Home ยป Activities ยป Mountain Viewpoint. If you buy something through a link here, we may earn a commission. See our disclosure policy. Note that p rices and opening times may change without notice. Pilatus is a tall mountain peak towering over Lucerne. Here are some tips based on our experience. At the top of Pilatus, there is an observation deck, restaurant and a couple of trails.
Lower down the mountain, there are some amusements including a rope adventure park, alpine slide and big playground. There are two viewpoints close to the observation deck, Oberhaupt and Esel. Each are reached with some stairs, only about a 5 min walk up. Or you can hike to Tomlishorn, about 3 km round trip and a bit more difficult more details below. All of these have well maintained paths with safety rails, but you should still have sturdy shoes and exercise caution.
See more hiking options here. Overall, the views are amazing and we love visiting every few years. It can get quite crowded during summer holidays and feel a little too touristy. For hiking, we prefer other mountains in the area, like Mount Rigi or Stoos. Mount Pilatus is a mountain peak near Lucerne. See location on Google Maps.
You can reach the top from cable cars starting in Kriens or a cogwheel mountain train from Alpnachstad. The Alpnachstad train only about runs once an hour. We also prefer Kriens when traveling with kids, because the middle stations have attractions like summer toboggan run, the ropes climbing park, and a big playground. Drive to Kriens Schlossweg 1, Kriens and follow signs to Pilatusbahn.
There are 3 small metered parking lots adjacent to the cable car station In , parking costs CHF 5 for 24 hours. These can quickly fill up on busy days, which happened to us on our last visit. There is another parking lot about a 5 min walk down the street: Parkhaus Hofmatt at Horwerstrasse 13, Kriens. Take Bus 1 from Luzern train station to the Kriens, Busschleife stop. This connection runs hourly, leaving Luzern on the xx Check current schedule.
