Palfries mountain station - Gonzen - Ladder - Heiligkreuz

We start the hike at the Palfries mountain station. The Palfriesbahn cable car takes us up around 1,250 meters in just 12 minutes. This takes us over an impressive waterfall (Ragnatscher Bach) and brings us up to the Palfries plateau.

From the Palfriesbahn we hike to the Gonzen mountain inn. Here we have a magnificent view of the Rhine Valley, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the various mountains of Graubünden. We continue across meadows and pastures. We descend approx. 10 m via an iron ladder and then walk for a long time through the shady state forest. Finally, former mountain paths (shortcuts) lead us down to Sargans.

Visit the Erzbild Chapel on your descent. The ore miners of the Gonzenberg mine used to speak to their St. Barbara in this forest chapel.

The hike starts from the Palfries mountain station in a south-easterly direction over the Chamm. There we leave the asphalted alpine road and take the path towards Alp Riet (to the Rieterhütten). The gently sloping hiking trail initially leads through wetlands, some of which are spanned by "wooden bridges", and then over alpine meadows to the aforementioned Rieterhütten huts. From there, we hike 700 meters downhill on the road, where we turn right onto the mountain trail. We soon reach the Gonzen mountain inn and continue downhill along a steep road, then across meadows and pastures. We branch off to the right and follow the white-blue-white marked alpine path leading over a ravine and through the forest in a southerly direction. After about 700 meters we reach a large clearing in the forest (Älpli), where young cattle or cows with their calves may be grazing. Shortly after this clearing we come to the iron Gonzen ladder, on which we descend about 10 meters into the depths. Once at the bottom, the 100-metre-long path, secured with a rope, leads over a rocky ledge. We continue in the shade of the state forest, where the path joins a Walser access road.

Here we take the road to the left and follow it for 400 meters, where we meet the natural road to Lanaberg. Continue downhill, where the road soon joins the asphalt access road to Oberprod. Follow this road briefly downhill and then take the shortcut via a lane. This road crosses us twice. Shortly before or above Sargans Castle, we have to take the path to the left and then continue more or less straight ahead to the center/traffic junction of Sargans. Walking time from here to the train station: 10 minutes.

On this hike there is also the option of walking from the Walserschliessunsstrasse in a westerly direction to Heiligkreuz.