Wirzweli Family Guide: Witch trail (Hexenweg) and Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg)
- Joanna Rogowska
- May 2
- 9 min read
Updated: 5 hours ago
Two witch-themed hikes with a large playground, pony rides and a summer toboggan.
Wirzweli | Canton of Lucerne | Switzerland
2026 Season Opening: 18th May
🏆 Part of our Family Adventure Map featuring top themed hikes in Switzerland. 🏆
What makes Wirzweli Witch Trails special: The "it" factor
The witch-themed playground
You get to choose between two hikes:
Weather Witch Trail (Wetterhexenweg): Longer (4.4 km) and a bit more demanding, with weather-themed stations, Lizi’s furniture hidden in the trees, and play stations mainly concentrated in the forest sections.
Witch Trail (Hexenweg): Shorter (3.2 km), easier overall (mostly downhill), but requires an extra gondola ticket. More classic witch & herbalist theme, including broom-flying fun, with play stations spread more evenly along the route.
Don't feel like reading? Watch a video instead!
Witch trail (Hexenweg) and Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg) Walk-Through Video
Plan your visit:Â Quick overview
Witch trail (Hexenweg) and Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg) Â at a glance
đź“Ť Location:Â Wirzweli | Canton LuzerneÂ
🥾 Hike type:Â
Weather witch: Circular, accessible by one gondola
Witch: Downhill (or uphill), accessible with two gondolas
🎉 Fun Factor: Mega playground, summer toboggan, ponies, and a story-led trail with fun play stations.
🍽️ Food factor:
bei Wurzeltraut "Essen und Trinken" - offering Epic Erlebnis Brunch
Restaurant Waldegg
Gummenalp Restaurant
Arviblick Restaurant
Picnic and barbecue spots
Chalet Lueg is Tal
⚡ Fitness Factor:Â
Weather-witch (Wetterhexenweg):Â 4.4 km, 134 m elevation change (ascent & descent)
Witch (Hexenweg):Â 3.2 km, 377m descent (or ascent if done in reverse)
đź’° Value factor:Â (2026 updated)
Weather witch (Dallenwil - Wirzweli gondola return):
Adults: 23.60 CHFÂ full price | 11.80 CHFÂ with Half-Fare SBB
Kids (from 6 years old): 11.80 CHF
Weather witch (Dallenwil - Wirzweli gondola return + Eggwald - Gummenalp single):
Adults: 30.60 CHFÂ full price | 18.80 CHFÂ with Half-Fare SBB
Kids (from 6 years old): 15.80 CHF
Prices indicative, check official website
Plan your visit: Practical info
Arrival by car: You can park at the gondola station in Dallenwil
For both hikes: Take the Luftseilbahn from Dallenwil to Wirzweli (tip: 1/2 tax card applies)
Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg)
Start & end: Wirzweli gondola station (ca. 1'221 m)
After arriving to Wirzweli follow the orange Wetterhexenweg signs
Ascent / Descent: ca. 134 m
Length: ca. 4.4 km
Duration:Â Play station fun: 30 mins - 3 hrs, hike: 2 hrs. It took us 5 hours in total (including lunch)
Witch trail (Hexenweg)
Plan your visit:Â Detailed guide
Witch trail (Hexenweg) and Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg) -Â Everything else parents will want to know
Witch trail or Weather-witch trail - which hike to choose?
Both hikes are nice and it comes down to what you prefer. If you want to physically challenge your family a bit more, you don't like hiking downhill, your kids are motivated to keep walking stretches that have no play areas, or you want to save some money on the gondola, then go for the Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg)..
If you are looking for something easier, your family likes hikes that go downhill all the way, your kids do not tolerate long stretches without any play areas or you really want to check out what it's like to fly on a broom zip-line, go for the Witch trail (Hexenweg).
The fun factor
Immerse yourself in Lizi’s story.
Meet Lizi, who lives in the Wirzweli forest with her friends - Florian the fox and Elfi the squirrel. She is a witch, a herbalist, a healer and an alchemist and the animals of the forest come to her for help when they are sick. Both weather-witch (Wetterhexenweg) and witch (Hexenweg) hikes are themed around this smart little lady and her friends.
You can learn about her story from a beautiful book that you can buy at the gondola station. It is only in German but it has many illustrations, so we managed to "read" it with the kids before the hike. The kids enjoyed it very much and were very motivated to start hiking to look for their new friend, Lizi.
Hit the mega playground
Both weather-witch (Wetterhexenweg) and witch (Hexenweg) hikes start at the Wirzweli playground. It has a small area for young kids and a bigger playground for slightly older kids with cute witch huts, climbing areas and a mini labyrinth. Our almost 4 year-old was the right age to enjoy both areas. You also get to find Florian the fox and Elfi the squirrel around the area so if you opt to read the book, you can also do some character spotting.
There is a restaurant and a few large picnic tables just next to the playgrounds, allowing you to grab a drink or a snack whilst your kids are having fun.
Race down the summer toboggan.
Just next to the playground there is a fun slide (sommerrodelbahn). Kids of any age can ride it with their parents and from 8 years old, they can do so alone. It is only open until 4:30 and with all the attractions around we did not make it back in time to try it out, but it looked very fun! Definitely next time we are there, we will give it a go. For safety reasons, the toboggan run is only open in dry weather.
Ride ponies
The Wirzweli ponies are back from early June through October 2026 — usually on selected weekends, in dry weather, from 14:00–16:00 right by the top gondola station. No pony rides during dedicated pony days in the summer holidays, and very hot weather can also mean no rides. Best tip: check Wirzweli’s Instagram / Facebook or call ahead for the latest updates.
