Off the leash: Meilen to Erlenbach

On Sunday, as we had nothing planned, it was perfect to take the dog and explore our surroundings. Last year, I found this book „Inno läuft frei“ that recommends walks for dogs off the leash and so we picked one of the suggested routes.

We had tried that walk the weekend before, with an entourage of people of mixed motivation levels. While the dog was frolicking across the fields, other members of the trip were dragging their feet and airing a lot of negative emotions. So, this weekend, we had our very own coalition of the willing and we set out to do the entire walk.

In retrospect, I am not quite sure why I thought it would be five km and only an hour. That was clearly wrong. From door to door it was for us 10 km and a few hours. But it was an amazing walk: so close, easy to walk and full of enjoyment.

You find it on Schweizmobil as it is part of the hiking trail around Lake Zurich No. 84.

The path

We took the ferry from Horgen to Meilen. Then followed the path to Pfannenstiel. Right after the bridge that crosses a small waterfall, you take the path to Wetzwil. That takes you across fields and pastures.

On top of Herrliberg you have a lovely view across the lake. I suspect that you could see the mountain tops on better days, but both trips, we only spotted Horgen and the Albispass. The rest was mist and clouds. But it is still pretty!

We followed the hiking trail 84 until we reached Erlenbach and walked down to the small boat pier. There we had to wait a bit for the boat to take us back to Thalwil. The wait in the sun was most pleasant, and overall it felt like spring and holidays!

If you are in the company of happy hikers, the trip isn’t long at all and offers all: views, meadows, creeks, waterfalls and picturesque Swiss farmhouses.

I am a big fan of any outing that features a boat trip as it adds to my feeling of being really FAR away and on a proper adventure.

A dog’s view

The dog loved it, as our guidebook was right: there were plenty of opportunities to run free off the leash. The hound would however not agree on the joy of boats, he fears for his life the entire journey. Good thing, he seems to forget it all quickly once his paws hit the shore.

In short, I am happy to go there again. Come along!