Two-Day Trek: Grän - Füssener Jöchl - Tannheimer Hütte - Höfen

Stage 1: Grän – Tannheimer Hütte
Uphill/downhill: 681/786 vertical metres, walking time: 4.5 hours, distance: 7.2 kilometres, highest point: 2,007 metres, difficulty: difficult (black)

From Grän, take the cable car up onto Füssener Jöchele. From the top, follow the signs for “Otto-Mayr-Hütte” using the middle trail of those beginning here and climb up onto the Reintaler Jöchle ridge (1,846 metres). After walking down through dwarf pines, the trail begins to descend more steeply to the valley floor. At the junction where “Otto-Mayr-Hütte” is signposted, descend to the right and continue ahead in the same direction at the next fork. After a short distance you will reach the Füssener Hütte hut (1,520 metres). Turn onto a dirt road and pass the small Willi-Merkl-Hütte (a self-catering refuge) at 1,150 metres and the nearby Otto-Mayr-Hütte (1,530 metres). From there, a dirt road zigzags down to the valley floor through the woods. At an elevation of roughly 1400 metres, turn right onto the trail for “Tannheimer Hütte” – the trail crosses the stream and resumes its climb of Nesselwängler Scharte notch. The ascent soon steepens, with the trail following a rocky footpath through dwarf pines, meadows, scree and talus slopes. The rocky flank you must traverse to reach the notch resembles a cirque in some stretches and is steep in the lower and upper sections. Many sections have a fixed anchoring system of steel cables as the route crosses a chimney and exposed ridges of very rugged terrain. Beyond the notch, walk down towards “Tannheimer Hütte”, traversing meadows below rock faces. At the sign warning of falling rocks, do not continue ahead but instead head downwards through a tussock slope and you will soon reach your accommodation for the nights, the Tannheimer Hütte.

Tip! On top of the the Brentenjoch ridge (1,226 metres) there is a viewing platform with a special sightseeing telescope that will leave your head spinning as you try to identify a seemingly infinite array of peaks stretching out before you.

Stage 2: Tannheimer Hütte – Höfen
Uphill/downhill: 248/226 vertical metres, walking time: 2 hours, distance: 4.5 kilometres, highest point: 1,776 metres, difficulty: intermediate (red)

From the Tannheimer Hütte hut, follow the signs for Hahnenkamm and walk eastwards. The entire walk runs over undulating terrain. First you will traverse the mountainside above the Tannheimer Tal Valley (mostly meadows, groves here and there, dwarf pines). Soon the trail follows the signs for “Schneetalalm” and crosses a grass-grown gully below the Köllenspitze (keep following the signs to “Schneetalalm”). For a short distance, the trail enters the woods before approaching the Schneetalalm hut (1,650 metres). From there, a footpath climbs atop the Tiefjoch col. Here you will find signs indicating “Bergstation Hahnenkamm”, the top station of the cable car. Walking ahead in the same direction through open, fragrant meadows, you will pass a junction where another trail branches off and soon reach another ridge. On the other side of the ridge you will pass the popular alpine botanical garden with its rich collection of mountain flora. At the nearby top terminal of the Hahnenkamm cable car you can catch the cable car down the mountain to Höfen, from where a bus takes you back to Reutte. There is a direct bus connection from Reutte to Grän.

There is also an alternative descent to Reutte from the Schneetalalm hut via the Lechashauer Alm hut (1,670 metres) and the Gehrenalpe (1,610 metres) to Wängle and on to Reutte.

Tip! The alpine botanical garden next to the top terminal of the Hahnenkamm cable car is a flowering gem where you can admire 600 different species of alpines plants, 48 of which are considered rarities. The garden is especially worth a visit during blooming season from mid-June until late September.

Tip! In Reutte we recommend a visit to the local heritage museum in the the “Grünes House”, literally ‘Green House’, which dates back to the year 1779 and has a lavishly adorned façade decorated with paintings by the famous Baroque artist Johann Jakob Zeiller from Reutte.