The Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt, Switzerland: Complete Trail Guide, Map + Tips!
Looking for one of the best hikes in Zermatt? Then put the Matterhorn Glacier Trail on your list! This hike is a relatively easy point-to-point hike with the most epic views of the Matterhorn and the Alps through an otherworldly landscape of reflective alpine lakes. Plus, you can combine this hike with the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise- one of Zermatt’s best places to visit. In this guide, we’ll share everything you need to know to hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, including how to get there, when to go, what to expect on the trail, hiking stats, how to plan your day, and more!
The Matterhorn Glacier Trail is an amazing hike in Zermatt. It’s relatively short and easy, but it has some of the most unique and best up-close views of the Matterhorn you can get in Zermatt.
On this hike, you’ll travel through the remnants of past glacial retreat, which has left behind a barren alien-like landscape that would make you feel like you’ve been transported to the moon, or maybe Mars, if it weren’t for the continuous panoramic views of snow- capped mountains, glacier lakes, and of course, the epic Matterhorn. It’s this contrast of the desert- like landscape with the beautiful snowy Alps and glaciers that make the scenery on this trail just so unique and cool.
The Matterhorn Glacier Trail is a point- to- point hike between two cable car stations that service one of the most popular places in Zermatt, the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. So if you get an early start to your day and time things right, you can visit the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and do this epic Zermatt hike all in one perfect day.
This is exactly what we did and it was our favorite day in Zermatt.
In this guide, we’ll share everything you need to know to hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt, including how to get to the trailhead and what cable cars and passes you’ll need for this trail, the best time to hike, trail stats, what to expect along the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, what to bring, and how to plan your time to fit in everything you want to do on this cable car route!
So, let’s get to it!
In this Matterhorn Glacier Trail guide:
Where Does the Matterhorn Glacier Trail Start and End?
One of the most popular things to do in Zermatt is visit Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the highest cable car station in Europe with amazing panoramic views over the Matterhorn and the Alps.
A series of cable cars brings you from the town of Zermatt up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, stopping at several mountain stations en route.
The cable car to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
The Matterhorn Glacier Trail is a point- to- point hike that connects two of these mountain stations- Trockener Steg and Schwarzsee.
To get here, you’ll ride the cable cars from Zermatt, getting off at the Trockener Steg station where you’ll start the hike. Then you’ll hike to Schwarzsee, where you can get back on the cable cars to head back to Zermatt.
Map of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt
This is a map of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise area in Zermatt. We’ve labeled the relevant cable car stations like Trockener Steg, Schwarzsee, Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Zermatt, and we’ve labeled the Matterhorn Glacier Trail as well as the Hornlihutte hike (a popular detour off the Matterhorn Glacier Trail) to give you a better idea of where everything is located.
A map of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise area. Cable car lines are blue while hikes are red.
Which direction should you hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail?
Since this is a point-to-point hike, you can hike in either direction, but we definitely recommend hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee. Trockener Steg is the higher of the two cable car stations so in this direction, the hike will be overall downhill. If you hike it in the opposite direction, the hike becomes much more strenuous with a lot of steep climbs.
Also, when hiking to Schwarzsee, the Matterhorn is directly in front of you for most of the hike and it’s super epic.
For the rest of this guide, we describe the Matterhorn Glacier Trail as it’s hiked from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee.
Matterhorn views will be mostly ahead of you when hiking from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee
How to Get to the Matterhorn Glacier Trailhead in Zermatt
The Matterhorn Glacier Trail starts at the Trockener Steg cable car station above Zermatt. The bottom station for this cable car route is found at the far southern end of town, located here on Google Maps.
From the train station at the other end of town, it’s about a 20 minute walk (just over a kilometer) and will be slightly uphill, but you might be closer depending on where in Zermatt you are staying. Zermatt is pretty walkable, but if you want, you can take a free e-bus to the cable car station. You’ll want to take the Green Line (the Bergbahnen) which goes to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise lifts. Check out the list of bus stops here where you can hop on, as well as the Green Line timetables here.
From this station, you’ll hop on a small 8 person gondola for a quick 7 minute ride up to the next cable car station at Furi.
In Furi, there are two options for getting to Trockener Steg depending on the time of year and time of day you’re here.
The first option is a large cable car that runs directly from Furi to Trockener Steg. These are not continuous, with only a couple running back and forth between the stations, so you might have a short wait here. But they can fit a lot of people, so if it’s busy, expect to be squeezed in. It’s a quick ride, though- only about 7 or 8 minutes.
