Hard - Sennwald

From the bus station »Eichberg, Dorf« it is only a few meters to the next road junction and the trail sign from Wanderland Schweiz: »Eichberg Dorf 529 m«. Our destination, Sennwald, is already signposted here. However, the indicated walking time of 4h 50min is about an hour longer than our planned time. This is because the marked route follows the entire length of the »Rheintaler Höhenweg« (hiking route 86), whereas we will take the less strenuous hiking path along the Rheintaler Binnenkanal between Rüthi and Sennwald.

But initially, we also follow hiking route 86 towards Kristallhöhle, Plona, and Sennwald on the »Rheintaler Höhenweg«. Soon the hiking trail veers right off the paved road and leads down to the Auerbach and into the hamlet Oberau. There we follow – still on hiking route 86 – the road towards Hard, our first intermediate destination. The Saint Gallus chapel lies between farms directly on the hiking trail and is usually open. Besides the ceiling painting depicting a scene from Gallus's life (by Franz Vettiger, 1846–1907), the three Rococo altars are particularly noteworthy, originally from the pilgrimage chapel Heiligkreuz in St. Gallen.

After the Gallus chapel in Hard, our next landmark is the Kristallhöhle (Kobelwald), which also lies directly on our hiking route. About 100 meters past the Gallus chapel, the trail turns left and offers a beautiful view back to the chapel and the northern Rhine valley. Before the wooden shed at the forest entrance, we take the gravel road to the right and continue following signs to the Kristallhöhle. In addition to the yellow Wanderland Schweiz trail markers, the Kristallhöhle is also indicated on wooden signs. The ascent to the Kristallhöhle, covering about 2.3 kilometers and 130 meters of elevation gain, runs through the forest, partly on paved and partly on gravel roads.

The Kristallhöhle can be visited with guided tours during the warm season. On Sundays and during summer holidays in the canton of St. Gallen, no advance reservations are required in the afternoons. A tour lasts about 25 minutes, so it fits well into our hike. Above the cave entrance, there is a freely accessible barbecue area.

After the Kristallhöhle, the path descends to Kobelwald, where we stay on the »Rheintaler Höhenweg« towards Plona and Sennwald. The settlement area of Kobelwald is bypassed on a footpath through the meadows, although a detour into the village with its late Baroque parish church St. Sebastian would not be a major detour.

The »Rheintaler Höhenweg« now passes the signs »Steig 500 m« and »Steig 526 m« and then descends into the hamlet Rehag. There we keep right towards Plona and Sennwald and reach Blosenberg across a pasture. From here, we overlook the Rhine plain to the south and thus the part of the Rhine valley that still belonged to Rätien in the early Middle Ages.

The hiking trail now leads all the way down to the Rhine plain, into the industrial area of Rüthi. After crossing the state road, we reach a sidewalk and a trail sign, which we follow to the left towards Zoll Oberriet and Meiningen. We thus leave the »Rheintaler Höhenweg« and continue our hike mostly on flat (and sunny) terrain. After just under half a kilometer, we reach the Mother of God chapel at Hirschensprung, which was founded in 1778 in thanks for a healthy-born child. At the crossroads before the chapel is the sign »Hirschensprung 428 m«, which we follow towards Rüthi train station and Lienz. After the bridge over the restored Rheintaler Binnenkanal, the path continues to the right. The hiking trail now runs about three and a half kilometers upstream on the left side of the canal and then crosses under the motor traffic bridge to the right side, where the bike path also runs. We pass through the village of Rüthi, which belonged to the Rätien monastery Pfäfers in the Middle Ages. At the station rises St. Valentinsberg with the parish church of Rüthi.

Back on the right side (upstream) of the Rheintaler Binnenkanal, we head for Lienz at the sign »Lienz Viadukt 428 m« and first reach the Lienz power plant and then the idyllic Rillisdammschleuse. Here too, we follow the path to Lienz, first across a meadow, then through a small copse. At the next fork, the hiking trail to Sennwald is signposted left. We follow it for about one kilometer to the next larger right turn, where we can shorten our path to the reformed church Sennwald via a footpath. Through an iron gate, we enter the churchyard; the church itself is usually accessible through the side entrance by the tower.

It is now only a few steps to the Sennwald Church bus stop. It is directly by the church and cemetery parking lot on the main road. The stop lies on the Buchs–Altstätten bus route, so we can reach an SBB train station in both directions.