Easy summits around Innsbruck

Last updated on 26.06.2018

Now that is a view! Standing by the summit cross on a mountain peak is a feeling that is both incomparable and inspiring. The panoramic views take your breath away as you enjoy the warming rays of the sun and breathe in the fresh mountain air. Fortunately, such exhilarating experiences do not always involve an arduous climb – in particular in and around Innsbruck, where cable cars and lifts make it easy to get to the top, where you can take a photo and even add your name to the visitors’ book.

Innsbruck is the ideal place for seeing the many faces of the Tyrolean mountains from close up. There are the rugged peaks of the Karwendel range to the north, in contrast to the gentle terraced slopes of the Tyrolean Mittelgebirge in the Inn Valley, while the majestic Stubai and Tux Alps rise to the south. The hiking opportunities for adventure seekers and lovers of the great outdoors around Innsbruck are just as varied as the mountain ranges themselves, with the special and unique bonus that the finest viewpoints in the Innsbruck region can be reached without hours of exhausting trekking. The excellent infrastructure and large number of hiking areas accessible by lifts and cable cars all mean that even the less fit can celebrate the conquering of a summit.

Top feeling, top price – the Innsbruck Welcome Card

Visitors spending a holiday in Innsbruck can savour the peaks even more easily: your ticket to the top is available at reception upon arrival. From the first night onwards, the Welcome Card offers a 10% discount on the usual ticket price for up and/or down travel with participating lift operators. And, for those spending three or more consecutive nights at one of the Welcome Card Plus partners, the free use of four cable cars is included, with one return trip at no charge each on the Drei-Seen lift in Kühtai, the Muttereralm lift (Mutters), the Axamer Lizum Olympia lift and the Rangger-Köpfl lift (Oberperfuss). In addition, there is a 25% discount on the Patscherkofel and Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen cable cars. For those still hungry for more after a busy day out in the Tyrolean mountains, the Welcome Card opens the door to further outdoor attractions and cultural highlights. For all information about the Welcome Card see: www.innsbruck.info/welcome

Tips for easy summit tours

Karwendel – Hafelekarspitze – Nordkette cable car: the Hafelekarspitze offers a unique panoramic view of the city and the mountains. Following the ride up on the Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen lifts, a short walk along a good path leads to the summit in a quarter of an hour. To the north can be seen the Karwendel Nature Park – the oldest and largest conservation area in Tyrol – comprising almost the entire Karwendel massif, whose craggy ridges appear as a series of waves made of stone. Look instead south and much of the Inn Valley opens up at your feet – a fascinating and compelling contrast.

Tour description:
Short, scenic tour for newcomers to hiking
Duration – round trip: 30 mins
Length: 1.5 km
Start and finish: Hafelekar cable car top station
Altitude: 2,269 m to 2,334 m
Total ascent: approx. 65 m
www.nordkette.com/de/

Patscherkofel summit – Patscherkofel cable car: the Patscherkofel, to the south of the city, is also an ideal hiking area for young and old alike. The new Patscherkofel cable car whisks you 1,965 metres up to the mountain station. Continue on foot to the summit with views of the distinctive radio tower. The peak can be reached in a little over an hour via a straightforward, 3-km panoramic path. This path is a classic among Tyrol’s leisure trails, passing through one of Europe’s largest and oldest stone pine stands. Once at the top, it is time to enjoy a selection of delicious Tyrolean fare in the restaurant.

Tour description:
Panoramic tour with magnificent Alpine flora for mountain walkers
Duration – round trip: 2.5 hrs
Length: 6 km
Start and finish: Patscherkofel top station
Altitude: 1,952 m to 2,248 m
Total ascent: approx. 300 m
www.patscherkofelbahn.at

Rangger Köpfl – Peter-Anich gondola: its dome-shaped summit makes the Rangger Köpfel the perfect hiking area. The modern Peter-Anich gondola takes walkers directly up from Oberperfuss to Stiglreith in just a few minutes. From there you can continue comfortably on the Peter-Anich II cable car to Sulzstich. The large sun terrace of the Sulzstich hut, idyllically set next to a reservoir lake, is a great place to enjoy a bite to eat. The summit of the Rangger Köpfel, 1,939 metres above sea level, is close by and offers impressive views. This distinctive mountain has plenty to offer fans of the great outdoors: short and long hikes, pushchair-friendly paths and the Almrosen (Alpine rose) trail along the Lichtbach stream.

Tour description:
Mountain village, panoramic summit views – challenging family walk
Duration – round trip: 3.5 hrs
Length: 10 km
Start and finish: Stiglreith, Peter-Anich gondola middle station
Altitude: 1,360 m to 1,939 m
Total ascent: approx. 650 m
www.rangger-koepfl.at

Kalkkögel and Nockspitze – Birgitzköpfl lift: hikers can use the Birgitzköpfl lift from the Axamer Lizum. A marked trail leads from either the top station or the Birgitzköpflhaus through pines and screes along grassy slopes to the summit plateau of the Nockspitze, where outdoor lovers are rewarded with two summit crosses. Ask for the running times of the Birgitzköpfl lift at the information office before setting out on the tour!

Tour description:
Short, scenic summit tour for hikers
Duration – round trip: 2.5 hrs
Length: 7.2 km
Start and finish: Birgitzköpflhaus
Altitude: 2,039 m to 2,404 m
Total ascent: approx. 350 m
https://www.axamer-lizum.at

The Innsbruck region is also ideal for those wishing to conquer their first peaks “without support”:

Stubai Alps – Faltegartenköpfl: the Faltegartenköpfl also offers magnificent Alpine panoramas without requiring a major ascent. The Haiminger Sattele makes an ideal starting point: the Feldringalm hut, tempting hungry walkers with local specialities and homemade delicacies, is within easy reach. Continue over the beautiful pastures of the Feldringer Böden to the summit cross, clearly visible from a distance. Along the pleasant walk to the summit are fragrant pine forests, lovely mountain pastures and numerous Alpine roses and crowberry bushes: the observant may even catch sight of a marmot. At the summit you are rewarded with absolutely breathtaking vistas over the Inn Valley, the Mieminger range and the Zugspitze mountain, as well as of the Acherkogel to the south, Europe’s northernmost 3000-metre peak.

Tour description:
Unique views plus magnificent Swiss stone pine forests and masses of Alpine roses – for families and mountain walkers
Duration – round trip: 3.5 hrs
Length: 9 km
Start and finish: Haiminger Sattele
Altitude: 1,697 m to 2,184 m
Total ascent: approx. 500 m

Mieminger range – Simmering: starting from Obsteig, the Simmering high plateau can be reached either via the shorter but steeper Alpsteig path, or via the longer, moderately steep road up to the pastures. Both lead to the Simmeringalm, a welcoming mountain hut with views of the Mieminger range and the Wetterstein mountains. The Simmering Horn also has a lookout platform with impressive views of the Inn Valley, the Mieminger plateau and the mountains above the mid-upper Inn Valley. The remainder of the path from the hut to the summit cross at 2,000 metres above sea level leads through a magnificent carpet of flowers.

Tour description:
Wide plateau landscape above the tree line – for mountain walkers
Duration – round trip: 5.5 hrs
Length: 15 km
Start and finish: Grünberg car park
Altitude: 1,031 m to 2,078 m
Total ascent: approx. 1,100 m