The cable car to Trockener Steg
Hopefully you can get a spot next to a window for the awesome views over the quickly changing landscape- as you head further up, the scenery changes from small quaint hamlets spread across green meadows to a grey, barren, moon-like landscape, with the Matterhorn looming ahead.
The view from the cable car as you approach the Trockener Steg station
It’s okay if you can’t see it too well from the cable car though, because in just a few minutes, you’ll be on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail and fully immersed in all if it.
The second option from Furi is to take a gondola to Schwarzsee and then to Trockener Steg. You can hop off the gondola at Schwarzsee before continuing on, but since you’ll be hiking here later to end the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, we recommend just heading straight through to Trockener Steg to get an early start on the trail.
It doesn’t matter too much which of these routes to Trockener Steg you take. The direct route will probably get you there a tad bit quicker but otherwise, both are easy rides and very scenic. Just check the timetables to see which route is running when you’ll be there. For example, in July and most of August, the direct route from Furi to Tockener Steg only runs in the morning until 8 am. After that, you’ll have to take the Schwarzsee route.
Tickets for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail cable cars
You can buy tickets for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail cable cars either online, or simply right at the bottom station in Zermatt (at the ticket counter or an easy-to-use self-service kiosk).
We were able to just buy all our lift tickets in Zermatt the day of and just hop right on the next set of lifts with no problem.
In fact, we do think this is the best strategy as the weather in Zermatt can be so fickle and unpredictable. Because of this, we really don’t recommend buying any lift tickets too far in advance (more than a day or two out) before you can get a better sense of the forecast. You’ll want good weather and clear views to make your time on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail (and money!) worth it!
When it comes to buying cable car tickets in Zermatt, there are a few different passes you should know about.
Individual lift tickets
You can buy one-way or roundtrip tickets from Zermatt to any of the stations along this cable car route. If all you’re looking to do is hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, then you should buy a one-way ticket from Zermatt to Trockener Steg, and then a one-way ticket from Schwarzsee to Zermatt for after the hike.
However, if you want to also visit Matterhorn Glacier Paradise while you’re here (which we recommend!), then you should buy a roundtrip ticket from Zermatt to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Even though you won’t be using all the lifts on the way back down to Zermatt (since you’ll bypass some while hiking), getting this roundtrip ticket is still the cheapest option.
To confirm this and to see all the most up-to-date prices for the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable cars, check their website. Note that prices change based on the season, with peak prices in July and August, midrange prices in the shoulder months of May, June, September, and October, and the lowest prices in winter.
Kombi tickets
If you only plan on hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail and not doing anything else along this cable car route, then consider buying this hiking ticket, which gets you from Zermatt to Trockener Steg and from Schwarzsee back to Zermatt at a discounted rate.
Money-saving passes for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
Lifts in Zermatt are pricey, but luckily there are a few different ways to save a bit of money when in Zermatt, including the Matterhorn Glacier Trail.
The Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card
One of the best ways to save money in Switzerland in general is to buy either the Swiss Travel Pass or the Swiss Half Fare Card. If you plan on spending a bit of time in the country traveling to a few different places, chances are one of these travel cards will be worth it.
Swiss Travel Pass: This pass gets you unlimited travel on all of Switzerland’s trains and buses, along with half off most mountain lifts throughout the country. You can buy it based on the number of days you plan to be in the country. It’s pretty expensive, though, so most likely only worth it if you plan on doing a lot of train travel in a short amount of time.
The Half Fare Card: This card gets you half off all train and bus travel plus half off most mountain lifts in Switzerland and is good for an entire month. It’s pretty reasonably priced so this card will likely be worth it, since so many amazing things in Switzerland require taking expensive lifts and cable cars.
Both of these passes get you half off all lift tickets in Zermatt, including the cable cars for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, so it can be a big savings.
Check out our Complete Zermatt Guide for more information on these passes and to see if it would be worth it for you!
The Peak Pass
Zermatt’s Peak Pass is a one-time purchase that gets you unlimited rides on all of Zermatt’s lifts. You buy it based on the number of days you plan on using it, and if you have a Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card, you get 25% off the full price.
