BergeSeen Trail A2: Nußdorf - Unterach

Description:
The fact that this stage of the Attersee Regional Trail always heads south is also confirmed by a small natural wonder found shortly before the destination: the sweet chestnut forest of Unterach – the only one north of the Alps where the spiny balls reach full maturity. The reason for this is the mild climate to the south of Lake Attersee, which also provides for many pleasant days of hiking. However, there are other natural experiences to discover on this route, for example, Lake Egelsee, which was formed by a dead-ice moraine after the end of the last ice age.

Directions:
 

From the tourism office in Dorfstraße in Nußdorf am Attersee, walk back along the Wildholzweg over the Anger and through Oberdorf. Then turn left to ascend up to the Pfarrer-Salettl (wonderful view over the village and lake to the Höllengebirge Mountains). Continue along the marked Attersee-Westwanderweg Trail, which leads through the forested slopes below the Reiter Gupf (881 m) and past the snack station Dachsteinblick (771 m) – on a clear day, this spot lives up to its name with gorgeous views of the Dachstein Mountain. 1:00 h

 

Going downhill to the left, you reach the asphalted Limbergstraße, which you then follow uphill to the right for about 200 metres. Below the Limberg farmstead, the route descends again to the left and continues along the Dexelbach Stream to the edge of the forest above the hamlet of Zell. Continue right, up and down above Lake Attersee, over the wild Parschallenbach Stream to the sprawling farms of Ramsau above Stockwinkl. There a short detour takes you to the legendary “Berimandl Stoa”, where approximately 100 different types of nut trees have been planted. On the Westwanderungweg, you soon reach an asphalt street and thus the turnoff to the Reiserbauern Mill, which dates back to the 17th century (worthwhile detour, additional 45-minute roundtrip). Walk down the street for 150 metres towards Lake Attersee and then turn right next to a small gravel quarry onto the Promberg forest road (trail marker “Egelsee, Unterach”). At the nearby edge of the forest, go left and then immediately right again along the path into the ravine of the Urfangbach Stream and ascend further on to the Modlinger Farm. Continue downhill along the asphalted drive, turn right towards the Hausmann Farm and above it, take the hiking trail which branches off to the left towards Lake Egelsee (624 m) 1:45 h

 

From the southern shore of the strictly protected moor lake, take the gravel road over a meadow saddle to the Holzberg farm. There you turn right twice, then head left along the hiking trail to Hotel Panoramagasthof Druckerhof (653 m). Take a field path to the forested eastern slope of the Hochplettspitze, which brings you down to the Kohl Farm and the community of Menerweg. After a short “swerve” to the right over a ravine, you finally reach Atterseestraße, which you follow for 170 metres to the right (towards Unterach). After the roadway bridge over the Schneiderbach Stream, follow the sign for the “Waldlehrpfad” nature path uphill to the right into the Unterach sweet chestnut forest (520 m). In the early section of the nature path, go downhill to the left to the bypass street. After crossing the street, you go along Leitnergasse to reach the village centre of Unterach am Attersee (477 m) 2:15 h

Safety guidelines:

• In alpine terrain, be aware of the danger of falling rocks.


• Through early summer, you may encounter steep snowfields or firn gullies – especially during icy conditions, there is an acute risk of falling and thus fatal injury!


• Due to storm damage, forestry work or construction work, individual trail sections may be difficult or impassable at times.


• Cows in the alpine meadows are often curious. Because they are nursing mothers, they develop a strong tendency to protect their calves. Therefore, move through cow pastures quietly, keep at least 20 metres of distance to the animals and never pet calves! In the case of threatening behaviour (pawing, stamping) slowly back away (do not turn your back). Keep dogs on a leash. They must not bark at or chase cows. In the case of an attack, the dog must be released from the leash.

Equipment:

For all stages, you will need hiking or mountain boots with treaded rubber soles as well as wind- and rainproof clothing. A change of clothes and a small first-aid kit should also be included in your backpack. The amount of provisions you should pack depends on the number of available rest stops. In any case, you should always take along plenty to drink. Telescopic poles are helpful, especially when walking downhill.

Additional information:

Text kindly provided by the publisher KOMPASS-Verlag and Wolfgang Heitzmann.

Further information at trail.salzkammergut.at