Hike in Olpererhütte
The Alps are Europe’s major range of mountains, spanning from the Mediterranean coast of France via Switzerland, Italy and Austria to Slovenia. As such, a considerable area of Austria is part of this mountain range. Hiking in the Alps rates highly among Austrian’s favourite pastimes.
We love a good hike and the best hikes are the ones with beautiful views. That is why we planned one big hike during our road trip. After visiting the Leutascher Geisterklamm in the morning our adventure took us to Olpererhütte which is situated at the Schlegeisspeicher. The Schlegeisspeicher is an artificial lake that provides water for hydropower plants in the area.
How to get there?
The reservoir is situated literally at the end of the Zillertral Strasse or Alpenstrasse Schlegeis road. You can drive the 13.3 km long road from Mayrhofen, in the direction of Ginzling. As of May 2020, there’s a 14 EUR toll per car (10 EUR per motorbike), which you’ll pay near the toll station at Gasthof Breitlahner. If you arrive after 18:00 PM the toll does not apply because the toll office is closed.
Note: There is no fee for parking in the area, but the parking places fill up fast. If you do not have an overnight stay in Olperhutte try to arrive early to park your car closer to the beginning of the tracks.
To stay
We stayed at the Alpengasthaus Dominikushütte. The guesthouse has a view over the Schlegeisspeicher and is just a few minutes from the start of multiple hiking trails.
Hike
We chose to hike to the Olpererhütte and suspension bridge and hike back. There are multiple ways to arrive at the hut depending on your starting point:
- Start at the Schlegeisspeicher go straight to the Olpererhütte and descend back to Schlegeisspeicher. This hike takes around 3 hours roundtrip;
- Go from Schlegeisspeicher to Friesenberghaus to Olpererhütte and descend back to Schlegeisspeicher. This hike takes around 4.5 – 5 hours;
The options will reward you with magical views of the reservoir, Schlegeiskees glacier, and many photogenic peaks along the trail. We will recommend the first option if you are not an experienced hiker or just don’t have the whole day for the hike. If you have more time and some experience with hiking go for option 2. This route also takes you through part of the multi-day Berlin High Trail.
The trail we walked is option 1. The trail starts at the Parkplatz Schlegeis Stausee and starts with a narrow trail that ascends gently. The first stretch of the hike is a rocky path formed as a staircase. After ascending for some time you’ll have continuous views of the Schlegeis Stausee below and will even see a waterfall. After reaching the Olpererhütte, you can hike another 5 minutes and see the Instagram-famous suspension bridge.
Visiting Olpererhütte
The best time to visit Olpererhütte is in summer and early Fall, in Spring you will likely encounter snow on the trail. I also would not recommend hiking the trail with heavy rainfall due to the muddy trail and a higher chance of falling.