It does seem like a great deal, but when we did all the math, we realized it actually wasn’t worth it for us. We planned on riding each of the cable routes in Zermatt (Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Gornergrat, and Rothorn) just one time each, and the cost of buying individual tickets for this was actually less than the 3 day Peak Pass. So we think this pass is really only worth it if you plan on riding the lifts multiple times or are trying to squeeze in a lot in a little time.
The Peak2Peak Pass
This pass lets you visit Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Gornergrat- two of Zermatt’s best places to visit- in one day. It gives you access to all the required lifts, cable cars, and cogwheel trains at a discounted rate (and the Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card gets you 50% off!) but the pass is good for just the day, so this pass is definitely worth it for someone with a limited time in Zermatt.
When are the Matterhorn Glacier Trail cable cars open?
While the cable cars for the Matterhorn Glacier paradise are open most of the year, their timetables change based on the season.
In July and August (peak season), most of the cable cars along this route are running, and they start earlier in the day and run until later in the evening.
In the shoulder months (May, June, September, and October), the have shorter daily windows of operation, and also some of the cable cars stop running all together (for example, the Schwarzsee to Trockener Steg cable car stops running in early September and the Furi to Schwarzsee gondola stops later in the month).
Make sure to check the most up-to-date timetables here (you can click on either Summer or Winter Timetables). Be sure to look at these carefully, and check all the footnotes to get more specific opening and closing times and any planned maintenance closures.
How Long is the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt?
One of the best things about the Matterhorn Glacier Trail is that it is a relatively short and easy trail, but one with big views.
Here are our hiking stats for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt, hiking in the direction from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee.
Distance: 6.6 km (4.1 miles) one-way
Elevation gain: 264 meters (866 feet)
Elevation loss: 621meters (2,037 feet)
Time: 2.5 hours (It took us 2 hours to get from Trockener Steg to Hirli and then a half hour to get from Hirli to Schwarzsee- this could be done faster but like us, you’ll probably be stopping for lots of pictures!)
Elevation profile
Our elevation profile of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail. We combined this trail with the hike to the Hornlihutte but have greyed out that portion of the hike.
Matterhorn Glacier Trail map
A map of our hike on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt
How Hard is the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt?
We would put the Matterhorn Glacier Trail on the easy side of moderate.
When hiking from Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee, it’s an overall downhill hike, which is why we recommend this direction. There are a couple of steep climbs mixed in, but they are short, so overall this trail isn’t that strenuous.
There are a few short, steep, and rocky climbs on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
In terms of the terrain, the trail can get rocky and rugged at times, and on some of the steep descents you’ll be walking down loose rock and scree that can be slick, so just watch your footing and step carefully.
As far as route-finding goes, there are times where there really isn’t a discrete path to follow, or just a very faint herd path, but the trail is marked with easy-to-find red and white blazes and poles, so just keep your eyes out for those and you should be good.
Be sure to follow the red and white blazes (seen above) to stay on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail!
The Matterhorn Glacier Trail: Our Experience
Here we’ll go over our experience hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt so you can see what to expect and if you’d be up for it during your trip.
We visited Matterhorn Glacier Paradise in the morning before our hike. We got to the cable car station in Zermatt before the first lifts started running so that we could get as early of a start as possible. It took us about an hour to travel from Zermatt straight through to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and we spent about a half hour up there.
It was a bit rushed, but we wanted to make sure we had enough time to do the Matterhorn Glacier Trail and the hike to the Hornlihutte (a detour off the Matterhorn Glacier Trail which we’ll talk more about later!) and still be able to catch the last gondola back to Zermatt at the end of the day. So it was a lot to pack in! But we had perfect conditions so we knew we had to just go for it.
Views of the Matterhorn and Alps from the viewing terrace at the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
We’re only going to talk about the Matterhorn Glacier Trail here, so for tons more information about visiting Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, make sure to check out our Matterhorn Glacier Paradise Guide!
We also wanted to briefly note our experience with the weather here, just to give you some context for what you’ll see in our pictures in this trail guide. We visited Zermatt in early September, a month which generally has pretty good weather. The year we went, however, the Alps were having a pretty crazy month, and we experienced everything from heat waves in the French Alps, to freezing temperatures, a polar vortex, and snow in the Swiss Alps.
