You might have seen this famous picture of Plansee in Austria. Currently, it is very popular on Instagram for example. However, it is not very clear how to get to this stunning viewpoint at Plansee. In this blog post I’ll tell you how to get to the viewpoint at Plansee and all further information you need to know.
This hike is an unofficial one – I love that, hiking off the beaten track where not many other people hike. To be more precise on that day, I was all alone, I didn’t meet anybody during my hike. I had some holidays left at work and decided to finally do this hike, which I had on my list for a long time. As it was a Wednesday and people usually work on a Wednesday, I decided to do the hike alone. Why not? Sometimes I really enjoy to hike alone and sort out all my thoughts and feelings.
The hike to the viewpoint is unexpectedly short, but you can extend it. Due to some storm coming up (you can even see on the picture above how windy it was), I was choosing the same route back after I arrived at this amazing viewpoint. I really wanted to avoid being alone in the mountains during a storm. (Scary!!)
I had just a vague description of this hike, but made it to find my way and will give my best now to help you find it too. So this is how to get to the viewpoint at Plansee:
Summary of the hike:
Distance: approx. 6 kilometres
Difference in altitude: approx. 400 meters
Duration: 3 hours
Parking: Park at the parking lot next to the street at Camping Plansee. Address: Am Plansee, 6600 Breitenwang, Austria
How to get to the viewpoint at Plansee & description of the hike:
Take the little bridge just after the parking which leads you to the other side of the lake. The first part of the hike leads you along the lake. Just follow the little path along the lake (stick to the left at the crossing after the bridge). You follow the path around 15 minutes till you are more or less in the middle of the short side of the road and have a view like this at the lake:
After some dried out river bed or a lot of rubble, a little path on the ride side start to lead up. The path leads through high grass and there are no signs. Don’t mix up the river bed with smaller ones which appear sometimes along the way of the lake. It is a really really big one and looks like in the following.
Here you can see where the path starts on the right:
The turnoff is really tiny. Watch out so that you don’t miss it. If you’ve found that, you already managed the first part of how to get to the viewpoint at Plansee.
And this is now the path looks like:
The GPS location of the start of the little path which leads up is: 47°28’01.7″N 10°47’33.7″E
Here I tried to mark the rubble on the map and the way how to get to the viewpoint at Plansee:
And here also an overview of the whole route:
And now just follow the path up and up. It is quite steep and a winding little path. You will get up high quite fast and have a great view of the lake all along your way. I read in another blog that in summer there are many many ticks along this path because it leads through high grass. When I was there in autumn there were none. So if you go in summer, make sure to wear long pants and protect yourself from the ticks. Quite at the beginning of this path, you will have a pretty great view at the lake already:
But you should go further up. At one point the way leads you through a forest and the path is not really clear anymore. Just choose the way which feels most comfortable for you and keep walking up. After around 1.5 hours you will reach this spectacular viewpoint at a ridge.
From here on it looked like you could go further, but as I was alone I decided not to, because the ridge was really small and it was going really deep down on the right side. There was a security rope but still no signs and nothing. Therefore I am not sure if the way is safe.
PLEASE BE AWARE: The whole hike is not an official hike and not maintained. Till that viewpoint, the path seemed easy and safe to me. But I don’t recommend you to go further.
So this is how to get to the viewpoint at Plansee. At this point, you have this fantastic view at Lake Plansee and the little Lake Heiterwanger See in the South. And now sit down, take you lunch box out and enjoy this silent, peaceful and stunning place:
I could also spot some pretty amazing sandbanks at Lake Plansee:
As I said, it seemed too dangerous for me personally to go further, and a storm came up, therefore I took the same way down and it only took me around 45 minutes.
Have you done this hike and went further after the viewpoint? Let me and others know how it was in the comments below. Thanks, guys!
How to get to Lake Plansee:
The best way to reach this place is by car. Drive to Heiterwang and park at the parking at the street in front of the Camping ground Plansee. The address is: Am Plansee, 6600 Breitenwang, Austria. And now cross the bridge on the right side and start your hike.
What else do I need to know?
This is not an official hike. At least there are no signs or any traces of an official path on the way. Therefore hiking is at your own risk and proper hiking shoes are a must as the way is partly steep and might be slippery due to the weather condition.
In addition, I read reports of people who were there in summer and said there are loads of ticks in the grass. So make sure to protect yourself.
And last but not least, there is no restaurant on the way, therefore you should bring enough water and some snacks.
What else is there to do at Plansee?
If this hike was not enough you can continue walking around the lake. It is a small, very scenic walk and totally worth it. After your hike, you can also go to the restaurant of the camping ground or the hotel a bit further down the Plansee street.
In summer you can have a picknick at various spots along the lake, take a swim (in the freezing cold water) or even rent kayaks!
I hope this post about how to get to the viewpoint at Plansee will help you! I can really recommend this hike and for me personally, it was so relaxing and all my everyday life was just blown away for one day. Another proof which shows that spending time in the mountains is perfect for your mind and soul and shows how important it is to switch off your phone for a while, to go out there and discover the world. Never stop exploring guys! And sometimes doing things alone might turn out to be a better decision than not doing it at all.
