Matterhorn Glacier Trail

🇨🇭 Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland

2Routes

About this guide

The Matterhorn Glacier Trail (No. 26) leads through the landscape between rock and ice that the Furgg and Theodul glaciers have left behind: since the Little Ice Age around 1850 they have receded by more than three kilometres. Information boards along the way explain glacier retreat and what it means for plants, animals and people, with views of the Matterhorn.

The trail starts at the Trockener Steg cable car station at 2,939 m and crosses scree and rock, past several small lakes and via Hirli, to Schwarzsee at 2,583 m, where the cable car goes back down to Zermatt. Lower down, the Furiweg (No. 51) follows a quiet road through larches and stone pines from Furi down to Zermatt.

Difficulty: One of the more demanding trails in the Zermatt mountains: a marked mountain path over scree and rock shaped by the former glacier, past small lakes. The Furiweg is a quiet road, suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Season: The Matterhorn Glacier Trail: June to September.
Getting there: By cable car from Zermatt to Trockener Steg and back from Schwarzsee; one combined ticket covers both trips. The Furiweg starts at the Furi cable car station.
Winter: From December to April the Matterhorn Glacier Trail is a snowshoe tour, only with a qualified mountain guide.
Food & drink: Restaurants on the way, including the Restaurant Schwarzsee.