Our first two full days in Zermatt were completely rained out, and the rain that was falling down in the town of Zermatt was actually snow up in the mountains! On our third day, our luck turned and we got the most perfect conditions! Clear skies, pure sun, and the Matterhorn was out the entire day! That was our cue to set out on the trails and luckily, there was no lingering snow on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail itself, but the previous two days’ snowfall made our views from the trail that much more magical. The Matterhorn and the surrounding peaks were all covered in a beautiful white blanket which contrasted so beautifully with the barren alpine landscape of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, as you’ll see in all our pictures. We like to think of it as our reward for enduring the crazy weather we had gotten up until this point!
With all that said, let’s get into our experience on the trail…
We arrived at Trockener Steg to start the Matterhorn Glacier Trail just before 10 am. As soon as you step out of the station, you’ll be greeted by views of the Klein Matterhorn ahead (where Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is located) and Breithorn to its left.
We followed the wide gravel road down past the Info Cube and you’ll see a red sign that points to the right for Schwarzsee.
The view outside of the Trockener Steg station. The Klein Matterhorn is the pointed peak, and Breithorn is the snow-covered peak to its left. Follow the gravel road down to the start of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail.
Down here, the Matterhorn will now be in full view- it already feels like it’s right in front of you! But on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, you’ll keep inching closer and closer, so it’s only going to get better from here! It’s a very unique perspective of the mountain, and not the typical iconic view that you see in pictures. But as you get closer to Schwarzsee, you’ll get varying perspectives of the mountain and towards the end, you’ll also get more of that iconic pyramidal-shaped view of the mountain.
From up here, you’ll also be overlooking the barren, desert-like alien landscape stretched out ahead, dotted with small lakes and covered with gray and red rock. It seriously felt as if we were transported to the Moon!
Matterhorn views at the start of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
From here, walk the wide gravel path under the cable car lines and in the direction of the Matterhorn. This will be a slightly downhill walk, and before you know it, a large lake will come into view, and it’s one of the most scenic lakes in Zermatt.
Following the gravel path towards the Matterhorn and the reflective lake
Riffelsee and Stellisee get most of the attention in terms of Zermatt lakes, but I think this lake was our favorite! The Matterhorn is right there, and I think we got super lucky, because the surface of the water was glass-like and the Matterhorn was perfectly reflecting in the lake. So cool!
There are also a couple of smaller tarns that you can explore around here before heading down to the larger lake.
Walking down to the lake
A small tarn near the lake perfectly reflecting the Matterhorn
Picture-perfect Matterhorn reflections!
We were so entranced by this view, and spent a lot of time here taking pictures. But we couldn’t stay too long, because we had a lot more trail left to hike that day!
So, on we went…
To continue on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, head to the right around the lake. The views didn’t stop in this direction, as we were walking straight toward the beautifully snow-capped peaks of the Alps.
Snow-capped mountain views from the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
At the end of the lake, you’ll walk by a small building, and this is where we saw the first sign confirming to us that we were indeed on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail.
From here, follow the sign that points to the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
From here, you’ll be following the red and white blazes on the rocks along the trail as well as red and white poles. Oftentimes there’s not a totally discreet trail to follow (it’s all just one giant barren rocky blanket), but if you just keep your eye out for these trail markers, you should be fine.
Follow these blazes along the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
From this building, walk towards the Matterhorn and cross a small footbridge over the lake’s outlet stream.
The trail then hangs a left around the other side of the lake. From here, the views of the Matterhorn are stunning!
Ahead is a long band of red rock, and you’ll climb a small but steep hill to get to the top. As you climb, don’t forget to look behind you for awesome views back over the lake and the distant peaks.
More lakes and Matterhorn views along the trail
Heading towards the small rock band that the trail will climb
Looking back at the views from the short climb up the rock band
Towards the top of this climb, the trail turns again towards the Matterhorn, which looks larger than ever. Up here, you’ll be walking alongside the Mars-like red rocks, and this combined with the panoramic mountain and glacier views are absolutely stunning.
The last bit of the climb is a bit steep and rocky, but at the top, you’ll definitely be rewarded for your efforts.
Red rock, gray landscape, and snow-capped mountains: the typical views along the Matterhorn Glacier Trail!
A bit more rocky climbing towards the Matterhorn
The climb will spill you out at the shore of another beautiful glacier lake that perfectly reflects the Matterhorn on its surface. This lake is particularly beautiful because it’s surrounded by the colorful red rock that makes this landscape so unique, so we really loved this spot!
Another beautiful lake along the Matterhorn Glacier Trail!
