1'068 m
St. Gallen / Appenzell Outer Rhodes
The Schönaupass is one of the secret little crossings of the Appenzell pre-Alps – a mere 1,068 metres, slipping between Bächli, still on the St. Gallen side, and Urnäsch in Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
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The Schönaupass is one of the secret little crossings of the Appenzell pre-Alps – a mere 1,068 metres, slipping between Bächli, still on the St. Gallen side, and Urnäsch in Appenzell Ausserrhoden. It has no grand history and barely any traffic, and its charm is precisely that. A beautiful, exceptionally quiet road climbs some 300 metres through typical Appenzell pastures – passing, five hundred metres below the top, an honesty-box fridge selling alp cheese from the Nase dairy – to a summit tucked in a narrow cut that offers no distant views. But turn around on the descent toward Urnäsch and the view of the Säntis is phenomenal. It makes a lovely, lonely alternative to the busier roads – a pass for cyclists in the know, taken not to get anywhere in a hurry but for the green hills, the silence, and that one great mountain at your back.
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