Discover the Liechtenstein Trail: 75 kilometers through one of Europe’s tiniest countries

Nes­tled in the heart of Europe, the tiny yet pic­turesque prin­ci­pal­i­ty of Liecht­en­stein is tru­ly a hid­den gem. Sur­round­ed by grand moun­tains, Liecht­en­stein offers a rich his­to­ry and cul­tur­al expe­ri­ence. And there’s no bet­ter way to immerse your­self in all that Liecht­en­stein offers than to embark on the Liecht­en­stein Trail. Say no more, we’re com­ing!

This thru-hike is a gate­way to the coun­try’s stun­ning land­scapes, charm­ing vil­lages, and fas­ci­nat­ing her­itage. In this blog post, we’ll take you on a jour­ney along the Liecht­en­stein Trail, explor­ing its high­lights.

The Liechtenstein Trail

The Liecht­en­stein Trail is an easy hik­ing trail that spans 75 kilo­me­ters (46.6 miles) across the entire length of the prin­ci­pal­i­ty. This trail is divid­ed into five stages and the path is well-marked. This makes it acces­si­ble to hik­ers of all lev­els, from begin­ners to sea­soned trekkers.

As this coun­try is so small, we decid­ed to set up at a base­camp and hike from there. In Schaan-Vaduz you’ll find the Swiss Youth Hos­tel, which offers a per­fect cen­tral loca­tion for this trail. Extra pros are the afford­able prices and healthy food. Direct­ly behind the hos­tel, you’ll find a bus sta­tion for get­ting around eas­i­ly.

We decid­ed to hike the trail in 3 days which makes it a bit more chal­leng­ing but real­ly doable if you’re a hik­er.

Day 1: Schaanwald — Ruggell | 21 kilometers

We start our Liecht­en­stein Trail in the north of this tiny coun­try and hike south­bound towards Balz­ers, the end­point. You can hike this trail in either direc­tion. From our base­camp in Schaan-Vaduz it’s an easy 30-minute bus dri­ve to the trail­head in Schaan­wald at the bor­der with Aus­tria. From here, the trail goes direct­ly up into the for­est and then down through mul­ti­ple small towns. After climb­ing some hills and cross­ing the cute Robert-Rit­ter-Hütte we descend­ed on a steep path towards Ruggell. Great stage to start the trail!

Day 2: Ruggell — Schaan | 21 kilometers

The sec­ond day leads us from Ruggell to the nice towns of Eschen and Nen­deln. The first part is quite easy and then the trail goes up (steep!) towards Planken. From here you have a mag­nif­i­cent view of Liecht­en­stein and the sur­round­ing moun­tains. From this point, we hiked down to Schaan and end­ed at the Swiss Youth Hos­tel. Love­ly day.

Day 3: Schaan — Balzers 32 kilometers

We saved the best for last at the Liecht­en­stein Trail! From the hos­tel, we hiked for 7 hours to Balz­ers at the bor­der with Switzer­land to end our trail. First, to the cap­i­tal, Vaduz. As we approached the cap­i­tal city, the majes­tic Vaduz Cas­tle came into view, perched on a hill over­look­ing the city.

This icon­ic land­mark is a tes­ta­ment to Liecht­en­stein’s rich his­to­ry. From the cas­tle, we hiked up to Triesen­berg where we set off on a path that winds through lush forests and mead­ows with wild­flow­ers. Last but not least, we descend­ed to Balz­ers and the beau­ti­ful Guten­berg. One last push brought us to the bor­der with Switzer­land and our end­point to fin­ish this trail. The bus took us back to relax at the Swiss Youth Hos­tel.

Conclusion:

The Liecht­en­stein Trail is more than just a hik­ing route. It’s a diverse trail through nature and cul­ture. As you tra­verse its stages, you’ll find a mix of the prin­ci­pal­i­ty’s beau­ty, his­to­ry, and blend of old-world charm and mod­ern-world inge­nu­ity. High­ly rec­om­mend­ed!

Tips & tricks

Because you’re hik­ing sev­er­al hours a day, always bring your prop­er hik­ing gear with you. A min­i­mum of two liters of water, enough snacks, stur­dy shoes, com­fort­able hik­ing cloth­ing, and a good rain jack­et. Book your stay at the Swiss Youth Hos­tel in advance and most impor­tant­ly: enjoy! The Liecht­en­stein Trail can be hiked year-round.

Extra trail for diehards: the Fürstensteig

The Fürsten­steig hik­ing trail in Liecht­en­stein is an adven­ture for hik­ers while climb­ing the majes­tic Alp­spitz peak. This chal­leng­ing trail winds through lush alpine mead­ows, dense forests, and rocky ter­rain, pro­vid­ing a diverse range of land­scapes to explore. If you’re afraid of heights, this trail is not for you. The high­light of the trail is undoubt­ed­ly the awe-inspir­ing view of the Alp­spitz, a tow­er­ing moun­tain that stands as a tes­ta­ment to the nat­ur­al beau­ty of the region. You can make a nice loop from Gaflei to the Alp­spitz and back to Gaflei. Hon­est­ly, a must-do if you’re up for the chal­lenge.

Extra trail to enjoy: the Malbun Swing Trail 

The Mal­bun Swing Trail, nes­tled in the pic­turesque land­scape around the cozy town of Mal­bun, offers an easy out­door adven­ture. This trail winds its way through forests and panoram­ic vis­tas.  The trail’s name hints at its excit­ing fea­ture – sev­er­al stur­dy rope swings posi­tioned along the path. These encour­age you to embrace your inner child in this amaz­ing scenery. Per­fect for a leisure­ly stroll. 

Find more infor­ma­tion about hik­ing trails, tips, and prepa­ra­tion at thru-hiking.com.

Elmar is the founder of hiking-trails.com and an avid hik­er. He has a pas­sion for adven­ture and has climbed many moun­tains in Switzer­land and Europe. When stay­ing at the Swiss Youth Hos­tels, he rel­ish­es the tasty cui­sine and hav­ing the oppor­tu­ni­ty to eas­i­ly con­nect with like-mind­ed peo­ple.

Hiking fever

Find out more about Christina’s hik­ing adven­ture and how she found her­self sur­round­ed by 4,000-metre high moun­tain peaks.