From here you’ll also have panoramic views over the mountains around Zermatt, and behind you you’ll see the Klein Matterhorn, the Theodul Glacier, and Trockener Steg.
The Theodul Glacier with the Klein Matterhorn on the left
Looking out towards Zermatt Valley and the Alps
From this scenic lake, there’s just a tad bit more of climbing. Follow the red and white blazes up the red rock on the right side of the lake. The red rock leads to more gray gravel that climbs towards the Matterhorn.
But once you reach the top of this climb, it’s all downhill from here! (At least for a little while…).
Hiking across the Mars-like red rocks of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
The final bit of climbing (at least for a while) on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
From this vantage point, you have a jaw-dropping view out to the Matterhorn, the alien-like landscape spotted with tiny alpine lakes all over and backdropped by gorgeous snow-capped peaks, as well as the Theodul Glacier, the Klein Matterhorn, and the Breithorn.
These views are truly otherworldly, making this one of the more unique trails we’ve hiked for sure!
Looking back at views of the Klein Matterhorn and Breithorn (on the right)
The lake-dotted landscape of the Matterhorn Glacier area
The Theodul Glacier
The view of the Matterhorn and the alien-like landscape from the top of the climb
From this high point, the Matterhorn Glacier Trail begins a gradual descent towards the Matterhorn. It’s rocky, but the trail isn’t steep or slick yet, and it flattens out again pretty quickly so it’s fairly easy-going through here.
Along the way, you can enjoy the reflections off of several small lakes, and gawk at the ever-closer Matterhorn views. We seriously never thought we’d ever get so close to this iconic mountain!
Starting the descent across the barren landscape of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
After passing through this easier section, the Matterhorn Glacier Trail becomes a little bit more rugged as it makes a steeper descent. It’s still not too steep here, but it goes down some loose rock so just watch your footing here.
Heading further downhill
The Klein Matterhorn and Theodul Glacier make up the backdrop of this portion of the hike
The trail will soon flatten out again for a bit as you’re surrounded by views of the Matterhorn, the Theodul Glacier, pass by scenic lakes, and get ever-closer to the Matterhorn.
Getting ever closer to the Matterhorn
There is no shortage of scenic lakes and tarns on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail!
Here, we also started passing by the occasional interpretive sign which shared information about the landscape and the retreat of the glaciers that once covered this area not too long ago.
At the end of this flat stretch, you’ll begin the steep descent into the gully that sits just below the Matterhorn. The first part of the descent isn’t too bad- it’s rocky, but the path is pretty well- worn and obvious and it’s still not too steep.
It will flatten out for a bit as you pass by a few more picturesque lakes with Matterhorn reflections (trust us…these never get old! We could have seen a thousand more and not get tired of them!). Then, the final part of this descent into the gully gets pretty rugged, rocky, and slick, so step carefully here, and be sure to really watch for those trail blazes, because it can be easy to wander off the actual trail here if you’re not really looking ahead.
Also, if you look carefully, you’ll be able to see a dirt-covered glacial foot at the end of the valley!
More Matterhorn views
The final steep descent into the gully. Ahead, you can see the foot of a glacier tongue.
Looking back up the descent which is filled with loose rock and scree
Once you’ve made it to the bottom of the gully, the trail flattens out. Here, you’ll start to see the more iconic shape of the Matterhorn come into view, but now you’ll be heading away from it, and the mountain will slowly become obstructed by a rocky ridge (this ridge has the trail to the Hornlihutte along it- and if you look closely, you can see the metal platforms and stairs that are found at the beginning of this hike!).
Hiking across the gully beneath the Hornli Ridge
At the end of the gully, you’ll cross a short metal bridge.
Crossing the bridge at the end of the gully
From here, it’s a quick but steep climb up to Hirli, a winter-only cable car station. Stay to the right along this climb, as this has the better well-worn herd paths through the rocks that make the hill climb a bit easier to navigate.
As you climb higher and higher, don’t forget to look behind you as those classic Matterhorn views appear!
The short but steep climb out of the gully
More iconic views of the Matterhorn can be seen from this end of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
Not far from the top of this steep climb is the Hirli cable car station. We arrived here just before noon, so it took us almost two hours to get to this point- but this was with quite a bit of photo stops!
Approaching Hirli along the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
This is an important point in the Matterhorn Glacier Trail because this is where you can take the detour up to the Hornlihutte. We did this hike, and highly recommend it, but it will add several more hours to your hike, and it’s not for everyone. It’s steep and strenuous, with quite a bit of exposure, along with metal ramps, stairs, and rugged terrain.
