Flösserweg stage 1: Laufenburg-Hottwil

Rafting was a thriving trade in the 19th century. The rafters skillfully transported their wood down the major rivers, from Stilli via the Aare and Rhine to Laufenburg. The return journey was on foot through the picturesque Mettau Valley, where the rafters could recover from their exertions with a cool beer at the Gasthaus zum Bären in Hottwil.

On the Flösserweg you hike the land route of the rafters: traditionally from Laufenburg to Stilli or in the opposite direction. The entire Flösserweg is 20 km long and takes about 5h 45min. The path can be walked in either direction and divided into stages:

The first stage from Laufenburg to Hottwil leads out of the small town of Laufenburg along the Rhine and finally over the hills into the Mettau Valley. At the end awaits the Restaurant Bären in Hottwil, which still looks the same as it did two hundred years ago and already served as a rest stop for the rafters. Rooms are also rented here so you can start the second stage first thing the next morning. 

Along the Rhine there are information boards that recount the forgotten rafting trade. 

To the second stage from Hottwil to Stilli

To the entire Flösserweg route

The Flösserweg was established in 2002 by the Flösserweg association and the neighboring communities.