Mittersill and Around: Five Days in the Alps
- In July 2022 we spent a week making trips from Mittersill in the Salzburg region. The goal was simple: trips and a few hills to walk.
- Three days in the hills near Pass Thurn and Zell am See, one day on the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße and one at the Krimml Waterfalls.
- Along the way: small wildlife parks, cows in a meadow, horses that let you feed them grass, and a beer with your feet in the water.
- Below is a short plan of what to fit into five days.
For five days we drove around Mittersill in Austria's Salzburg region, and the main goal was simple: trips and walking a few hills. That turned into a few days on meadows with cows, one day on the famous Großglockner Hochalpenstraße, the waterfalls at Krimml and evenings of Austrian food and drink. This article is a plan and an overview of how we had it laid out.
A five-day plan
This is what our week looked like. It's a schedule based on where we were (worked out from photos), so feel free to rearrange it.
- Wednesday 20 July: arrival. An evening walk through the valley near Mittersill in the Hohe Tauern National Park, feeding horses grass, and dinner with soup and schnitzel.
- Thursday 21 July: Pass Thurn. A cable car in the morning and hills above the pass, cows in a meadow, a summit cross, and in the afternoon a beer with my feet in a pool. In the evening Zell am See and a pedal boat on the lake.
- Friday 22 July: Großglockner Hochalpenstraße. A whole day on the most beautiful Alpine road: Edelweißspitze, Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, the Pasterze glacier and in the evening the wildlife park near Ferleiten. In detail in a separate article.
- Saturday 23 July: Krimml. The Krimml waterfalls, the highest in Austria, and a quiet evening in Mittersill.
- Sunday 24 July: the last hills. A ridge walk at Pass Thurn, cows and a mountain hut with a pool, then the journey home.
Pass Thurn: hills, cows and a summit cross
From the Pass Thurn pass between Mittersill and Kitzbühel you can take a cable car up and walk along the green ridges from there. On Thursday morning we had fog, on Sunday morning sun, and both look beautiful in the Alps. Cows graze right by the path, so they are almost part of the route.
On one of the hills there is a summit cross that is worth walking to, and there is also a summit book you can sign. After a hike a mountain hut with a Kneipp pool is perfect: you sit down, take off your boots, put your feet in the water and have a beer.
The valley near Mittersill and the horses
On the first evening we walked through a valley in the Hohe Tauern National Park near Mittersill. The path is wide and gravelled and leads past a meadow with horses, which happily let you feed them grass. We met them again a few days later on a meadow above the town.
Krimml Waterfalls
The Krimml Waterfalls (Krimmler Wasserfälle) are the highest waterfalls in Austria and consist of three tiers. You can walk to them on a path through the forest, with viewpoints at every tier. Expect to get a bit wet, because the spray carries a long way.
Zell am See: a pedal boat on the lake
On Thursday evening we popped over to Zell am See, which lies beside the lake of the same name. The pedal boats on the Zeller See are easy fun for an hour, and in overcast weather the lake has a special atmosphere.
Where we slept and what we ate
You can browse accommodation in Mittersill on Booking.com. I wrote about food and beer in the mountains in a separate article.
Trips around Mittersill
If you don't want to plan everything yourself, here are bookings that fit the area.
Practical info
- Base: Mittersill in the Salzburg region (Zell am See district).
- Pass Thurn lies right between Mittersill and Kitzbühel.
- You get to Krimml and the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße from Mittersill by car.
- The weather in the Alps changes: it can be foggy in the morning and sunny after midday, so don't forget a jacket.
Lukáš Dobrovolný
Over 17 years on the road, but still with one foot in Czechia. I write about road trips, mountain hikes, cycling trips, Amazing Places and my favourite food.