hikes in Innsbruck

Hiking in Innsbruck is a rare joy. An incredible city surrounded by world-class mountain scenery and some of the best hiking trails in Austria. Explore the walks all around Innsbruck but save some energy, as there are other activities for the outdoor lovers too: climbing, mountain biking, skiing, and kayaking. Innsbruck is an adventurer’s dream destination all year round.

Many of the best hikes around Innsbruck are panoramic trails that soar above the treeline. These walks offer amazing vistas of the valleys and mountains around Innsbruck. The gruelling changes in elevation can often be bypassed by taking a gondola up the mountains. This means relatively short and easy hikes can offer spectacular scenery and vistas that you will never forget. For a change there are also trails that offer gorges, waterfalls and a lot of old Austrian houses and farmer’s buildings.

THE TOP 10 HIKES AROUND INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA

1. Schaflegerkogel Loop (9.8mi, 3255ft, 5.5-7h): The Schaflegerkogel Loop is an amazing Austrian hike. This walk goes along a beautiful ridge to four different peaks before descending into a lovely, wild valley. There are amazing vistas and relatively few people throughout the whole hike, making this hike one of the best in Innsbruck.
2. Sellraintaler Höhenweg (10.3mi, 3018ft, 6.5-9h): Sellraintaler Höhenweg is strenuous day hike with a distinctly Austrian name. The trail takes you through the valley of Sellrain with rewarding vistas. It’s one of the wildest and least crowded areas to hike near Innsbruck.
3. Zirbenweg (5.2mi, 279ft, 2-3h): Zirbenweg is a great Austrian hike, famous for its forest of arolla pines. This short, family hike offers amazing panoramas of Innsbruck and the Inntal.
4. Reither Spitze (5.5mi, 1476ft, 3-4h): The Reither Spitze hike is a high alpine walk that takes you above the treeline, giving you spectacular, 360° Austrian panoramas. It’s one of the best hikes in Innsbruck due to its accessibility and beauty.
5. Kellerjoch Loop (6.1mi, 2133ft, 3.5-4.5h): The Kellerjoch Loop is a relatively easy Innsbruck hike takes you through lush green meadows to the peak of Kellerjoch. You’ll have an amazing 360° view from Kellerjoch. The view of the Inntal from Kellerjoch is one of the best in all of Austria.
6. Goetheweg (10.1mi, 1017ft, 4.5-6h): The Goetheweg hike probably offers the best, close-up, aerial views of Innsbruck. The trail walks along the slopes of the Nordkette mountain range directly above Innsbruck.
7. Wolfsklamm (4.2mi, 1115ft, 2-3h): The Wolfsklamm hike is a fun, quick, Austrian adventure hike through a narrow canyon along a raging river to an old pilgrimage site. This hike is a perfect trail for a hot day!
8. Kemater Alm (2.1mi, 935ft3.4km, 285m, 1-2h): Kemater Alm is one of the most beautiful places in Tyrol, and therefore, it’s also one of the best places to hike. This walk takes you through lush green meadows and impressive mountains, surrounding a little farmer’s village.
9. Halltal (15.8mi, 4557ft, 7-10h): Halltal is a long and strenuous hike. This typical Austrian walk takes hikers along an amazing, panoramic trail, eventually past one of the most popular mountain shelters near Innsbruck.
10. Natterer See (4.3mi, 984ft, 2-3h): Natterer See is a short hike through a lovely forest to a beautiful lake. It starts directly in Innsbruck, so it’s pretty easy to fit this into your schedule.

Want to find out more about Austria? Read our guide about hiking the Austrian Alps.