Switzerland Pizol 5 Lakes Hike

I did this fabulous hike in September 2023 and would love to share with you the details so you can enjoy it too! One of the best hikes I’ve done in this country, this is the Switzerland Pizol 5 Lakes Hike. It’s not an extremely difficult hike but it does take 4-5 hours to cover the 11.4 kilometers (Elevation gain of 553 meters and descent of 911 meters).

Introduction
Itinerary
Wildsee
Schottensee
Schwarzesee
Baschalvasee
Ending the Switzerland Pizol 5 Lakes Hike
Additional Info on Switzerland

Introduction

Pizol is located in northeastern Switzerland in the state/canton of St. Gallen. This area was too far from where we live for a day trip, so we made a long weekend of it to do other hikes in the region. It was my birthday weekend treat and what a great one it was. Hiking in nature is the best gift I can ask for!

To base ourselves for this full day hike, I chose to book an apartment in the tiny village of Furt, up the hill from the city of Pizol. We had to drive a long and very narrow country road to reach this location. It’s the kind of road that you have to honk at every turn to make sure no one is approaching you head-on. If you are weary of driving these roads, another option to get to Furt is the gondola from Wangs (approximately 50 Swiss francs for a return journey).

In Furt, there were a couple of restaurants and a handful of houses. The advantage of staying in Furt was that we could take the chairlift to the top of the mountain where the hike started. We could also have a relaxing day knowing we were sleeping conveniently and the ending point of the hike.

Itinerary

Here is the itinerary of the complete walk, from the starting point of the Pizol hut (Pizolhütte, where the chairlifts reach the top):

Pizol hut to Wildsee, 2.5 km, 1 hour
Wildsee to Schottensee, 500 meters, 15 minutes
Schottensee to Schwarzesee, 2.5 km, 1 hour
Schwarzesee to Baschalvasee, 2.5 km, 1 hour
Baschalvasee to Gaffia, 2 km, 45 minutes

Note that this hike is normally not possible before July 1. Check the dedicated website for more details and opening times of the chairlifts.

Wildsee

To start the Pizol 5 Lake Hike, we had to take two different chairlifts from Furt to arrive at the starting point. You will walk past the Pizol hut situated at 2227 meters. They have a restaurant if you want to start off with a drink or snack.

Looking back at the chairlifts to the top

The first of the Pizol 5 lakes is near the Pizol hut. You’ll need to backtrack a bit to see the Wangsersee. Based on pictures I had seen, I thought the other four lakes were more spectacular so we started off immediately in the direction toward Wildsee.

The above picture shows the gradual start of the one-hour uphill hike to Wildsee. It became steeper after rounding the corner and the terrain was very rocky. We were happy to finally get over the ridge to see this gorgeous lake (Wildsee, shown above).

There were many people sitting at the top having picnics or taking pictures of the turquoise-colored lake. It was possible to walk down to the edge, but this was off the normal path. We chose to stay on the higher path which led to the next lake.

Schottensee

The next lake was very similar to Wildsee with the same bright blue colors. It was only a short 15 minute walk to this lake. The view from the top looking down was absolutely stunning.

While walking on the path down to Schottensee, we looked up at the high peaks around us and saw two mountain goats.

Unlike Wildsee, you could easily walk to the water’s edge of Schottensee. The reflections of the surrounding hills and above sky was spectacular.

If you’re brave enough, take a dip in the cold glacier lake! We opted to walk by the lake for a picnic while admiring the beauty all around us.

Schwarzesee

The third lake we came across on the Pizol 5 Lake Trail was called Schwarzesee (at 2368 meters). This lake was emerald green instead of bright blue like the first two lakes we saw. Nonetheless, it was just as pretty as we turned the corner and looked down onto the view.

I have to say the 5 Lakes Trail was very well maintained and there was no chance to get lost. We were lucky that there were not many people on this day. It helped to do this hike on a Friday instead of a weekend day.

After passing Schwarzasee, there is only one more ascent to see the final lake of the hike.

Baschalvasee

On the way to the final lake, we passed through a fairyland of cairns. If you are not aware, a cairn (term coming from Scottish Gaelic) is a human-made stack of stones. Cairns represent peace, calm, meditation, center and grounding. They are sometimes used as a spiritual token of gratitude. I had never seen so many piles of rocks!

From this point, there were breathtaking views onto the Rhine valley below.

As we started to descend, there was the final lake for the day, called Baschalvasee (at 2,174 meters). This lake was a deep green and quite small compared to the others. We were happy to be approaching the end of this long hike.

Ending the Switzerland Pizol 5 Lakes Hike

We descended down a long trail to reach the Gaffia chairlift (1861 meters) that we took that morning. I was a bit worried we wouldn’t reach it in time for the last ride down but we did! When you do hikes involving chairlifts or gondolas to descend, you have to be careful with the timing. For this reason, I recommend to start the Pizol hike early in the morning (11am latest).

Where we had dinner the night we stayed in Furt

We ended our glorious day sitting outside sipping a cocktail at the Berghotel in the tiny village of Furt. We then went back to our guesthouse to get cleaned up and return to the restaurant for a delicious and well-deserved meal after the long day! If you decide to stay in Furt like we did, be sure to make a reservation in advance at one of the restaurants.

I loved the Switzerland Pizol 5 Lakes Hike! The weather in early September was perfect for this hike.

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Additional Info on Switzerland

If you enjoy hiking around lakes like I do, you’ll want to check out the 5 Lakes Walk in Zermatt Switzerland!

See below posts for other Switzerland adventures!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!