Plus, kids can book a full Pony Day adventure during the summer and autumn holidays: a whole day with their own pony including grooming, riding, cuddles, supervised activities, outdoor lunch, crafts in the pony stable, an independent riding course, and a surprise gift. No riding experience is needed, as all ponies are supervised. Suitable for children aged 4–12. We tried it once and it was amazing! You can check out our video about it below:
Weather-witch Wirzweli trail (Wetterhexenweg)
The hike starts with... another restaurant (Arviblick) with a playground and continues with an uphill climb that has no attractions along the way. It was the anticipation of discovering where Lizi lives that helped us motivate our kids to keep going. When we finally arrived in the forest, we discovered her mailbox, her house full of healing potions and her "kitchen" where she prepares them.
As you continue through the forest, you come across the door to enter Lizi's world. The kids were excited to open the door and discover her bed and some other large household items hanging high up in the tree. As Lizi was sleeping we were instructed by our toddlers to keep very quiet in this section :)
As you would expect from a weather-witch trail, most play areas are themed around the weather. You learn about the clouds, you create a storm in a cup, you make the sun rise and set, you can play "weather music" and observe the weather from a watch tower. Most of the stations are only loosely linked to the book so if you choose to skip it, you will be able to enjoy the fun anyway. As the book describes two kids who got lost in the snow and were saved by Lizi, we were excited to discover a station linked to the story, where you can create a lot of snow for these two lost kids.
Witch-trail Wirzweli (Hexenweg)
This trail starts with a short, flat walk and an additional gondola ride. At the top you'll find another small playground next to the restaurant. It then goes downhill all the way. You also get to discover another one of Lizi's houses but there are no furniture scattered around the forest like in the weather-witch trail (lack of storms, we guessed). The kids, however, can experience what it is like to fly on a broom thanks to a fun zip-line.
There are some interactive activities along the way. Like throwing pine-cones into holes, discovering various spices in a chest (they really smell very strong!), play connect-4 with blocks and more. They are all somehow loosely related to the witch theme. It becomes clearer if you read the signs. They are in German only. If you don't speak the language, I recommend using the google translator camera. You take a photo of the text and get a version of it in your language so you can immerse yourself in the story.
Many of the play areas here were just an object in the forest and a suggestion on a sign for a family activity.
In the "letter in the forest" play station you discover how Lizi spilled her alphabet soup all over the forest.
In the "magical wand" station you learn that according to witch regulation, every witch has a specific wand with which only she can perform magic and you are asked to describe what your wand would look like if you could perform magic.
Both: Weather-witch trail (Wetterhexenweg) & Witch trail (Hexenweg)
The last stretch for both hikes have no play station. There is, however, restaurant Waldegg with a playground which we choose to have our late lunch at whilst kids could have a last dose of fun.
This is also where the Owl Path starts. It is a 30-45 minutes optional trail where you get to watch these beautiful birds. If the witch hike itself is not enough for your kids, this walk can definitely be considered. We were done after a full day of fun and left the Owl adventure for another time.
The views factor
Both hikes go mostly through the forest, with some field sections where you get a glimpse of beautiful lower mountain views. The views factor is therefore very similar for both.
Weather-witch trail impressions
Witch trail impressions
The value factor
đź’°Â Value factor:Â (2026 updated)
Weather witch (Dallenwil - Wirzweli gondola return):
Adults: 23.60 CHFÂ full price | 11.80 CHFÂ with Half-Fare SBB
Kids (from 6 years old): 11.80 CHF
Weather witch (Dallenwil - Wirzweli gondola return + Eggwald - Gummenalp single):
Adults: 30.60 CHFÂ full price | 18.80 CHFÂ with Half-Fare SBB
Kids (from 6 years old): 15.80 CHF
Prices indicative, check official website
The fitness factor
The witch trail is one-way and a bit easier: shorter (3.2 km) and mostly downhill (377 m descent). To get to the first play area you need to follow a paved, flat road and take a gondola up.
The weather-witch circular hike is only slightly more demanding with a little bit of climbing to do (134 m up and down). The access to the first play area is the most demanding as it's uphill only. It took some snacks and hiking games to motivate our two 3.5 year-olds to keep walking and reach the fun. The other parts were much easier.
The last parts of both hikes go over a flat paved road.
The food factor
Both witch hikes start at the bei Wurzeltraut "Essen und Trinken" which offers a fun menu for kids, amazing Erlebnis Brunch and overlooks the large playground.
They also both go past the Restaurant Waldegg and its cute playground.
Tip: check the opening hours and when their kitchens are open as they stop serving warm dishes early during the day.
Both hikes also cross paths once, about two-thirds of the way in, and right next to that point is Chalet Lueg is Tal, a new mountain restaurant.
The witch trail starts with an additional gondola ride up, where you can find the Gummenalp restaurant, also with a playground. We did not eat there but as google reviews are amazing, we will definitely try it out once.
The weather-witch trail starts with the Arviblick restaurant looming over the main playground. During our visit, it was much less crowded than the Alpen restaurant Wirzweli so we could get a coffee there and read Lizi's story with the kids to set the mood.
If you choose to go for a picnic, there is a nice area by the witch hike playground.
The best picnic places for the witch hike are by the first play area and just after the ninth (telescope). The weather-witch hike has one just at the beginning of the hike, after the seventh (let it snow) and around the thirteenth play areas. They are all very nice and in the shade.
There is also a picnic area along the paved road that takes you to and from the gondola at the beginning of the witch hike. We would not recommend this one as it is right next to the road.
Top Family Hike in Switzerland!
This hike is featured on our Adventure Map: Top themed hikes for families — part of our curated collection of the best family hikes in Switzerland.
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More info: Official Website | Webcams
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