To continue on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, follow the signs to Schwarzsee, which is about 30 minutes away at this point- so you’re almost there!
As you start hiking away from Hirli, the views will quickly open up ahead. From here, you can see the Schwarzsee cable car station below, and you can see out to Gornergrat and Rothorn (the two other excursion sites in Zermatt), the Monte Rosa massif and the massive Gorner Glacier, and all the way down to Zermatt.
The landscape is also much different now. It’s as if passing through Hirli teleported you from Mars back to Earth, and the terrain is now more green and meadow-like.
Looking down to Schwarzsee from Hirli
Looking out towards the Monte Rosa massif and Gorner Glacier
The entire hike to Schwarzsee is now downhill- but it’s not the easiest downhill we’ve ever done. From Hirli, you’ll follow a narrow rocky path as it switchbacks down the mountain and its pretty gradual at first. At the bottom of the first descent, though, it does become quite steep down lots of loose rock.
Switchbacking down to Schwarzsee
A steep descent along the trail
Looking back up the path of loose rock and shale
At the bottom of this descent, you’ll cross a wide gravel road and continue straight across on the narrow trail that cuts through the meadow. Here, take a look behind you because the Matterhorn starts to make its reappearance!
Then it’s time for your final descent into Schwarzsee. This descent starts off steep with lots of loose rock, so take your time here. It then eases up as it crosses above the scenic Schwarzsee lake below.
Looking down to Schwarzsee above the final descent
The steep switchbacking trail down to Schwarzsee
Hiking above Schwarzsee Lake
From here, it’s just a few more minutes until you reach the Schwarzsee cable car station.
Just before you reach the station, you can walk the gravel road down to the lake and the small chapel that sits at its shore, and you can also stop to take a picture with the scenic Zermatt sign that’s perfectly backdropped by the Matterhorn.
An iconic Matterhorn photo op at Schwarzsee
Near the station, there’s also a restaurant if you need to grab a bite to eat (or you can wait to get to Furi (the next cable car station below), which has lots of restaurant options).
From Schwarzsee, you can take the cable car back to Zermatt to finish your day on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail!
Options to Extend the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
The Matterhorn Glacier Trail on its own is an incredible hike and totally worth it, but if you’re looking to spend more time on the Zermatt trails, you’re in luck- there are a few different options.
The number one way we recommend extending this hike is by taking the detour to the Hornlihutte.
This large mountain hut sits at the top of a ridge just under the Matterhorn, and is used as a base for mountaineers looking to summit the mountain. But for day hikers, it’s a chance to hike an amazing trail and get as close as you can possibly get to the Matterhorn without actually climbing it.
An up-close view of the Matterhorn from the Hornlihutte
The trail to the Hornlihutte branches off from the Matterhorn Glacier Trail at Hirli. From here, it’s a 5.5 km (3.4 mile) out and back hike to the hut, with an additional 653 meters (2,141 feet) of gain.
While the Matterhorn Glacier Trail is relatively easy, the hike to the Hornlihutte is challenging, with lots of steep climbing and exposure. To learn more about hiking to the Hornlihutte in Zermatt, check out our Complete Guide to the Hornlihutte Hike.
Views from the Hornlihutte hike- an awesome but challenging detour off the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
If you’re looking for something a bit easier, you can extend your time on the trail by hiking from Schwarzsee down to Furi instead of taking the gondola. Once in Furi, you can do a short hike to the Hangebrucke suspension bridge, or you can continue your hike all the way down to Zermatt, making a stop at the scenic Gorner Gorge (this has a small entry fee- cash only!).
How to Plan Your Day on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
If all you plan to do is hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, then you don’t need to think too carefully about your schedule (though we still do recommend getting an early start!).
But if you want to do other things along this cable car route, such as visit the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, hike to the Hornlihutte, or hike around Furi, then you’ll have to be a bit more thoughtful in your planning to make sure you can fit everything in, and it will definitely be important to get an early start.
Riding the cable car up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
We recommend visiting Matterhorn Glacier Paradise first, before you hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail. This is because if you buy a roundtrip ticket up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, you cannot re-ride any section of the route. So, let’s say you decide to hike first. You ride up to Trockener Steg, hike to Schwarzsee, and then want to go back up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Well, your ticket won’t let you re-ride the lifts back up to Trockener Steg- you’ll have to buy another one-way ticket to get you from Schwarzsee to Trockener Steg, and then continue up. So it’s not the most cost-efficient way to plan your day on this cable car route.
