BergeSeen Trail 03: Steinbach - St. Wolfgang

Description:

The third stage of the Salzkammergut BergeSeen Trail leads into the heart of the region – from Lake Attersee over the quiet heights around Lake Schwarzensee to Lake Wolfgang.

Directions:
From the tourism office in Steinbach am Attersee, walk next to the primary school and cross over the nearby Großalmstraße. Go straight after the trail marker “Nikoloweg” and at the next fork turn left and continue on Ernst-Bitterlich-Weg. Keeping right, you arrive via the Dürrenbach Ravine at a meadow, where the narrow Nikoloweg branches off to the right. With gentle ascents and descents, this trail winds through forest slopes, has steps at one point and crosses several forest roads, where you always follow the signs towards Weißenbach. After 45 minutes, you continue straight ahead above the forestry office along the Brennerriesensteig path and then climb a bit. After another turnoff, the path continues into the steep, protective forest terrain below the Höllengebirge Mountains, past a rest stop and the turnoff to the Attersee via ferrata. The path, which is secured with railings, leads over a rocky flank. You descend down a metal staircase and pass through a short section secured with a steel cable. After the protection walls for falling rock, a trail leads right down to the state road. However, by continuing straight ahead, you come to the nearby St. Nikolaus Chapel. From there, take a sharp right for several steps to a villa and then right – past a huge beech tree – back to the Hotel Post in Weißenbach am Attersee (470 m). Bus stop and boat dock on the state road. 1:30 h

 

From the nearby street intersection, head toward Unterach, shortly afterwards turn right into Friedrich-Gulda-Weg and finally follow the state road (pavement) again across the Weißenbach Bridge to the shore of Lake Attersee (which forms the border to the state of Salzburg). Follow the bike and footpath next to the street until you reach a car park. Immediately afterwards, the signpost “Eisenau, Schwarzensee, St. Wolfgang” points to the left – cross the street there to an intersection with a forestry road.

On the gravel road, you now ascend - following the signage of the long-distance hiking trails 04 and 06 - in the direction of "Eisenau, Schwarzensee". You hike up through forested slopes with hairpin bends, stay to the right at a fork and reach the area of the old Lasseralm Meadow. Next to the stream of the same name, you continue to climb until you come into a ravine via a saddle at 800 metres above sea level and arrive at the Moosalm (772 m) – once again back in the state of Upper Austria. The forest road branching off to the left leads next to the Moosbach Stream and past a power line to the marshy meadows near the Gschwandtner Hut and finally to Lake Schwarzensee (716 m). From the north end of the lake, follow the shore to the right to reach the "Zur Lore" and "Almstadl" restaurants, which invite you to stop for refreshments. 5:00 h

 

At the Almstadl Restaurant, turn onto the Sattelweg path (no. 28) in the direction St. Wolfgang. Hiking uphill through the forest along the Schwarzenbach Stream, you arrive at a meadow; immediately afterwards you will cross the saddle (800 m) at Strubeck. During the descent, you pass the small Maurus Chapel with its remarkable roof. Keeping to the right, you soon reach the snack station Holzerbauer and thus the next opportunity for a rest stop. Trail no. 28 to the right leads downhill through the forest to the first houses of St. Wolfgang. Straight ahead is a light ascent to the “Ahornplatz”, and then continue downhill to the left in the direction of Lake Wolfgang. Finally keep right to arrive at the market square of St. Wolfgang (548 m).

 

In front of the eastern entrance to the bypass road tunnel, you will find the information office for Wolfgangsee Tourismus; bus stop and boat dock are located in the nearby centre of town.

Tip:

Summit detour: To the Großer Schoberstein (1037 m)

Note: Bus connection (Line 562)

Safety guidelines:

• In alpine terrain, be aware of the danger of falling rocks.


• Through early summer, you may encounter steep snowfields or firn gullies – especially during icy conditions, there is an acute risk of falling and thus fatal injury!


• Due to storm damage, forestry work or construction work, individual trail sections may be difficult or impassable at times.


• Cows in the alpine meadows are often curious. Because they are nursing mothers, they develop a strong tendency to protect their calves. Therefore, move through cow pastures quietly, keep at least 20 metres of distance to the animals and never pet calves! In the case of threatening behaviour (pawing, stamping) slowly back away (do not turn your back). Keep dogs on a leash. They must not bark at or chase cows. In the case of an attack, the dog must be released from the leash.

Equipment:

For all stages, you will need hiking or mountain boots with treaded rubber soles as well as wind- and rainproof clothing. A change of clothes and a small first-aid kit should also be included in your backpack. The amount of provisions you should pack depends on the number of available rest stops. In any case, you should always take along plenty to drink. Telescopic poles are helpful, especially when walking downhill.

Additional information:

Text kindly provided by the publisher KOMPASS-Verlag and Wolfgang Heitzmann.

Further information at trail.salzkammergut.at