A Forest Adventure at Sihlwald

Sihlwald is a beech forest, designated for conservation in 2010 and allowed to grow naturally with little human interference.

The adventure part of the forest includes a trail with a dozen experiential stops. In one you can compare your jumping abilities to that of forest animals, in another you take a silent walk through a bog, in another you can remove you shoes and feel different forest textures underfoot.

The guide estimates the walk will take 2 hours and it probably would if you were with a child and did all the activities, but me and Sev did it in about an hour.

Then we went to the restaurant on site for a cake (7CHF) and coffee and tea (5.50CHF). I didn’t really like the cake that much (although Sev really did) but the atmosphere was really nice outside, where you could admire the forest and river.

Notably, the nearby visitor's center has a great gift shop and a museum (10CHF). We didn’t go into the museum, but it looked like it could be fun, especially for kids.

Then the best part: the river otter exhibit. We learned about the European river otter, which used to be very common in Switzerland but now extinct in the wild.

The habitat looks really wild, and we saw an otter swimming around and climbing over rocks for about five minutes.

It was delightful to see such a rare and unusual creature. I hope the Swiss are successful in rehabilitating the mighty river otter.

If you're looking for an intense hike the Sihlwald wilderness park would not be it (although there are more hiking trails than the interactive one we did).

But otherwise is a great low-cost way to get out in nature and have a nice walk, right next to a train station. 5 snacks!