Hikes in Wattens

The approach to the Lizumer Hut from Wattens in the Inn Valley leads through the tranquil Wattental valley, past the idyllic village of Wattenberg, and up into the impressive mountain landscape of the Tuxer Alps.

A beautiful and easy mountain route on the scenic Largoz

Walk from the center of Wattens past the cemetery, eastwards through meadows and forest to the Lourdes chapel and Merans, back via the Archenwald.

Nice family route in the Wattental with experienced children, partly very steep

Route in the shady forest

Today we’ll cross the southern Karwendel Range and descend through the Hall Valley into the Inn Valley. The trail leads past massive scree cirques, which vividly illustrate the powerful erosive forces at work here in the limestone mountains. With a little luck, we’ll spot a herd of chamois along the way. In dry weather, we recommend descending via the Issanger, a small scenic gem of the Karwendel Alpine Park.At the end of the Halleranger Valley, we turn east and hike to Gnadenwald, a true vantage point offering a magnificent view across the Inn Valley toward the Zillertal Glaciers. Those in a hurry can pre-book a taxi in Wattens and have it take them to the Walchen camp on the same day. From there, you’ll ascend via the Zirbenweg trail to the Lizumer Hut (2:30 hrs).

Wattental round; Gasthaus Mühle - Gasthaus Säge - Gasthaus Hanneburger - Heuweg

Today’s stage leads from Wattens, the “City of Crystal,” through the village of Wattenberg—which is beautifully situated high above the Inn Valley—into the tranquil Wattental Valley. Much like Gnadenwald, the village of Wattenberg sits at an elevation of over 1,000 m on a “viewing balcony”—in this case, overlooking the Karwendel Mountains and the Inn Valley. Here you’ll still find several beautifully renovated, stately farmhouses. Originally just an alpine pasture area, Wattenberg became a permanent settlement due to mining in the Mölstal district. Although the hike passes through a restricted military area, you’ll hardly notice it along the way. However, it’s advisable to check the Wattens information page in advance to see if live-fire exercises are taking place in the military training area at the time of your hike. During such exercises, all hiking trails are closed!> St. Lawrence Church01 in the center of Wattens is the starting point for today’s stage. On the southeast side of the church, we cross Salzburger Straße and turn onto “Lange Gasse,” which runs south to the left of the Hotel Goldener Adler. We walk along this street until it curves to the left. At the curve, we follow the Way of the Cross and the signpost “Weitwanderweg München – Venedig”02 into the forest. An information board provides details about the upcoming section of the trail from Keilfeld to the Hanneburger Inn.We climb along the Way of the Cross through a sunken path up to the Keilfeld district03. There we come to a road, turn right, and then immediately turn left at the wayside shrine with a bench. The rest of the route through the residential streets is well marked with yellow signposts pointing to Lager Walchen. Passing a small chapel clad in shingles and with an impressive view back toward the Hall Valley, we reach the last houses of Keilberg. Here, the paved road ends at an intersection. We follow the path ahead to a fork marked by a wooden sign reading “Ortsmitte, Gemeindeamt” (town center, municipal office). On the way uphill, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the lower Wattental valley. At another fork in the trail, we follow the sign for Lager Walchen and hike along the edge of a steep slope into the valley. Here, too, it’s worth taking a look back toward the Inn Valley and across to the Karwendel Range. We come upon an access road again and the wooden signpost marked “Gehweg zum Gemeindeamt.” In just a few minutes, the path climbs steeply up to the municipal office04. From there, we take the road into the valley, past the pretty Spiltner Chapel, and after about 20 minutes reach Gasthaus Mühle05 on Wattentaler Straße. We follow this road into the valley for 700 m, then the road to Gasthof Säge branches off to the right into the valley floor—a wooden sign reads: “Via Venezia!” Shortly thereafter, we reach the Säge Inn06. For the next 2 hours, we follow the yellow trail markers to the Walchen campsite. The beautiful valley trail leads to the right of the inn, away from the road, along the Wattenbach stream flowing to our right. After just a few minutes, a trail branches off to the right from the forest road. We follow the yellow markings and climb gently uphill, alternating between old forest roads, farm roads, and forest trails. Finally, we reach a large wooden shed07 with a turning area. Here, we keep to the right down to the stream, cross it, walk between two buildings, and come to a trail junction where we keep to the left. We follow the trail upstream and first hike uphill through the mountain meadows along a wide switchback before entering the forest again. After crossing another bridge over the Wattenbach, the trail turns right and climbs somewhat more steeply up a mountain meadow. We cross a stream and continue uphill along a farm road through the forest, eventually reaching the Swarovski company’s vacation home08. Passing the house on the right, we follow the yellow signs along a farm road at the edge of the meadows, pass two vacation homes, and finally reach a trail junction09. To the left, a bridge crosses the Wattenbach to the Hanneburger Alpine Inn on the opposite side.Before reaching the bridge, however, we keep to the right and hike to the right of two buildings toward the forest, cross the Ochsenbrandbach, go around a gate, and at a fork in the trail, keep left toward the stream, which we follow upstream to Lager Walchen10.Here, signs indicate that you are now in a restricted military area. We cross a parking lot on the military training grounds and the “Lager Walchen” stop for the shuttle bus between Wattens Station and the Lizumer Hütte. Passing the guardhouse, we follow the paved road for a short while until the well-signposted “Zirbenweg Lann Lizum” branches off to the left. The Zirbenweg leads along the Lizumbach stream, which rushes by on the right, crosses two streams, briefly follows the wide road, and finally reaches the mountain meadows of the Inner-Lannalm11. Here, a sign indicates which alpine pastures sell Wattentaler Almkäse.Passing a military building, we finally leave the alpine pasture area and ascend along a beautiful trail through the Swiss stone pine forest up to Lager Lizum12 in the Wattentaler Lizum. We follow the road until it turns right between the buildings. Here we follow a trail to the right that passes a white farm building on the left and leads up to the hut, passing below the Lizum Chapel. We cross the road again and reach today’s destination, the Lizum Hut13.

