Stoos ridge hike altermative with rainy forecast

Posted by ginnyk on 08/23/25 09:52 PM

We have been dreaming about hiking Stoos ridge on either 8/28 or 8/29. It was the hike I was looking forward to the most on our first visit to Switzerland. If the forecasat is right, it may not be possible. We will be in Switzerland 8/27 to 9/5 and all we see is RAIN! We are only in the Lucerne area for 2 days.

We are looking for suggestions for alternatives for 2 days in the Lucerne area. Pilatus, Rigi, Stanserhorn? Would any of those mountains be OK to visit or will we have to skip all of these if the weather forecast does not change.

After that we are off to the Berner Oberland area. Weather does not look any better there. I have the MeteoSwiss app on my phone and will keep a close eye on the weather. Hopefully it will change! Rainy day suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Posted by Pat

San Diego, California

08/23/25 11:05 PM

6638 posts

Many of the summits have cameras, so the morning of the hikes, you can check the weather. Mountain weather is variable, and it's usually clearer in the mornings. Weather can vary greatly between peaks, and between times of day. Don't dispair, and I wouldn't change plans at this point.
Good luck!

Posted by bearzabout

08/24/25 07:20 AM

3 posts

Never worry about cancelling mountain visits until the day before or even the morning of your visit. The weather changes so frequently, you never know what will happen. Check Meteosuisse for weather since they tend to be the most accurate. They give hourly forecasts so target breaks in the cloud cover.

The best rainy day activities in Luzerne are the Swiss Transportation museum and a boat ride to Fluelen. You can stop at the cute towns around the lake like and find wonderful bakeries for coffee and amazing pastries.

In the Berner Oberland, Ballenberg open air museum is great when the mountains are cloudy. St Beatus caves and Trummelbach Falls are good options. Take the boats on both lakes. In Thun, visit the castle and church next door and in Brienz, see the small woodcarvers museum. Grab a bus and see what the neighborhoods look like.

We have had only 4 cloudy days in a 21 day trip so you can get lucky with the weather. It often rains at night and clears up during the day.

Posted by wanderweg

Nashville, TN

08/24/25 08:27 AM

1095 posts

It’s doubtful your entire trip will be rain. More likely a mix of sun and rain, so just be prepared early AM to potentially hike before weather sets in. If Luzern gets completely rained out, do a day in old town and possibly a day doing the high speed tunnel to Lugano/Morcote/Bellinzona. Sometimes weather over there can be sunny when Luzern is rainy, but TBD. Or a day trip to Bern. No point in doing mountain summits when it’s raining/cloudy as you won’t see a thing.

If weather improves while in the BO, the Schynige Platte Panoramaweg is a good alternative for Stoos (ridge with lake/Mountain views)

Posted by ginnyk OP

08/24/25 02:37 PM

14 posts

Thanks for your tips.. Hoping to see some sun in the daily weather forecast rather than all clouds and rain per the forecast today for our days in Switzerland. This is a long awaited trip. Today looks gorgeous. Wish we were there now.