Our favorite family hike in the Zermatt area, starting with Matterhorn reflected in the famous Riffelsee lake. Then an easy hike down the mountain with the Matterhorn in view the whole time.

You can customize the hike from 2 to 7 km to meet the needs of your group.

The shortest and easiest option is from Riffelsee to Riffelberg, about 1 hour and pretty easy. Our favorite option when the kids were younger was from Riffelsee to Riffelalp, about 2 hours and a little more mountainous, with some steep switchbacks near the end.

Now that our kids are older, we like the longer hike, starting at Gornergrat down to Riffelsee, then continue to Riffelalp, about 2.5 - 3 hours. If we have extra energy, we hike all the way down to Zermatt, about another 1.5-2 hours.

When you hike, you skip some of the railway stations, making your train ticket a bit less expensive. Let the ticket office know which hike you plan to do and they'll sell you the right ticket.

See trail maps and more details on SwissFamilyFun.com

Book Gornergrat train tickets here.