Adlerweg on foot

The Goetheweg on the Nordkette above Innsbruck, a stretch of the Adlerweg

Photo: Leonhard Lenz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
about 425 km (264 miles)
Country
Austria
Difficulty
Challenging
Type of trip
Hiking trail

The Adlerweg is Tirol's long-distance trail, looked after by the tourist board, Tirol Werbung. It comes as two separate routes. The main one is 24 day stages across North Tyrol, from the station in St. Johann in Tirol along the Wilder Kaiser, through the Rofan and Karwendel, past Innsbruck and over the Lechtal Alps to St. Christoph am Arlberg. The other is 9 stages in East Tyrol, from Ströden to the Lucknerhaus, through the Venediger and Glockner groups. Tirol Werbung puts the whole thing at 33 days, so most people walk it a mountain range at a time. Most stages end at a mountain hut, with a few in towns such as Kufstein, Innsbruck and Ehrwald.

It's an alpine trail, not a valley walk. Tirol Werbung says many stages need a sure foot and a head for heights, and the stages it marks black need alpine experience. All stages are marked and signposted. Book hut beds ahead by email or phone, since you won't find most huts on the usual booking sites, and take cash, because many don't take cards.

Highlights along the way

  1. Wilder Kaiser: Stage 1 starts at St. Johann station and climbs through Diebsöfen, where the path drops into a stream bed and through a cave, to the Schleierwasserfall. It ends at the Gaudeamushütte, at 1,270 m. Stage 3 comes down to Kufstein.
  2. Kleiner Ahornboden: On the short stage from the Falkenhütte to the Karwendelhaus you cross this meadow of old sycamores, some of them about 500 years old. Unlike the Großer Ahornboden, no coaches get here.
  3. The Goetheweg above Innsbruck: Stage 12 crosses the rough Stempeljoch, then follows the Goetheweg along the Nordkette to the Hafelekar. From there a cable car and the Hungerburgbahn take you down into the city centre, or you can walk down.
  4. Stüdlhütte: On the East Tyrol route, stage O8 climbs 1,440 m from the Kalser Tauernhaus through an 800 m long gorge to the Stüdlhütte, at 2,802 m at the foot of the Großglockner.
  5. The Arlberg finish: The last stage, 17.5 km from the Kaiserjochhaus, passes the Leutkircher Hütte and the Ulmer Hütte, with a view west to the Rätikon, and ends at St. Christoph. Walkers sign the Adlerweg book at the Gasthof Valluga.

Distance

About 425 km (264 miles) in all, by Tirol Werbung's figures for the 33 stages, with about 28,500 m of climbing (its text rounds this up to 30,000 m). Wikipedia splits it into 320 km (199 miles) for North Tyrol and 93 km (58 miles) for East Tyrol. The stages we looked at run from 9 km to 17.5 km, but distance isn't the hard part. Stage 12 is only 13 km and Tirol Werbung gives it 5:30 hours. The highest point is 2,870 m. Trains run to St. Johann from Innsbruck or Munich, changing at Wörgl.

Best time to go

Tirol Werbung gives June to September as the best months. Its advice is that lower huts usually open from late May or early June to early October, and higher ones from late June or early July to mid or late September, so check each hut before you book. On the last stage, snow can lie in a gully near the Kapall well into summer after a long winter. In November 2026 tirol.at listed a closure on part of that stage after mudslides, with a diversion by the Unterer Höhenweg to the Galzig. Look at the stage pages on tirol.at before you set off.

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