HOHE TAUERN PANORAMA TRAIL | Stage 10: Zeller See | Pinzgauer Hütte lodge – Zeller See Hiking tours

Route description:
From the Pinzgauer Hütte lodge you hike along the gravel road, first downhill and then uphill to the east until you reach a fork in the forest road. You then continue uphill along the road to the left (signpost "Schmittenhöhe/Ederhütte) past the Kettingalm lodge under a chairlift and to the nearby Ederhütte farm inn. You walk past the Ederhütte and uphill along the gravel road. At the left turn you continue straight ahead up the meadow slope on tracks to the ridge of the Schmittenhöhe and all the way to its summit (1,965 metres) with its mountain station. You walk along between the chapel and the restaurant, then turn right and immediately left onto the "Sonnkogel adventure path/high-altitude promenade" and then follow the path along the ridge to the north, past the Hochzeller Alm. Then you follow the high-altitude promenade, to the right of the ridge, through a small underpass and immediately afterwards you continue uphill to the left in the direction of Salersbachköpfl (1,934 metres), which you reach via the ridge. Enjoy the fantastic views of the Northern Limestone Alps on the Hohe Tauern Panorama Trail - from the Wilder Kaiser to the Loferer and Leogang Steinberge mountains, the Steinerne Meer and the Hochkönig to the Dachstein and far into the Hohe Tauern National Park!

Later you cross the Salersbachköpfl and reach another ski slope at the bottom, which takes you along the ridge. Now you get to another high-altitude promenade and continue walking in the same direction until a hiking trail branches off to the right. You follow this stunning hiking trail downhill and then walk through the Mystischer Sagenwald forest until just before the Schmiedhofalm, which you reach via an uphill road. You pass this beautiful farm inn and then a hiking trail takes you to a fork in the road. Here you take a sharp right and follow the newly laid out path, over ski slopes and through a forest, continue along a gently downhill road to just above the Sonnalm (1,380 metres). Now you follow the wide gravel road for some time until, after a sharp right-hand bend, a signpost points you in the direction of Restaurant Jagaalm. You pass through the Jagaalm grounds and get to an asphalt road, which you follow downhill to the houses near the valley station of the Schmittenhöhebahn.

You continue past both valley stations along the asphalt road to the bend below the last car park. At the bend, you walk another few metres uphill on the right and then turn left onto a forest and meadow path towards the toboggan run. Then you reach a forest road that takes you out of the valley, which you follow downhill in the same direction. Shortly after a barrier, the toboggan run branches off to the left. You leave the toboggan run after only 20 metres and continue along the path to the right to Zell am See. You continue straight ahead, ignoring the left and right turns, and finally reach the first houses of Zell am See. At the end of the hiking trail you turn left into the main road and cross it to the right down to a large crossroads. The pedestrian zone through the historic old town starts on the other side of the street: Dreifaltigkeitsstraße takes you to the town square. There, you first keep to the left and then in front of Hotel Gasthof Grüner Baum you take a right turn to get to the famous Grand Hotel directly at Lake Zeller See with its wonderful Hundertwasser fountain. Now you follow the road to the right and will soon get to Elisabeth Park - the magnificent end point of this stage, on the shores of Lake Zeller See.

You have the option of taking the mountain railway from the Schmittenhöhe to Zell am See.

You need alpine hiking equipment for the Hohe Tauern Panorama Trail:

• Day backpack, capacity: 20 litres, with waist belt and rain cover
• Hiking boots - minimum category B
• Weather-adapted and hard-wearing clothing in multiple layers. The Hohe Tauern Panorama Trail is mostly at altitudes between 1,300m and 2,450m - this should be taken into account when choosing your hiking equipment (especially your clothing).
• Height-adjustable trekking poles
• Sun and rain protection
• Make sure take enough to eat and sufficiently large water bottles with you, as there are not refreshment stops and fountains on all stages (e.g. on stages 5 and 7).
• First aid kit
• Pocket knife
• Mobile phone
• Tour description or hiking map

• www.hohetauerntrail.at
• Ferienregion Nationalpark Hohe Tauern Gerlosstraße 18 5730 Mittersill, Austria Phone +43 6562 40939  E-Mail: hohetauerntrail@nationalpark.at
• Booking center & info hotline Trail Angels GmbH 9821 Obervellach 15, Austria Phone +43 4782 93093 E-Mail: info@trail-angels.com

The official brochure and map material of the Hohe Tauern National Park Holiday Region provides everything you need for your long-distance hike on around 100 pages: detailed information on all 17 stages, dining options, highlights, elevation profiles, maps, and much more.

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