[4] Schwanden is situated at an elevation of 528 m (1,732 ft) at the point of confluence of the Linth and Sernf rivers.

The village is located along the roads to Elm, Linthal and Schwändi, and includes the formerly independent (until 1876) hamlet of Thon.

[1] South of Schwanden is the oldest Jagdbanngebiet (literally hunting-banned area) in Switzerland, the Freiberg Kärpf, which has been protected since 1548.

Of the rest of the land, 3.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (26.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

[5] 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.

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.