Leistchamm: St. Gallen

The Leistchamm is an iconic peak of the Amden area. It lies at the western end of the mountain range overlooking the Walensee, named Churfirsten.

Starting in small village of Arvenbüel, the hike climbs (steeply at times) through the forest, past Alp Egg toward Alp Looch and First. If it’s a clear day, you’ll have a perfect view of Säntis and the Appenzell Alps. From this point, the trail becomes quite steep - first zig-zagging up the side of the mountain slope, and then straight up the ridge to the summit. You’ll need to be sure-footed, as the limestone on this section can often become quite slippery. The view from the top of Leistchamm is amazing. Below, you’ll see all the small villages dotting the lakeside of the Walensee, as well as the Graubünden, St. Gallen and Glarus Alps.

To get off the mountain, you’ll need to initally take the same way down. And First, you can either walk directly back to Arvenbüel, or make the trail into a wide loop by passing by Vorder Höhi.

Bonus: if you want to extend this hike, try adding on Flügespitz and Gulmen as well!

• Start/End: Arvenbüel (there is a fairly big carpark here if you are driving)

• Basic Route: Arvenbüel - Alp Looch - First - Leistchamm - Vorder Höhi - Arvenbüel

• 12km, 900m ascent/descent. T2