This was the first place I went hiking in Switzerland, and it still remains one of my favorites. A short train and bus ride from Zurich takes you to the Kies cable car station from Schwanden. Take the cable car up to the top where there's a small hotel, Mettmen Hotel, and a dam overlooking the city of Glarus down below and to the north. From this view point standing outside the hotel you can see Braunwald on the far left, and on the right is the Mürtschenstock. 

    Just like most areas in Glarus there's a lot of hiking trails to choose from. I've done two different hikes from Mettmen, one an A-B hike going to Elm for a different cable car down, and the other was a loop hike from Mettmen going to the Leglerhütte. I would recommend either of these hikes, although they are both a bit longer so be prepared for that, but be aware of snow conditions when going. It's possible to hike in the snow, but in June it can still be piled up here so come prepared with boots if there is snow on the ground. Otherwise tennis shoes should suffice. If you don't feel like doing longer hikes there's plentiful small hiking trails which would be good for families as well. Anyway, onto the trail discussions.

    I'll start off talking about the A-B hike from Mettmen-Elm. You can see a map of the area here. I essentially followed trail number 42 which will be a 5-5.5 hour long hike. It will take you by some of the really beautiful sights in the area such as Chüebodensee and Chärpfbrugg. I also saw a herd of what might have been chamois while on the higher parts of this trail. I think the trail is also quite nice as it offers changing views as you go from one side of the mountain to the other. At the end when you get to the Ämpächli/Elm cable car there's a small park area and you can rent scooters to go down the rest of the mountain.

    I will warn that the scooters are quite dangerous. One of the other students in my program I was hiking with crashed while going down the mountain and we had to take him to the hospital for surgery. It's not great to have to spend your second week in a foreign country in a hospital, and so I stress the need to be careful if you choose to go down the mountain this way. 

​