The Five Lakes Trail to Fernsteinsee

Fernsteinsee

Die Tour

Hike over Fernpass before passing five iconic lakes of the region.

Today you will experience the Fernpass (1,212m) from its lesser-known side. An historic and important mountain pass, the landscape is dotted with a series of lakes. A leisurely trail through sparse mountain forest takes you from Ehrwald to Weissensee, Mittelsee and the idyllic Blindsee. From the pass, follow a panoramic trail to Samerangersee and finally to Fernsteinsee. Spend the night at a glorious hotel on the shores of the lake.

Info

Aufstieg
462 hm
Abstieg
521 hm
Tiefster Punkt 934 m
Höchster Punkt 1300 m
Dauer
5:46 h
Strecke
16,9 km

Wegbeschreibung

Start

Ehrwald

Ziel

Fernsteinsee

Weg

0.0km – Start on Kirchplatzstrasse in Ehrwald, with the church and the Raiffeisen bank behind you, head STRAIGHT AHEAD on Florentin-Wehner-Weg.

0.25km – Pass the Hotel Alpen Residence on your left and follow the signpost STRAIGHT AHEAD for Altmühlensteig/Ehrwalder Almbahn.

0.6km – At the ‘Kunsteisbahn bus stop, TURN RIGHT directly after the tennis courts and follow the narrow path over the bridge and then RIGHT ascending into the forest (signposted: Weg 38 Biberwier Panoramaweg).

1.0km - Follow the path through the gate and CONTINUE STRAIGHT through a sparse spruce forest. Ignore the first crossroads with the bike path and follow the signpost for Wegweiser Panoramaweg Biberwier to the LEFT at the second crossroads.

1.9km – At the crossroads with 4 green rubbish bins, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD on the panorama trail.

3.0km – At the park bench, a path branches off to the right towards Bieberwier. Continue STRAIGHT AHEAD on the wider path (signposted: Pulverkellerstempel)

3.6km - At the fork in the road, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD on the panorama trail.

3.8km – At the junction with the signpost, leave the panorama trail and continue STRAIGHT AHEAD towards Sommerrodelbahn/Fernpaßseen.

4.7km – Pass the summer toboggan run and the chairlifts, TURN LEFT towards Fernpaßseen Lake before climbing uphill again parallel to the summer toboggan run itself.

5.8km - At the junction, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD towards Weißensee Lake/Fernpaßseen Lake across the meadow towards the electricity pylon. Continue STRAIGHT AHEAD under the power lines until you reach a stream. Here, TURN RIGHT and walk to the road.

6.2km – Cross Fernpassstraße at the small log cabin (take care, this is a busy road - cross carefully). On the other side of the road, follow the signs for Mittersee Lake , Blindsee Lake and Fernpass to your LEFT. Continue to follow the curved road and then across a timber yard.

6.6km – Once back on the side of the road, follow the signpost for Mittersee Lake. Walk along the roadside for a few metres. At the junction with Fernpaßstraße towards Innsbruck, follow the trail to the RIGHT into the forest.

7.4km – You’ll pass a beautiful swimming spot on the shores of Lake Mittersee. After the stamp point, continue along the shore of Lake Mittersee.

8.8km – At the end of the steep ascent, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD and follow the narrow path towards Fernpaß/Blindsee Lake descending through the forest.

9.1km – After a few hairpin turns, you’ll reach the shores of Lake Blindsee. TURN RIGHT and follow the shoreline.

9.6km – Warning! you may come across storm damage on the lakeshore - an alternative route will be cleared and marked!

9.9km – The trail moves away from the shore and ascends slightly behind a bench, take the RIGHT path ascending and taking you away from Lake Blindsee (signposted: Fernpass/Rasthof Zugspitzblick)

10.3km – At the end of the steep climb, the trail joins a wider gravel path. TURN LEFT here towards ‘Rasthof Zugspitzblick’.

10.5km – Cross Fernpaßstraße carefully again near the bus stop and follow the signpost  ‘Schöne Aussicht’ (Pretty view) cross diagonally to the LEFT into the forest on the other side of the road.

10.7km – Follow the path to the RIGHT through the forest.

11.3km – After some hairpin bends uphill, the narrow path leads into a large clearing. Keep LEFT here (signposted: ‘Schöne Aussicht’) and follow the path downhill.

11.7km – TURN RIGHT at the fork.

11.8km – The path leads onto a wider road. TURN LEFT here.

11.9km – At the next fork, TURN RIGHT towards Fernstein/Fernpass/Nassereith.

13.6km – Cross the main road a BEAR RIGHT and follow the path descending to a stream. TURN LEFT sharply before the stream and follow the path alongside it.

14.2km – Shortly after crossing the stream over a small bridge, the path forks. Keep LEFT and continue further along the stream’s bank downhill.

14.8km – Look for a small fork in the path, in front of a pine tree to the left of a steeply sloping main trail and TURN LEFT here to follow the path along the stream all the way to the road.

14.9km – Cross Fernpassstraße at the bridge again and continue on the opposite side of the road to the rest stop. Follow this path running parallel to the road and TURN LEFT at the next opportunity onto a downhill forest trail.

15.1km – Follow the trail to a house before TURNING RIGHT onto the forest path.

15.4km – At the fork in the path, keep RIGHT.

15.6km – Pass through the gate. Please make sure to close the gate behind you! From here, follow the shoreline of Lake Samerangersee to Lake Fernsteinsee.

16.6km – Finish your walk in front of the small chapel in Fernstein.

Anreise

Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel

If staying in Nassereith – in the afternoon take: Bus 150 at 17:22

Timetable can be found here: https://fahrplan.vvt.at

Alternative Option: Arrange the Bike-Shuttle from Bus Zoller, this needs to be booked in advance! www.zollerreisen.com/via-claudia/index

Weitere Informationen

En route

Mittersee - Nice swimming spot on the shores of the Mittersee.

Fernsteinsee -  At Fernsteinsee if you would like, jump into the cool water after your hike or rent a boat and enjoy the end of your day with a paddle across the lake. More information can be found here: https://www.fernsteinsee.at/

In Nassereith -  A city map of Nassereith can be found here: www.imst.at/en/urlaubsplanung/alle-orte/nassereith

Ausrüstung

We recommend wearing hiking boots that are well broken-in, plus a rain jacket and waterproof trousers in wet weather, as well as taking sun cream and a hat on nicer days.

In your information pack, you’ll find a detailed list of all the required hiking gear, including some good hiking boots, appropriate clothing, a rain jacket and a backpack.

Sicherheitshinweise

Watch the short term local weather forecasts. Avoid high altitude hiking when the weather is bad. There are plenty of trails in the valleys, that allow you to reach a village quickly if bad weather sets in.