Visiting Matterhorn Glacier Paradise first will allow you to make the most of your ticket without having to purchase anything else. Of course, if you have a Peak Pass it doesn’t really matter, because you have unlimited rides on all the lifts!
Spend a few hours at the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and then head back down to Trockener Steg to hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail.
If you want to also hike to the Hornlihutte, then you’ll really have to plan out your time, as this hike will add on about three more hours to your day. Be sure to keep a careful eye on the clock so you can be sure to make the last lifts back down to Zermatt at the end of the day!
Here’s how we would do it
Head to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise first, but don’t stay too long there. You’ll have to limit your time there- we skipped the ice palace and basically just went up for the views (we still felt it was worth it, though!).
Then we did the Matterhorn Glacier Trail and the hike to the Hornlihutte. We did feel we had to rush a little bit through the hikes, and we didn’t get to spend a lot of time up at the hut, but we did get back to Schwarzsee with about a half hour to spare before the gondola stopped running. However, the need to get to Schwarzsee in time was always in the back of my mind every time I wanted to stop for a picture or a break.
Even still, I wouldn’t change this day in Zermatt at all- it was our favorite!
Our schedule for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail looked something like this:
8:10 am to 9:15 am- Take the cable cars from Zermatt to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. (Luckily they started running the cable cars early that day! They weren’t supposed to start until 8:30 am but there were a lot of summer skiiers waiting to head up.) We recommend starting as early as you can- in July and August this means at 7 am when the first cable cars start going! This way, you’ll have more time to spend at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.
9:15 am-9:45 am: Enjoyed the views from Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Our visit here was pretty abbreviated, but we wanted to give ourselves enough time for the hike. When we were done, we took the gondola back down to Trockener Steg.
10:00 am- 11:45 am: Hiked from Trockener Steg to Hirli. You can probably do this a bit faster but we stopped so much to take pictures and you will probably want to as well!
12:00 pm- 2:00 pm: Hiked to the Hornlihutte and hung out at the hut for about 20 minutes for a quick lunch.
2:20 pm – 3:30 pm: Hiked back down to Hirli.
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm: Hiked to Schwazsee and took the gondola back to Zermatt.
4:30 pm: Back in Zermatt, we ran across town to the Gornergrat Bahn Station to get the next train up (wasn’t until 5:25 pm).
5:25 pm: Took the train up to spend the evening hiking around Riffelsee Lake. We got the last train back down to Zermatt (we got back to town at 8 pm).
This was a super long day, but so worth it! For more information about how you can plan a similar day in Zermatt, check out our Zermatt itineraries!
Best Time to Hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt
The best time to hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail is between July and September. By July, the snow should be cleared off from the high elevation trails like the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, but we like to check recent conditions from fellow hikers on AllTrails.
By September, the weather can be a bit of a mixed bag. It’s historically a nice month, however when we visited Zermatt in early September, the weather was all over the place and there was already snow dropping at the higher elevations.
The previous two days before we hiked were completely rained out, and that rain was actually snow in the mountains, which made for some incredible views of the snow-covered peaks. Luckily, the Matterhorn Glacier Trail was clear. The upper parts of the Hornlihutte did get snow and ice, but most of it had melted off by the time we made it up there.
So, if you plan to hike in Zermatt in September, just be prepared for anything and to maybe have to be more flexible with your plans.
Snowy September scenes from the Matterhorn Glacier Trail
Another reason we highly recommend hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in July or August is because of the lift schedules. During these peak months, the lifts operate earlier and later each day, giving you about two extra hours to play with. If you’re trying to fit a lot in like we did, these extra two hours matter.
We visited in September, so had a smaller timeframe to work with. We rushed through Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and felt a bit rushed through the hikes as well as we knew we had to make the last gondola down from Schwarzsee. With a few more hours, we could have visited the Ice Palace, or just had a more laid- back hike.
July and August are also the only months the Riffelberg Express (the gondola connecting the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car route to Gorergrat) is open, which makes visiting both peaks in one day a lot easier.
