In the summer of 2022, I hiked up to the Schafbergspitze with my mum while she was visiting me in Salzburg. The peak of Schafbergspitze overlooks Wolfgangsee, Fuschlsee, Mondsee, Attersee and the exceptional mountain ranges and towns far flung across the region is quite a surreal one.
A colleague of mine lives in Tegernsee, and so we spontaneously decided to spend the 9 May public holiday hiking in the same region. Given he has a fluffy Samoyed in tow, we opted for a little less of a strenuous hike and trekked up to the Falkenstein instead which is basically tucked right below the Schafbergspitze overlooking the Wolfgangsee.
It was an absolutely stunning day with perfect weather and gorgeous views abound across the lake, of course made infinitely better by the company of the fluffy cloud pup!
FALKENSTEIN HIKE DETAILS
When: March to October
Where: hike begins from the parking lot Brunnwinkl, on the edge of St Gilgen on the banks of Wolfgangsee
Difficulty: intermediate
Length: from Brunnwinkl, we did a return hike of 8.75km which took us just under two and a half hours of moving time; however we went a bit off-trail on the way up so I think the real hike is actually a bit shorter
Directions: starting from the parking lot in Brunnwinkl, head down the shores of Wolfgangsee and follow the trail around the lake to Fürberg. There's a small parking lot behind the "Waldbad Fürberg" indicated on the map, which you cut through to continue the trail. Do the loop out to the viewpoint.
Bathrooms: yes, in the Hotel Fürberg
Public Transit: yes, the 150 bus runs straight from Salzburg to St. Gilgen Hollweger. Transfer to the 156 bus (note this only runs every two hours on weekends, so try to time your trip!) and ride it two stops to St. Gilgen Aich in Winkl. Alternatively, you can walk to Brunnwinkl from St. Gilgen which will add about forty minutes to your trek.
