BergeSeen Trail 02: Windlegern/Hochsteinalm - Steinbach

The second stage of the Salzkammergut BergeSeen Trail is dominated by the Höllengebirge. The route leads directly below the rocky northern cliffs of this mighty mountain range, about 17 km long and rising up to 1,862 m. Along the way, you will pass by three enchanting, but very different scenic mountain lakes and finally arrive at the eastern shore of the largest of all Salzkammergut waters: the 19.7 km long Attersee.

From the alpine guesthouse Windlegern (816 m), walk along a road southwards to a chapel and the edge of the forest, then ascend to the left to a forest road, which you follow left for about 1 km until you reach a signpost. Turn right towards “Kreh, Langbathsee” onto hiking trail no. 839. This leads over a forest saddle and then winds down steep forest slopes into the Langbath valley. Through a side ditch, you reach the former guesthouse In der Kreh (647 m). 1:00 h. At the Kreh parking lot, cross the road. The path branching off there leads over a bridge crossing the Langbathbach and past a small house to a nearby forest road. Follow this about 2 km right into the wooded Langbath valley until you come to the Kaltenbach where you turn right back onto the street. Left leads to the nearby parking lot at the front Langbathsee (664 m), in which the Brunnkogel and the rock walls of the Spielberg are reflected.

Now head right to the Langbathsee-Stüberl, along the lake road on the north shore and then continue through the flat forest valley to the rear Langbathsee. From the lake, go back a short distance, then turn left onto a path leading you to a forest road. Now either continue on the road or on the path (trail no. 13) uphill to the Lueg saddle (830 m).

There stay left on the forest road which continues to ascend. At the next junction, turn right onto the main route uphill. At the next fork, turn left to soon cross the saddle (875 m) between the wooded hill of the Hohe Lueg and the 1,538 m high rocky rear Spielberg. Behind it the road ends and you continue on the Jägersteig. This marked forest path leads steeply downhill in places until you reach another forest road in the Mudelgraben. This leads down to the Großalm road, where you go a few steps left to the Taferlklause (780 m). Behind the bridge is the small, romantic Taferlklaussee, which was once created for timber rafting at the foot of the Höllengebirge. 3:00 h

From the parking lot right beside the bridge, walk left to a rest area by the lake (wooden hut), to a nearby ski slope and right next to it up to the parking lot of the Hochlecken ski lifts. Left across the area to the (summer-closed) lift hut and a little further to the upper ski lift, behind which the signposted Valerieweg branches off left. This historic path, named in honor of the daughter of Empress Elisabeth, leads without major elevation changes under the Höllengebirge towards Weißenbach am Attersee. Originally, only foresters were allowed to use it to supervise their timber workers.

You now follow this route about 2 km through forest slopes and over some debris fields until you reach the Hochleckenhaus hut path below the Adlerspitzen. Continue straight on the Valerieweg towards “Forstamt, Weißenbach.” Now follows the most beautiful section of this path, which finally merges above the Auboden hunting hut (831 m) into path no. 822 (“Stieg”). Turn right downhill to a forest road crossing and follow it a few meters left. Then turn right following the sign “Steinbach” and walk through forest down to the upper houses. There you reach a road leading through the hamlet Kaisigen to Steinbach am Attersee (509 m), the ÖAV mountaineering village in the Attersee-Traunsee Nature Park.

Tourist office in the community house (Steinbach no. 5) right of Großalmstraße, opposite the parish church, bus stop and ship landing stage down at the lake. 3:00 h

The second stage of the Salzkammergut BergeSeen Trail is entirely under the spell of the Höllengebirge Mountains. The route leads directly underneath the rocky northern precipices of this mighty mountain range, which is approximately 17 kilometres long and up to 1862 metres high. During the journey, you will pass three magical, but scenically quite different, mountain lakes and finally reach the eastern shore of the largest of all of the Salzkammergut waters: the 19.7-kilometre-long Lake Attersee.

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


• Until early summer, you may encounter steep snowfields or firn gullies there – especially when icy, there is acute risk of falling and thus danger to life!


• Due to storm damage, forestry work or construction measures, some sections of the path may be temporarily difficult or impossible to pass.


• Cows on the alp are often curious. Because of mother cow husbandry, they develop a strong drive to protect their calves. So move calmly on cow pastures, keep at least 20 m distance from the animals and never pet calves! In case of threatening gestures (scraping, stamping), slowly step backwards (do not turn your back). Dogs must be on a leash; they must not bark at or chase cows. In case of an attack, the dog must be released from the leash.

For all stages, you need hiking or mountain shoes with profiled rubber soles as well as windproof and waterproof clothing.

Spare clothes for changing and a small first aid kit should also be in your backpack. How much provision you pack depends on the number of places to stop for refreshments. In any case, you should take enough to drink. Telescopic poles are especially helpful when going downhill.

With kind permission of the text provided by the KOMPASS publishing house and Wolfgang Heitzmann.

Further information at trail.salzkammergut.at