Our tour leads us to the canton of Glarus towards the Linthal, driving through many little villages where in the 19th century an emigration wave happened, as the textile industry was hit by the industrialisation, and people started to emigrate to the US, fleeing poverty and famine.
Arriving at Linthal park your car in one of the parking lots as Braunwald, further up, is car free. Another way to get to Linthal is by train.
There is a range of different hiking tours, we took a shorter one, which is feasible in more or less three hours and also suitable for children.
From Linthal, climb on the cog railway to Braunwald and from there the gondola to Grotzenbüel. Starting the panoramic hiking trail - a circular hike - will take roughly three hours without any breaks. We hiked from Grotzenbüel towards Chnügrat, the path starts flat and gets steadily steeper but you can take many little breaks and enjoy the breathtaking view. From Chnügrat continue up to Gurnen, with a restaurant and starting point for climbers, along the Via Glaralpina towards Orstockhaus, another restaurant, back to Grotzenbüel where you can get into the gondola to Braunwald or stroll down for another 40 minutes passing through alpine meadows and forests.
Along the path are many fire places or benches, where you can eat what you brought along and enjoy the Swiss scenery with the alps in the background. Among them mount Clariden (3267m), Tödi (3614m), Bifertenstock (3419m) to name just a few.