Photos from this walk:

The Walking Guide
Easy Forest Walk  

Description: This is a lovely easy promenade just above Zermatt featuring nice views to the Matterhorn. It features a generous flat section through beautiful forest and there exist many park style benches for lingering in the sun. 
Time required: About 1 hour total  (15-20 mins uphill at start / 15-20 mins flat traverse / 15-20 mins downhill)
Difficulty: *  Gentle            Popularity: **** Popular
Begins at: Zermatt (1620m altitude)                Ends at: Zermatt  (1620m)                 Goes via: "AHV Weg" (1720m), Winkelmatten (1672m)

Track Notes: This is a good sheltered trail in bad weather. On the eastern side of the Zermatt valley, this is a fine walk in the morning of a hot day or the afternoon of a cold, sunny day. Trail open all year.
Variants: It is possible to continue from the high point of this walk (railway track crossing at 1720m) to Findeln and return - adding ~90 minutes.

The walk begins and ends at the Papperla Pub (1620m altitude) – which is something of a local landmark and one of Zermatt’s best-known après ski pubs. To get to the Papperla Pub from the main street of Zermatt; walk up to the main church, turn left just before the church and head downhill to cross the river to the Papperla Pub at its busy four way intersection.

A signpost at the intersection points you in the direction of “Tiefenmatten" & "Ried”. Coming from the church, continue straight on through the intersection towards the big “Pizza Roma” sign. The road shortly curves left by the “Pizza Roma” and passes the beautiful little restaurant Stockhorn. Follow the main road past two beautiful hotels and under the Gornergrat railway bridge. Ignore the walking path going up to the right and continue up the gentle curves of the main road past the Hotel Schönegg and just after that a pasture (in winter a piste) on the left.

One may continue on a footpath paralleling (and above) the road to avoid descending mountain bikers. After a few more minutes pass a small car park (1671m) on the left, where on the other side of the road a sign on the right indicates a footpath to Winkelmatten zigzagging back up in the opposite direction. Take this and one hundred meters on the path switches back again with a sign (direction Tiefenmatten/Winkelmatten) with ropes to assist winter walkers. The rope ends and the path curves back right (south) to begin the beautiful flat traverse that makes this stroll so delightful.

Stroll through the tranquil larch forest before reaching a clearing of charming Swiss pastures – with fine views to the Matterhorn and (right) up the Trift valley to the peaks of the Ober Gabelhorn and Wellenkuppe. Watch for wild deer in this area around dawn or dusk. In summer it is not unusual to see local families cutting and gathering these charming alpine meadows by hand.

Shortly after this pasture is an intersection (1704m). Continue on straight on the flat path to Winkelmatten. After another 10 minutes the path parallels the Gornergrat railway tracks and shortly thereafter joins it for a brief uphill leg to another three-way intersection (1720m). Take the right path across the railway tracks down in the direction of Winkelmatten. Walk downhill a few minutes until the towering bridge of the Gornergrat railway is seen nearby, where it crosses the Findelbach gorge. It is possible to deviate here to investigate more closely the waterfall which often flows here in summer, otherwise continue right and gently downhill in the direction of Winkelmatten. After a few more minutes walking through the pleasant chalet suburbia of Winkelmatten, arrive at the white Winkelmatten chapel (1672m).

From here signposts and a whole host of different paths lead back to the center of Zermatt. To return to the Papperla Pub – take a right at the chapel onto the road north. Pass the corner store “Shopping Winkelmatten” on your left, go straight on 50 meters to the renovated barn “Zer Trächa” and take the footpath to your left just after the barn away from the main tarmac road. Take the winding footpath downhill several minutes through fields and chalets until crossing the tarmac road again onto a steeper cobbled footpath. Follow this further down to a road where you turn left. Walk to the left of the phone booths and by the Hotel Rhodania/North Wall Bar and on quickly to the Papperla Pub once more.