Mount Pilatus changes shape through the year. Many of the Mount Pilatus guided tours mean a boat and two lifts in September and a single railway in November. Check your date against the four dates below before you book anything.
These are Pilatus-Bahnen's dates for 2026. Each one changes which lifts you can ride, and so what a ticket or a tour gives you.
The cogwheel railway opens, and the boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad starts again. From here to 18 October you can ride the whole loop.
The last boat to Alpnachstad, and the last day of the rope park, the treetop path and the Dragon Glider at Fräkmüntegg.
The Kriens gondola and the Dragon Ride close for maintenance. The cogwheel is the only way up.
The cogwheel's last day. From 30 November you go up and down from Kriens only, until the cogwheel reopens in spring.
Here is the rest of the year, period by period. If you travel on the edge of a period, check the day itself, not the month.
| Period in 2026 | Kriens side | Cogwheel | Boat | What you can ride |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May to 18 October | Open | Open | Runs | The full Golden Round Trip |
| 19 October to 27 November | Closed | Open | Stopped | Up and down by cogwheel from Alpnachstad |
| 28 and 29 November | Open | Open | Stopped | Up one side and down the other |
| 30 November to 31 December | Open | Closed | Stopped | Kriens side only |
| Spring 2027 | Not yet published | Not yet published | Not yet published | Check pilatus.ch before you book |
The mountain is never fully shut in this stretch. But from 19 October to 27 November the only way up is the cogwheel from Alpnachstad, and you come back down the same way. A Kriens ticket is no use in that window.
This is where a booking can go wrong. The guided days print their own plan for the closure, and the railway's tickets do not. Here is what each listing says, in its own terms:
| Tour | Until 18 October | 19 October to 27 November |
|---|---|---|
| Lucerne: Mt. Pilatus Cable Car, Cogwheel Train & Lake Cruise | Boat, cogwheel, cableway | Up and down by cogwheel, CHF 20 lunch voucher instead of the boat |
| From Zurich: Lucerne & Mount Pilatus Day Tour | Boat, cogwheel, cableway | Up and down by cogwheel, CHF 20 lunch voucher instead of the boat |
| From Lucerne: Mt. Pilatus Gondola, Cable Car, and Boat Trip | The full loop | No loop to ride: the round trips end in October |
| Lucerne: Self-Guided Round-Trip Train to Mount Pilatus | The full loop, by train | No loop to ride |
| From Alpnachstad or Kriens: Mount Pilatus Roundtrip Ticket | Either side | The Alpnachstad side only |
| Kriens: Mt. Pilatus by Panoramic Gondola and Aerial Cableway | Runs | Its lifts are closed |
| Mount Pilatus Winter Experience: Small Group Tour from Lucerne | Runs on the Kriens lifts | Its lifts are closed |
| Swiss BBQ & Hike Experience – with Mount Pilatus Ticket | Runs on the Kriens lifts | Its lifts are closed |
| Mt. Pilatus Peak and Lake Lucerne Cruise Small Group from Lucerne | Golden Route, mid-May to mid-October | The listing does not say: ask before you book |
If your tour runs on the Kriens lifts, pick a date before 19 October or after 27 November. If it is a loop ticket, a cogwheel return from Alpnachstad is the ticket that works in November.
The guided half-day from Lucerne keeps running through the closure, up and down by cogwheel with a lunch voucher in place of the boat.
From 28 November the gondola and the Dragon Ride run again, and in winter they are the only way up. The first ride leaves Kriens at 08:30, as in summer, and the day ends earlier. If there is snow, the slopes between Fräkmüntegg and Krienseregg turn into sledging runs.
More on what is open in each season is on things to do on Pilatus, and the cold and the sun month by month are on the weather page.
The listings and the railway's own timetable give different times for the last ride down, and those times change with the season. So we give you the pattern and leave the clock to the source. The cogwheel leaves Alpnachstad about every 35 minutes from morning to late afternoon. From Kriens the first gondola runs at 08:30.
What to do: open the timetable on pilatus.ch for your date, and note the last railcar or cabin down before you go up. If you reach Alpnachstad by boat, pick a railcar after it lands. If you have a seat reservation, you can move it up to 30 minutes before departure.
A small group of up to 15 with an English-speaking guide, up the Kriens side by gondola and cableway. About three hours at the top, with time for lunch.
From $405 per person
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Up and down the same side, cogwheel or cableway, as you choose on the day. Valid for the one day you book.
From $103 per person
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A driver-guide collects you at your Zurich hotel in a Mercedes for the whole loop, about four hours on the mountain and time in Lucerne. For up to 12.
From $678 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: price the fares on the tickets page, see how the loop runs on the Golden Round Trip page, or compare every tour on Mount Pilatus Tours.