The Rhine Falls from Schaffhausen to Schloss Laufen

The line goes from Schaffhausen station to Schlössli Wörth, beside the falls basin on the Neuhausen bank, then back along the quai to the Rheinfallbrücke. OpenStreetMap maps footways beside the railway bridge (the approaches are named Fussweg Rheinfallbrücke) and the line crosses the Rhine by them; it also maps two flights of steps with handrails, of 25 and 40 steps, at the south end of the bridge, so the walk is not step-free. It ends at the Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall station on the other bank.

It is 4.9 km one way with 111 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours. The pages read give no length or time for this walk from the station; the Rheinfall's site lists two round walks around the falls instead, 3.5 km in 1 hour and 7 km in 1 h 50, which this is not. The grade is Easy on our count.

The Rheinfall's own site (rheinfall.ch) says the falls can be visited 365 days a year, round the clock, and that access to the falls basin at Schlössli Wörth is free. It says the Neuhausen Rheinfall station is about 8 minutes on foot from Schlössli Wörth, that bus 1 from Schaffhausen runs to the stop Neuhausen Zentrum, from where it is about 10 minutes on foot, and that there is no boat service between Schaffhausen and the falls.

The castle's site (schlosslaufen.ch) gives a ticket at CHF 5.00 for adults and CHF 3.00 for children aged 6 to 15, which it presents as the ticket for the Historama, walks on the Belvedere path, the viewing platforms and the panorama lift, and it also says the viewing platforms are accessible round the clock. The pages do not say whether walking up to the platforms needs the ticket, so ask at the castle's visitor centre. Look up the SBB timetable for trains from Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall before you go.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.