Best Running route Zurich Limmat river

Limmat river run offers its own variety within Zurich’s variety (From City to Nature, from easy to intense and from short to long all year long).

[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/LimmatFromLandesmuseum.gpx”]

Download GPX File: HERE

Follow the route on Strava: HERE

The beauty of running is its purity. You only need a pair of shoes and some kind of space and the journey can start. With that in mind you only have two “set screws” to influence your running experience. One is the environment of your “space” and the other one is your mindset itself. Both of them have factors which are only hard influenceable (e.g. rainy weather, heat or bad mood), but there are some, namely the choice of the route.

Even if you get the feeling during the run, that this route is the most beautiful and perfect one, it can be different the next day. The priorities change from day to day and from training to training. In my opinion, there is only one route with the potential to claim to be the best route: Limmat River Run.

Limmat River

Limmat is the biggest river flowing through Zurich. It starts right at the end of Lake Zurich in the middle of the city center. On both sides of the river you will find a path for pedestrians and cyclists. Starting from lake Zurich it’s may be disrupted by streets or other obstacles. But starting from Escher-Wyss Square direction Dietikon / Baden you will find one of the best running routes you can imagine. The scenery is breath taking and very diverse (from city to nature, with forests, island, dams, monastery, many bridges, great views and much more).

On the left-hand side (looking in the direction of the water flow) you find a wide and flat path. It is optimal for very hard and / or long training units. On the right-hand side you have a more trail like path, which is suitable to run as well, but it’s a little bit hillier with single trail parts. You could run a half-marathon all in all, starting from Escher-Wyss Square and turning in Dietikon. If you don’t like to run this far or you don’t know yet how far you want to go, there are each two to three kilometers a bridge, where you can cross the river and head back on the other side.

Why I like this route

I personally like the paths along Limmat, because of nature’s beauty and many route variants (e.g. route descriptions “Hönggerberg – Above the Roof Tops”, but also the fact, that it allows you to run all year through. During winter time the days with snow and ice are very rare and during summer time you can enjoy a refreshing bath after the run e.g. on Werdinsel in the publicly open river bath.

Option: Starting from Escher Wyss Square:

[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/LimmatFromEscherwyss.gpx”]

Download GPX File: HERE

Follow the route on Strava: HERE