I met Karolina at the Salzburg Almkanal, the locals' favourite swimming spot in the city, and after immdeiately taking a liking to each other, we exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up later again in the summer. A few days later, Karolina texted me suggesting a hike up the Schmittenstein that she had also shared on Together Social, an app for hanging out with other people in Salzburg and getting up to fun things.
So, a cloudy Saturday morning rolled around and Karolina picked me up for a beautiful and peaceful drive out of Salzburg into the Salzkammergut Mountains. We were joined by Volker and the three of us made our way up the beautiful hike, meeting plenty of nice cows along the way. After summitting the impressive Schmittenstein, the shape of which can be seen from all angles far and wide, we headed back down and had a post-hike hut lunch at the Tanneralm. Arguably, eating Semmelknödel and drinking almdudler at an Austrian hut might just be the best part of a hike. We tried our best to understand the very strong Salzburgerland dialect of the local farmer who also very proudly showed off his pregnant cow, snacked on wild strawberries and made sure to pet every single dog on the trail. It was the perfect Austrian Wanderung.
SCHMITTENSTEIN HIKE DETAILS
When: June to October, when there is no snow on the mountain
Where: Salzkammergut Mountains, about 40 minutes drive outside Salzburg
Difficulty: intermediate
Length: the 8.32km return hike took us 3 hours of moving time, for a total duration 5 hours including stops for lunch, rest and photos with cows
Directions: park at the intersection of the Innere Rengerbergstrasse and Wurzenweg. Hike up the road into the field, then follow the trail up the mountain. Once you reach tanneralm, follow the trail to the left up the mountain, curving around the cow fields, then loop around towards the summit. For trail details, check out my exact route on Strava.
Bathrooms: yes, at the Tanneralm about half way up, where we stopped for a post-hike lunch
Public Transit: no
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
