Parkirišče Alpspitzbahn - Hochalm

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, then continue the drive towards Spittal and further towards Lienz (a little after Spittal the highway ends). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through the Drau Valley, which brings us to Italy. The road further leads past Dobbiaco / Toblach and Brunico / Bruneck. We continue on the main road and then join the highway towards Austria (direction Brenner, Innsbruck). In Innsbruck, we continue on the highway, which runs west along the River Inn (at the highway junction, direction Garmisch). We soon leave the highway at the exit for Garmisch. The road then starts to ascend towards the Scharnitz pass where there is the border between Austria and Germany. From the pass, we descend to the German side and follow the signs for Garmisch-Partenkirchen. When driving through the mentioned town, we follow the signs for Austria and the town Ehrwald. A little before the end of the town Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we turn left where the signs »Alpspitze« direct us. We follow this road to the large parking lot at the bottom station of the cableways Alpspitzbahn and Kreuzeckbahn.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we head towards the bottom station of the cableway Alpspitzbahn and first cross the railway track, then head onto the macadam road that runs between both cableways. At the beginning, the macadam path leads past a few houses, and along the path we will also notice signposts that mark the path towards the hut Kreuzeck. The road then turns left and starts steeply ascending through the forest. Further, the road runs occasionally along the ski slope from which a view opens towards the town Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then again through the forest.
Later, the path brings us to a wider macadam road along which we continue right following the signs »Kreuzeck«. We follow the gentle wide road only for a short time, as the signposts soon direct us left onto a steeper road along the ski slope. Here the path leads past the artificial lake Speichersee and later rejoins the wider road. For some time we walk again on the mentioned road, then the signs for Kreuzeck direct us right onto a footpath.
Here we then ascend in zigzags through the forest, soon coming out of the forest again and a view also opens towards the summit Zugspitze. A short ascent follows along the ski slope and the path brings us to the private hut Trögelhütte.
At the hut, we continue right on a narrow macadam road, which after a short ascent we leave and continue on the footpath. Further, we ascend through the forest and along the path we will also notice signs on which various verses are written. Higher up, the path brings us to the pasture Kreuzalm where we rejoin the macadam road. On the pasture, where a beautiful view opens towards the summit Alpspitze, we continue right on the macadam road along which we soon reach the hut Kreuzeckhaus where there is also the upper station of the cableway Kreuzeckbahn.
At the junction located a little below the hut, we then continue left towards the pasture Hochalm. From the junction, the path slightly descends and leads us past a vantage point near which there are also various signs. Here first a footpath from the ski jumps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen joins from the left, and then from the right the path from Hammersbach. We continue on the macadam road, which soon brings us to another junction.
At the junction, we continue left on the gentle road towards the pasture Hochalm, while right upward leads a somewhat longer path over the summit Längenfelder also to the pasture Hochalm. From the junction, the road runs south and from the left the path Bernadeinsteig joins from the hut Stuibenhütte. The road then rises slightly more and brings us to the hut on the pasture Hochalm.

Along the route: Speichersee (1230m), Trögelhütte (1436m), Kreuzeckhaus (1652m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Osterfelderkopf ( 55 min), Bernadeinkopf (2 h 10 min), Alpspitze

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