Meadow Hike
Day Trek: Ellmau – Wochenbrunner Alm – Kaiseralm – Scheffau – Ellmau

From the village centre of Ellmau, head north to the pedestrian underpass underneath the main road ("Bundesstraße"). Follow this route for around 50 metres until a signed track heads to the right for a short distance; then turn left towards “Wochenbrunner Alm/Wilder Kaiser”. Pick up the paved road that runs beside the golf course and follow this for around 1.5 gently ascending kilometres until you reach a signed junction (“14 Wanderweg Wochenbrunn”). Take a path leading over a footbridge and turn left onto a walking track. The track continues by the stream for around 1 kilometre to emerge in the paved road again. Follow this road uphill to the tiny tollbooth, from where the footpath to the Wochenbrunner Alm hut branches off to the left. Above Wochenbrunner Alm, follow signage to “Gruttenhütte” and climb the steep track that runs through the woods. Turn left to follow the trail signed “Riedlhütte”. This level footpath takes you westwards and eventually emerges onto a meadow road. Follow the blaze and bear left. The route joins trail number 14 and climbs towards “Riedlhütte” and/or “Gruttenhütte”. Continue walking on a footpath that first crosses a meadow and then climbs a magnificent beech forest. The footpath soon broadens to a forest road. The forest road (No. 14a) vigorously winds up towards “Gruttenhütte”.

At an elevation of 1400 metres, a trail branches off to the left (“Höhenweg Kaiser Hochalm”, “Scheffauer”, “Hintersteiner See”). Pick up the Wilder-Kaiser-Weg path, taking you through thin woods and dwarf pines and cirques south of the Treffauer mountain and right around it. Continue hiking towards “Kaiser Hochalm”. From Kaiser Hochalm (1,417 metres), surrounded by wide open alpine meadows, head downhill on the signed trail to the Kaiseralm hut (1,146 metres). From there, follow signage to “Scheffau Dorf”. Pass the homes at the hamlet of Schießling and walk on until you get to the car park of Schießling. Take the fork to the left (41 Scheffau Dorf) and walk to the village centre of Scheffau.

The bus stop is located slightly beneath the parish church. During the warm summer months, buses to Ellmau run every hour (Post Bus and “Kaiser Jet”, a shuttle bus service linking the village resorts of Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau and Going).