The Complete Guide to Mount Pilatus: Things to Do + How to Get There

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How to Get to Mount Pilatus from Lucerne

Most people go to Mount Pilatus while visiting Lucerne. To get from Lucerne to Mount Pilatus, you can either hike up (if you’re feeling adventurous!), or use a combo of different transportation options. 

The latter is broken down into two options that are referred to as the Golden Round Trip and the Silver Round Trip. It’s a little overwhelming at first, but I’ll break down everything you need to know about all of these options.

Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip from Lucerne

Here’s an overview of this trip: 

Boat (To Alpnachstad) → Cogwheel (Up the Mountain, from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm) → Aerial Cableway (Down the Mountain, from Pilatus Kulm to Fräkmüntegg) → Panorama Gondola (Down the Mountain, from Fräkmüntegg to Kriens) → Bus (Back to Lucerne)

This trip starts with taking a boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad. The boat departs from the pier that is located directly across from the train station, and drops off at a pier that is a quick walk to the cogwheel station. Depending on which boat you take, this ride will take approximately an hour to an hour and a half. You can check out the timetable (and purchase tickets in advance, if you’d like) on the Lake Lucerne Navigation Company website (FYI: the acronym is SGV AG!). 

At Alpnachstad, you’ll purchase your ticket for getting up and back down the mountain at the booth (if you haven’t purchased them already). Next, board the cogwheel train to take it up to the top of the mountain.

After exploring Mount Pilatus, you’ll board the aerial cableway, and take it down to Fräkmüntegg, where you may decide to stop to enjoy some of the activities in the area (more on that later). From here, you’ll switch over to the panorama gondola, and take it down to Kriens. 

Once in Kriens, you’ll walk about 10 minutes to the Kriens, Zentrum PIlatus bus stop. From there, take bus line 1 back to Lucerne. There are a ton of blue “Luzern” signs along the path, so it’s easy to find the bus stop.

The bus drops you off at the Lucerne train station, and the ride takes about 10 minutes. You can buy a ticket at the machine at the bus stop. Note: if you have a Lucerne Visitor Card (which you’ll receive from your hotel via email if you’re staying in Lucerne) or a Swiss Travel Pass, this ride is free!

Mount Pilatus Silver Round Trip from Lucerne

This trip isn’t actually that different from the other option – you simply aren’t taking a boat. Here’s an overview: 

Train (To Alpnachstad) → Cogwheel (Up the Mountain, from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm) → Aerial Cableway (Down the Mountain, from Pilatus Kulm to Fräkmüntegg) → Panorama Gondola (Down the Mountain, from Fräkmüntegg to Kriens) → Bus (Back to Lucerne)

Rather than taking a boat, this trip starts off with a train ride from the station in Lucerne to Alpnachstad. Just like with the boat, it drops passengers off right by the cogwheel station. The ride is just under 20 minutes, and you can easily buy tickets at the station.

At the time of writing this, a train departs every half hour, but check the SBB website for current times. Once you get to Alpnachstad and walk over to the cogwheel station, everything is the same as it is in the Golden Round Trip!  

Which Trip is Best?

Ultimately, these are both great options – it just comes down to whether you want to take the boat. The Silver Round Trip saves you a lot more time getting to the cogwheel station and up the mountain, since it’s a less than 20-minute train ride over to Alpnachstad. It’s also the cheaper option.

For reference, we went for the Silver Round Trip (meaning we didn’t end up doing a boat ride) and had a great experience! While the boat ride is undoubtedly gorgeous, I’m ultimately glad we had a bit more time to spare up on the mountain. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to save a bit of money (Switzerland isn’t cheap!). 

Hiking Mount Pilatus

Hiking is definitely the cheapest way to get to Mount Pilatus (since it’s free). However, these hikes are challenging, and should only be done by experienced hikers.

There are a few different trails you can take to get up the mountain, including the following:

• Alpnach – Mount Pilatus (5.3 miles point-to-point): This hike starts right by the cogwheel station in Alpnach, which is a little less than a 20-minute train ride from Lucerne. It goes directly to Mount Pilatus, and is the shortest of the options. 
• Fräkmüntegg – Tomslihorn – Pilatus – Alpgschwänd via Hergiswil (8.2 miles point-to-point, or 13.8 miles for the whole loop): This hike starts in Hergiswil, which is about a 10-minute train ride from Lucerne. Before getting to Pilatus and Tomlishorn, it stops in Fräkmüntegg, so you could stop part way through to enjoy the activities in this area (more on that below!).
• Kriens – Fräkmüntegg – Pilatus (6.4 miles point-to-point): This hike starts in Kriens (right at the gondola station), and is about a 20-minute bus ride from Lucerne, depending on where you’re coming from. Like the hike below, it stops in Fräkmüntegg, which is a great place to take a quick break. 

Note that the mileage on these are all point-to-point, so you need to account for getting back down the mountain. Keep in mind that you could always hike one way and then take the cogwheel or aerial tramway the other way to make the trek more manageable.

Ride the Toboggan at Fräkmüntegg 

As mentioned earlier, the aerial cableway stops in Fräkmüntegg, where you’ll get off and then board the panorama gondola down to Kriens. However, rather than immediately continuing your journey down, I highly recommend taking a moment to explore Fräkmüntegg. 

There are lots of activities to do in Fräkmüntegg, including exploring the ropes park and riding the dragon glider. 

If you are visiting sometime between the late spring to early fall, one of the Mount Pilatus activities that I highly recommend doing is riding the summer toboggan. It’s open daily from approximately mid-April to the end of October, as long as there isn’t any snow or rain.

At 1350 meters, the Fräkmüntegg toboggan is the longest summer toboggan run of its kind in the country. As you ride down, you’ll see Lake Lucerne right in front of you, as well as Mount Pilatus to your right.

You have full control of the speed, so you can go as fast or as slow as you’d like! Once you get to the bottom, they hook your toboggan to a lift that slowly pulls you back up to the start (so you’ll continue to enjoy the views!). 

Toboggan ride tickets can be purchased at the machine right by the entrance. 

Eating on Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

It’s also worth noting that there are a few places to get some food on Mount Pilatus. On the top of the mountain, you’ll find these options:

• Restaurant Pilatus-Kulm (in Hotel Pilatus-Kulm): We stopped here for lunch and ate on the patio, which offers (even more) incredible views. While the restaurant inside seems a bit more formal, the outdoor dining is casual. I honestly didn’t have super high expectations, but the food ended up being very good. It’s also vegan-friendly!
• Restaurant Bellevue (in Hotel Bellevue): This self-service spot isn’t quite as well-rated as Restaurant Pilatus-Kulm, but people still seem to like it. It has hot entrees (including some traditional Swiss food), salads, sandwiches, desserts, and more. 
• Panoramagrill: This casual to-go spot (which is located inside the main building) doesn’t exactly have glowing reviews. That said, sometimes you just need something to eat. This works if you aren’t trying to have a sit down meal. They have sausages, french fries, sodas, beer, and more. 

If you stop in Fräkmüntegg, there are also two more food spots. There’s another self-service spot serving Swiss cuisine called Restaurant Fräkmüntegg. There’s also a casual food stand (think hot dogs, soft pretzels, etc.), right by the toboggan.