The Largoz, located above Großvolderberg, is a well-known ski touring mountain, but it’s also a summit worth visiting from spring through late fall for its views. The trail winds through a beautiful mountain forest to the Largozalm, a picturesque alpine village with panoramic views. In early summer, the trail to the summit winds through a pink carpet of alpine roses. > We start at Parking Lot 01, a few meters above the Krepperhütte, where we can stop for a break at the end of our hike. From the parking lot, several unmarked trails lead into the forest; they all converge slightly higher up on the trail to the Largozalm. The trail, which is pleasant to walk and not too steep in the lower section, climbs for 2 km. In the lower section, it is heavily overgrown with roots in places; we find ourselves in an impressive high-altitude forest, crossing the alpine road three times before finally reaching a larger 02fork in the trail where we meet the toboggan and ski trail. To the right of the road, we can already see the continuation of the trail, which leads us back into the forest. Finally, we reach the fenced-in alpine pasture area and, a little later, the buildings of theLargozalm, which has the character of an alpine village. The trail leads between the wooden houses to the alpine road; there, we keep to the right and immediately follow the wooden signpost to the left toward the Largoz Cross. From here on, the trail is marked with red-white-red markings on stones and wooden stakes. It leads us through expansive meadows of alpine roses and past stately Swiss stone pines, offering fantastic panoramic views, to the cross, which lies slightly ahead of the actual summit of the 04Largoz. The Largoz is the northernmost spur of a ridge that separates the Voldertal from the Wattental. The view is correspondingly sweeping: to the right and left, we look out over the peaks of the Watten and Voldertal valleys, and to the north, across the Inn Valley, toward the gray peaks of the southernmost Karwendel Range. A viewing bench slightly west of the cross invites us to take a leisurely break with an unobstructed view of the Inn Valley. For the return trip, we choose a route that takes us northeast below the summit cross, past a striking rock marked by a mountain pine. The beautiful trail runs along or next to a ridge to the second summit, the 05Glotzenkreuz, which was erected by the Wattens Boy Scouts in 1980. From here, we have a magnificent view of the Lower Inn Valley. After taking in the panoramic views, we descend northward for a few minutes and then turn west to make our way down to the 03Largozalm, once again enjoying scenic views amid carpets of alpine roses and fields of mountain pines.Here, everyone can decide for themselves whether to take the well-known trail down into the valley or follow the slightly easier-to-walk road. After heavy rainfall, the road is recommended; it also offers beautiful views of the Nordkette for a little longer. After the third hairpin turn, we pass waypoint 02and follow the sign for “Skiabfahrt/Rundwanderweg Largoz.” As we pass through clearings, we enjoy occasional views of the Inn Valley and the towns of Absam and Mils. The signposts for the Largoz Circular Hiking Trail guide us unerringly back along the forest road to the 01hiking parking lot. It’s not far on foot to the 06Krepperhütte, where we can reflect on the day’s adventures.

From Schwaz to Innsbruck