Hiking

As you go hiking in Forstau and at the Fageralm, you will experience nature at its most beautiful. Come and experience the fresh mountain air and the cheerful babble of Salzburg's mountain streams.

Your hike up to Salzburg's mountain world and the Fageralm is serenaded by the chirruping of birds and the gentle clang of cowbells. Right on the edge of the path, you will find rare flowers such as lady's slipper, nigritella and mountain gentian. Take a break for refreshments at one of the numerous traditional mountain huts, sampling a selection of delectable regional dishes.

From the town center of Forstau, you will drive via a ca. 11 km-long toll road in the direction of Forstau-Winkl, until you reach a pair of huts at the valley head, the Fallhausalm and the Vögeialm. From there, a path leads south over the Klamml, then begins to climb, taking you past the picturesque Klammlsee and up to the Seekarscharte (elev. 2000 m), from where it continues along the Tauern Höhenweg and the Oberhüttensattel to the Oberhütte am See. 
The hike down is either via a steeper path alongside the Oberhüttenbach or by means of a longer, though only gently falling path back to the starting point. You should allow roughly 4 hours (pure hiking time) for this moderately difficult hiking tour in Salzburg.

From the town center of Forstau, you will first walk about 500 m along the road leading to Radstadt. Before you reach the Schreinbach bridge, you will make a left onto the Rotenloch forestry lane. This now takes you gentle uphill through Heideggwald Forest, then via a short path amid damp forest floors to an open alpine grazing area of the Fageralm – known as the Vorderfager – and then to the Lechnerhütte (1610 m). At this point, you can continue along the hiking path to Berggasthof Trinkeralm (1885 m) and enjoy the magnificent alpine panoramas of the Dachstein Massif. 

Once at the Trinkeralm, you have a wide selection of easy hikes amid the pristine mountain landscapes to choose from, such as the Trinkeralm Rundwanderweg on the Fageralm, which will take you about 45 minutes. The entire hike to Berggasthof Trinkeralm is easy and requires roughly 2.5 hours of walking.

From the town center of Forstau, the path leads past the Lourdes Chapel (late 19th cent.), the sawmill, then uphill via the Oberbergweg to the Hohenwald farm, one of the highest hill farms in Salzburg at 1375 m above sea level. Now the route changes to a narrow, gently ascending path, leading through Buckelwald Forest to the Eiskarhütte and then to the Gasselhöhhütte. A somewhat steeper trail brings you to the top of the Gasselhöhe (2001 m), the first summit on this route. Now enjoying a ridge hike about 2 km in length, accompanied by impressive high-alpine scenery, you finally reach the top of the 2126 meters-tall Rippetegg, the target destination for this particular hike.

You can either return via the same route, or make a steeper descent leading to the 5 Gasselseen lakes (unique mountain reflections) in Salzburg. You should reckon with ca. 6 hours in total for this easy-to-moderate hiking route.

The stream-side path isn't just a nice place in Forstau for a walk, it also features an enjoyable Kneipp Walk with many different stations for a spot of personal Kneipp therapy, plus an extremely interesting and instructive theme path about medicinal herbs. Ingrid Voithofer (vice president of the Austrian Kneipp Society) described this path as the "most beautiful natural Kneipp path in Austria". The path runs from the town center of Forstau, past the romantic Lourdes Chapel, and alongside the Forstauwinkl stream to Jugendgästehaus Dachsteinblick (total distance ca. 3 km). You can either return the same way, or hike from the Jugendgästehaus along Winkl-Strasse and Himmelreichweg back to Forstau (total distance: ca. 6 km).

TIP: The "Bachweg", as its known, is illuminated in winter from nightfall until 10:30 p.m.

12 fitness stations along this 2.7 km path are interesting and fun, sure to keep young and old fit! Balancing, a tire run, sit-ups, push-ups, a recliner in the forest, slack line, monkey swing and so much more! 3 different levels of difficulty guarantee that absolutely everyone will be able to complete Forsti´s Fitness Path.