🚶12,2 km / 7.6 mi
↑ 388 m / 1,273 ft
↓ 993 m / 3,258 ft
🕗 3-4 hours
🚍 841, 842 to Jennerbahn
🚘 Königssee / Jennerbahn
Berchtesgaden
ONTO MOUNT JENNER
Right behind the suburb of Schönau rises the Göllstock range which forms the eastern edge of the Berchtesgadener Alps and the border to Austria. One of its summits is one of the few mountains in the area with a cable car - the Jenner. Busloads of tourists are being shuttled to the top with the Jennerbahn, newly built in 2018 at the whopping cost of 60 million Euro. Much quieter than the overrun peak are the hiking trails nearby.
If you want to avoid the Jennerbahn altogether you can start the tour at the Hinterbrand parking lot that's also served by bus 838 from Berchtesgaden. It is at about the same elevation as the middle station of the cable car, but still leaves you with 750 meters (2,444 ft) to climb and an extra 5,5 kilometers (3.4 miles). So that alone is a hike of about 2.5 hours.
We start our day at the ticket booth and treat ourselves to a round-trip ticket. In the old days you would climb into a tiny gondola in which you would awkwardly sit next to each other. Since the overhaul visitors board a 10-passengers cabin. The ride to the upper station (A) takes 20 minutes. A broad gravel path brings us to a viewing platform and over a couple steps we reach the peak (B), 1,874 meters (6.148 ft) above sea level.
Priceless Views
The view onto the fjord-like Königssee is spectacular! Just like the 360°-panorama with the Kehlstein in the north, the Tennen Range to the east, the pyramidal Schönfeldspitze and the well visible karst plateau Steinernes Meer ('stoney sea') in the southwest. The summit parade is crowned by the legendary Watzmann right across the lake, at 2.713 meters (8,901 ft) Germany's third highest mountain - and the only one of the top 3 entirely on German territory. Zugspitze and Hochwanner sit on the border to Austria.
A rocky trail leads over a ridge towards the Schneibstein. The junction with the path to the Schneibstein hut can easily be missed here. If you feel like the ascent becomes too steep to be comfortable, turn around. From the hut (D) on the hike goes down a wide gravel road. Just before Königsbachalm it turns right and goes along the western slopes of the Jenner and past some more possible rest stops towards the middle station (E). Here we hop onto a gondola back down.
We hike down from the Jenner, past the cable car station and on a comfortable path to Carl-von-Stahl-Haus (C), a hut of the Salzburger section of the Alpine Club sitting on the Torrener Saddle and thus right on the border between Germany and Austria. No passport controls up here, but as always when you cross an international border you should have an official ID with you.
Welcome to Austria
As it should be, the beer served in the hut comes from Salzburg's Stiegl brewery. For lunch I prefer it as Radler, mixed with lemonade. Goes well together with a Kaspressknödelsuppe ('cheese dumpling soup'). Yummy!
MORE GREAT HIKES
.jpg?etag=%2216b1fc-5fc8db19%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=300%2B200&extract=0%2B0%2B298%2B198&quality=85)
JUST MAGIC
Past crystal-clear lake Hintersee and through the beautiful Klausbach Valley deep into Berchtesgaden National Park.
THROUGH THE ALMBACH GORGE
Past crystal-clear lake Hintersee and through the beautiful Klausbach Valley deep into Berchtesgaden National Park.
JUST MAGIC
Past crystal-clear lake Hintersee and through the beautiful Klausbach Valley deep into Berchtesgaden National Park.