If you visit outside of these peak months, doing everything in a day is still possible (we proved it!) but your day will feel more rushed. Alternatively, if you don’t mind even more hiking, you can always just plan to hike all the way back down to Zermatt at the end of the day so you won’t feel rushed trying to make the last gondolas. Just make sure to bring a headlamp for the hike down to Zermatt!
In terms of the best time of day to hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, the earlier the better.
This is true especially if you plan on doing the Hornlihutte hike as well. Make sure to get the earliest start you can so you have time for everything because trust us, this is one hike you do not want to feel rushed through! If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to stop every ten feet for more pictures!
But even if you plan on doing just the Matterhorn Glacier Trail alone, we still recommend hitting the trail early. For one, you’ll avoid the crowds. We started on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail early, and we barely saw anyone until we got close to Hirli. It was so cool to feel completely alone out on this moon-like landscape- it really made us feel like we were on another planet.
Once we got near Hirli around midday, the crowds started appearing and the rest of the trail back to Schwarzsee was pretty busy.
Getting an early start is also a good idea for more ideal conditions. Often the Matterhorn is clearest in the morning before afternoon clouds begin shrouding it out. Even on a perfectly clear and sunny day, the Matterhorn can be hiding by the afternoon. So if you want to do most of the hike with the Matterhorn in view, start early.
Also, in the afternoon, the sun starts to set and it begins to move behind the Matterhorn, making the lighting a bit more harsh, and it’s harder to see and take good pictures of the mountain.
And finally, morning is your best chance to get really nice reflection shots off of the lakes- and there are plenty of those on this hike!
An early start on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail may mean clearer skies and Matterhorn reflections!
Tips for Hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt
Here are some final tips we have for hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail!
Wear good hiking shoes- This trail is rocky, and can get rugged and slick at times. Make sure to wear shoes or boots with good traction and ankle support.
Have sun protection- The entire Matterhorn Glacier Trail is exposed, so have sunscreen and a hat at the very least.
Hang onto your lift tickets- Each time you get both on and off a lift on this cable car route, you have to scan your ticket to get through the gates, so keep that ticket in a safe place!
Layers- You’ll be at a bunch of different altitudes between Zermatt and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Even if it’s a warm sunny day to start down in Zermatt, bring warm layers and even a light rain coat just in case.
If you go all the way up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, it’s good to have warm clothes to visit the viewing terrace and Ice Palace. When we visited Matterhorn Glacier Paradise in early September, everything was frozen over and temps were below freezing!
Freezing conditions up at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise!
Altitude- The Trockener Steg cable car station is at about 2900 meters in elevation, so don’t be surprised if you feel some effects of altitude on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail. Luckily, the trail is mostly downhill, but on some of the climbs you might feel more winded than usual. Remember this when planning out your day and add in some wiggle room for a possibly slower than normal pace.
Check the forecast before you hike- You’ll want to have good weather and clear skies for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail. If there are no views, it’s not worth your time or money in our opinion.
So be sure to check the forecast- we recommend checking the day before and even the morning of before making any concrete plans. Forecasts in Zermatt are fickle and change often leading up to the day!
Check Zermatt webcams- We loved the webcams in Zermatt! They are at most of the mountain stations around the valley and are super useful when trying to make plans for the day. It can be hard to see the Matterhorn from town depending on where you’re staying, so checking the webcams will let you see what the views will be like from different places around Zermatt. This is useful because depending on how the clouds are settled throughout the valley, the Matterhorn could be seen from one mountain station and not another, so checking the different webcams can help you plan out your day and help you decide where would be best to go. For the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, check webcams for Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Trockener Steg, and Hirli.
Pack a lunch- Especially if you plan on fitting a lot into the day, we recommend packing a lunch for the Matterhorn Glacier Trail. There are restaurants at Schwarzsee and Furi (and at the Hornlihutte if you decide to hike to that), but if you are planning on doing other hikes, you may not have time to sit at a restaurant and eat. In the morning, we recommend heading to Fuchs Bakery (there are a few locations in Zermatt) for some breakfast food and stuff to pack for lunch, or the night before stop at the Coop or Migros grocery store.
More Zermatt Guides
Looking for things to do in Zermatt after your hike on the Matterhorn Glacier Trail? Be sure to check out all our Zermatt guides!
Are you planning to hike the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Zermatt? Let us know if you have any questions! The Matterhorn Glacier Trail was one of our favorite hikes in Zermatt, and we hope you get a chance to experience it, too!