Hallstatt Waldbach source

We start in Hallstatt on Salzbergstraße at house number 186. That is opposite the Hallstatt fire brigade. We turn southwest onto Kohlstattweg, which leads towards parking lot 2. Before this, we turn right onto Echerntalweg. We follow this path, also called hiking trail 601, at the foot of the Echernwand. The Echerntal runs from west to east and is bounded by steep walls: to the south by the Hirlatz, to the north by the Echernwand, and to the west by the Mitterwand. 

Along Echerntalweg we pass old and new houses. In between, there is occasionally a meadow with young cattle. As we progress, the houses become increasingly sparse and the area becomes more rural. After a branch of Echerntalweg veers left in a southeast direction, the path continuing into the valley makes a small curve towards the Echernwand. On this section, the path dips somewhat into the forest and passes the so-called Kreuzstein, a large rock block on which there is a hermitage with a small wooden hut and a little garden. We follow Echerntalweg until we reach an older building with a veranda, the former Dachsteinwarte guesthouse. 

At the former guesthouse, there is a bridge over the Waldbach, over which we reach a small crossroads. Here we take the forest road, signposted "Wiesberghütte, Simonyhütte." Past the barrier of the forest road and a closed parking lot, after a short distance on the left in the forest we see the Simony memorial. This section of our route can be traveled by bicycle. It is part of the Durchgangalm round, which runs from Hallstatt via Rossalm to Gosau. In addition to mountain bikers, there are also cars going uphill or downhill. The road runs very steeply along the Hirlatzwand and further up the Mitterwand, so you must be careful when a car is coming. On this section, you can hear the rushing of the Waldbach. There are also nice views of the Echerntal, for example, the Binderwiese with the Schleierfall waterfall.

You pass the valley station of the material cable car to the Wiesberghütte, where the Hirlatzwand is separated from the Mitterwand by the valley of the Dürrenbach. Shortly after, you reach the upper end of the glacier garden, which can be looked down upon from the road. On the mountain side of the road in this area there is a large basin that was eroded by glacier water. After a further short stretch, we come to the tunnel in the Mitterwand. In this area, the view opens over the Echerntal to Lake Hallstatt and the opposite Sarstein. Soon after comes the bridge over the gorge that separates the Mitterwand from the Echernwand. Here you see for the first time the tremendous force of the Waldbach.

We continue along the path towards Salzberg and pass on the right a turnoff to the Gangsteig, which offers a possibility to descend into the Echerntal. At the fork where the path would continue to Salzberg, we keep left and go west to the next fork, where we again keep left and continue southwest. After a short distance, we cross the Lauterbach and reach a clearing with 3 alpine huts, the so-called Klausalm. After the fork after Klausalm, we keep direction and ascend to the bridge over the Waldbach. In this area, southwest above the bridge, is the small, also called lower Waldbach source, with the spring castle for the Hallstatt drinking water supply. 

Shortly after crossing the bridge, we turn right, following the "Waldbach source" sign. After a short ascent, on the right side, we see a large amount of water emerging from the mountain, the (upper) Waldbach source. It is impressive how violently the water thunders down the mountain shortly after emerging. After a short rest, we start the return journey. Instead of crossing the bridge at the small Waldbach source, we go down on the right side of the Waldbach until we can cross to the other side at the next bridge. After a short stretch over Klausalm, past a forester's house, we reach a fork where we keep right and thus arrive back on the path we came from. 

We take the same route back down to the valley. At the height of the glacier garden, there is the option to descend via the glacier garden to the barefoot path and take this path to the beginning of the forest road.