Schwanden is located on the Hauptstrasse 17, which runs the length of the canton of Glarus before climbing the Klausen Pass into the canton of Uri, as well as on the Weesen to Linthal railway line that parallels the main road and the Linth river through Glarus. A side road branches off Hauptstrasse 17 in Schwanden and heads the valley of Sernf, serving the communities of that village, but there is no road connection beyond the head of that valley. The high alpine Klausen Pass is normally only open to traffic between June and September, and for the rest of the year the road and railway up the Linth valley form the only access to Schwanden.