely and enjoy the day!

Thanks Swiss Nomad. No pain no gain right? Thinking about doing this and then the second day to Stanserhorn and Burgenstock trip before heading down to Interlaken. Of course if the weather permits.

Stanserhorn has even better views at the top, IMHO. And it has a nice outdoor restaurant. More complicated to get to, though.