Discover the Appenzell summer – our 4 insider tips

Dear guests

We have compiled our most beautiful hikes and e-bike tips into a neat collection of experiences that you should not miss on your next visit to the Hof Weissbad. You can hire city e-bikes and e-mountain bikes from us at the hotel and spend unforgettable hours around Hof Weissbad with a picnic basket in your hand or on the luggage rack. Explore the Appenzell region away from the well-known hotspots – just as beautiful, but idyllically secluded, often romantic, sometimes wild.

With the city e-bike in Weesen (AI)

Don't worry, Weesen in AI is closer than Weesen in SG. Take a leisurely ride on a city e-bike along the signposted cycle route to Meistersrüte. Before the meeting point, turn left onto Weesenstrasse and after a ten-minute climb you will reach the hamlet of Brenden and, just behind it, the Weesen viewpoint.

Information and tips on the city e-bike route:

• Approximately 22 km bike route Weissbad – Appenzell – Lehn – Meistersrüte – Brenden – Weesen – Meistersrüte – Eggerstanden – Steinegg – Weissbad.
• Tip 1: Take the footpath on Brenden towards Saul to the viewing bench.
• Tip 2: On the way back, stop at the Egg and from there it's a 5-minute walk to the Fuchsenkreuz (sensational viewpoint over the Appenzell region).

Suitable for: Leisure cyclists/e-bikers and e-bike beginners. The times indicated are for bikes without electric assistance.
Duration: (approx.) 1.5 hours by e-city bike/e-bike; approx. 2 hours 50 minutes without
Altitude: 502 m

A place to fall in love: Mystical high moor above Kaubad

This moderately difficult hike starts in Weissbad. The climb from Weissbad to Neuenalp will leave you breathless. Once at the top, the pastureland gives way to a paradisiacal high moor landscape. The Helchen high moor may be small, but it is one of 549 high moors of national importance in Switzerland. You walk respectfully across the peat in the high moor, as it grows at a slow rate of only 1 mm per year. Hiking westward, you reach the Alps of the Vorder- and Hinter-Wasserschaffen. The trail leads over the Alp Blatten to the Berggasthaus Scheidegg A path leads steadily uphill past the Jakobskapelle chapel to the Kronberg.

Information and tips on the hiking route:

• Hiking route: Weissbad – Melcheulisspitz – Klosterspitz – Scheidegg – St. Jakob – Kronberg
• Tip: Discover the mystical high moor by public transport. Take the Appenzeller Bahnen to the Jakobsbad stop, float up to the Kronberg on the cable car, and start your hike from the Kronberg summit.

Suitable for: Families and people in good physical condition
Duration: 4 hours
Elevation gain (uphill): 1050 m

With the Mountain E-Bike to the Leuenfall

Just a few kilometers from the farm, and you are in a mystical world. The Leuenfall waterfall is considered a place of spirituality. The roaring water has a calming effect. And in summer, it is also cooling. Here and there you can encounter yodlers who entertain those present with their traditional Ruggusseli .

Information and tips on the bike route:

• Approximately 4.8 km bike route: Weissbad – Lehmen
• From Lehmen, walk about 800 m towards Ahorn; after the bridge, take the footpath to the left to Leuenfall.
• Tip for the ambitious: return to Lehmen and take the e-mountain bike via Potersalp to Schwägalp. Return on the same route or on the cantonal road via Urnäsch – Gonten – Appenzell – Weissbad. Make sure your battery is fully charged for this route.

Suitable for: Leisure cyclists/e-bikers. The times given are for bikes without electric assistance.
Duration: 30 minutes by e-city bike/e-bike; without approx. 1 hour
Elevation gain (uphill): 164 m

Challenging hike over the Hoher Kasten to the Fählensee

From the parking lot at the valley station of the Brülisau cable car – Hoher Kasten (the cable car opens on July 4, 2020), the journey begins across lush green meadows and typical Appenzell farmhouses towards Gasthaus Ruhesitz. Either take the direct route to Fählensee (2 hours, 45 minutes) or choose the ascent to the Hoher Kasten for a challenging day hike.

The revolving restaurant on the Hoher Kasten is currently open on weekends when the weather is nice, and will then be open daily from July 4 until the end of October. The ascent from Brülisau to the Hoher Kasten takes about 2.5 hours.

The hike continues for around 3 hours on the Geological Panorama Trail, which leads from the ridge of the Hoher Kasten via Staubern and past the Saxerlücke to Bollenwees. The panoramic view is breathtaking. Well over 300 peaks tempt you to stop and let your mind wander. The geological phenomena of the Alpstein are explained on 15 information boards. For the descent from the Bollenwees It takes around two hours to return to Brülisau.

If you're returning from the Hoher Kasten via Gasthaus Ruhesitz hike, can rent a scooter there and race back to Brülisau on the paved road.

This hike can also be extended to a two-day hike with an overnight stay in Bollenwees mountain inn.

Information and tips for the hiking route:

• The Fählensee lake is ideal for a refreshing dip – don't forget your swimming trunks.
• At the Ruhesitz inn, you can rent a scooter and helmet for 15 francs for the 3 km descent to Brülisau.
• Alpine cheese is available for purchase at Alp Soll.
• Find out more on the website www.hoherkasten.ch

Suitable for: People in good physical condition and experienced hikers
Duration: Almost 8 hours
Altitude: 1440 m

We will be happy to advise you at our reception and look forward to welcoming you soon at the foot of the Alpstein.

Your Hof team