On his hiking blog Schlenderer.de (in German), Karl-Georg Müller reports on his adventures while hiking and strolling. This time he decided to go on a hiking trip in the Salzkammergut and describes his experiences here on the blog:
We want to do the Eurohike tour: Salzkammergut Pasture Walking for Families. We – that’s my daughter in law Lisa, my son Dominik and I – and little Mara, 11 months old and super cute. She will travel the whole way with us in a baby carrier.
We arrive full of excitement on Sunday at Hotel Kendler in St. Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee. We explore the village and look at the view of the lake and up to the mountains that frame the valley majestically.
A cot is available at Hotel Kendler for an extra charge. A highchair in the restaurant is no problem (only in one alpine hut do we have to do without it). The luggage service transports the cot brought from home to the alpine huts.
In the evening, we are told all about the stages by our Eurohike on-site tour representative. I end my arrival day on my balcony with a great view of the Schafberg.
We travel by bus to the starting point of the first stage. Bus and other connections are detailed in the Route Book, which we received last night with other travel documents in a useful folder (and beforehand as a PDF).
Eurohike offers a free Eurohike App. The route book is detailed, important changes of direction and prominent points are listed, the maps in the route book are good.
Our hiking tour lasts 8 days/7 nights. Four hikes with start and finish are given (whereby there are always possible variations on how to get from the start to the finish). Two days we can spend as we wish on the alpine pastures. Suggestions for this can be found in the route book.
The first stage is 14 kilometres and takes us 480 metres up the 1,502-metre-high Sparber. The route quickly goes into the valley, left and right there are mountains. It’s 33 degrees today – at home on such a day the hiking boots would remain firmly in the corner. We must drink a lot. Mara is covered in sun cream and shaded on Lisa’s back. Dominik has a blanket with him for pauses.
We walk past a game reserve and the Hubertus Chapel and reach the highest point for today. After that we let our feet run downhill on quiet paths as well. On the way, we draw cool water from a wooden well.
At the end of the hike, the Mahdhäusl is unfortunately closed. Line 150 leaves every half hour - so we are quickly back in Sankt Gilgen and have a cool drink.
After a hearty breakfast we redeem the first of two vouchers at the Zwölferhorn cable car. In 11 minutes, the cable car brings us 1,476 metres high.
We enjoy the fantastic view over the mountains and lakes, walk the Panorama Path towards the valley and through a small forest. At the Gennerbach our group separates before the ascent: I choose the steep rocky path, the three others go up on the track. We reach the Genneralm with the Poschnhütte and are warmly welcomed by the lady of the house. Immediately we feel at home. Sheep and rabbits and cows are waiting for Mara on the pastures as well as lots of playground equipment.
We shower in a communal bathroom. We eat delicious cheese dumplings from a rustic pan. The evening ends in a cosy atmosphere.
On the first free day I take a stroll towards Moosangeralm. It’s rocky and a stream rushes past on the left into the valley, bushes and trees surround me on the path which gets higher. At some point it becomes clear to me: I might have got lost somewhere. Because I don’t have a place to be, I head home in the same direction – in a childish good mood! Hiking, without a destination, can also lead to a goal: to unlimited relaxation.
We end the evening outside the hut with a game of dice and a picturesque sunset.
We ask the alm owner about the tour variant over the peak. The peak tour is an interesting alternative to the standard route over the Ackersbachalm and is probably still doable with little Mara.
We climb the 1,764 metre high Zinken on a curved path. At the summit cross we are impressed and take photos and move on.
From the Osterhorn saddle we descend to the dreamy Goldene Schüsserl. Opinions differ on the ascent to Pitschenberg.
Here it is definitely an advantage to have a head for heights and sure-footed. I would therefore recommend the standard route for families.
After the passage I make my way to the summit cross. The view of the region is wonderful.
The hiking path leads through secluded groves. We arrive at the Huberhütte. We end the evening there with a delicious 3-course meal.
The next day we are free to do as we please: we take the Almblumenweg (alpine flower path) along rugged paths, spread out a picnic blanket for Mara and arrive at the Strobler Hütte. We have a voucher for a typical Austrian pastry. Unfortunately, the Strobler Hütte is closed on Fridays.
As we continue uphill, cows once again stand on our path and look out over the landscape. We stay calm and circle around them generously.
Everywhere along the way we found instructions on how to behave in the event of a cow encounter. Be sure to read - and follow!
In the Huberhütte, today's dinner is just as delicious as the one the day before.
12 kilometres to go, and 930 metres downhill. Unfortunately it is raining a little, so we put on our rain clothes. The path gets slippery at times, but the bath weather does not dull our good mood.
Eurohike says: "Hiking without luggage: a hiking holiday can be so easy". We say: That's right, Eurohike organised everything perfectly, the luggage always arrived safely and on time at the destination. Even Mara's travel cot was transported to the different overnight accommodations without any problems.
After a climb to the Pass the path down to the Niedergadenalm lies ahead. We stop at the rustic Illighütte for a hot cup of coffee. In the Zinkenbach valley we discover another hidden waterfall and reach the Wolfgangsee.
On our farewell evening we stroll through the village and have a cosy dinner at the Hotel Kendler. The next night we drive back to the Rhineland ...
"Salzkammergut Pasture Walking for Families" was a wonderful experience! The hiking tour is offered for families – we can confirm that this hiking tour is very doable with a child.
The accommodation was always good, we felt very welcome in the alpine huts. The individual stages are varied, the route very beautiful, the distances easy to manage. The rest days are suitable for resting or hiking some more.
The landscape is magnificent. The hiking trip was more than worthwhile from the first to the last day.
If you don't want to climb the highest peaks straight away, but want to start with stages that are breath-taking but manageable with a bit of hiking fitness, you are very well equipped with the "Salzkammergut Pasture Walking for Families” tour package from Eurohike. I am happy to recommend it - from my own good experience.
Would you like to read an even more detailed report on the trip? Then take a look at the report on Pasture Walking for families in the Salzkammergut (in German) on Schlenderer.de.
