HOHE TAUERN PANORAMA TRAIL | ET11: Thumersbacher Höhenpromenade | Zell am See-Bruck a. d. Großglocknerstraße

The starting point for this stage is the start/finish board of the Hohe Tauern Panorama Trail in Zell am See - more precisely in Elisabethpark directly opposite the train station. First you hike the same route as the day before along the shores of Lake Zell northwards through Elisabethpark to the famous Grand Hotel with its Hundertwasser fountain. Past the hotel, you continue along small asphalt roads along the shore to the north until the road turns into a beautiful gravel footpath at See-Villa Freiberg. Follow this directly along the shore until it ends on the northern shore of Lake Zell (near the hospital) and you are directed left to an asphalt road. Then continue in the same direction (i.e. to the right) until you reach Thumersbach, directly opposite Zell am See. In Thumersbach, you should hike down to the shore again briefly, as from here you are hiking above the lake and no longer directly on the shore, and there are some last places to stop for refreshments.

However, if you do not hike down to the lake, turn left into Talstraße in Thumersbach and follow it until shortly before the fire station, where you turn right towards "Enzianhütte/Höhenpromenade". After a left-hand bend, a footpath branches off to the right towards "Erlhof". Here you are now at the start of the "Thumersbacher Höhenpromenade" theme trail. This leads beautifully through the forest above Lake Zell past several sculptures and stations dedicated to important personalities. At a fork in the path, take the right-hand path towards "Erlhof" and reach an asphalt road at Grafleiten, which leads downhill to a large road. Then turn left onto the road and follow it for a few minutes until you turn right onto the "Seerundweg" between the Haus Gabi bathing area and a soccer pitch. This beautiful walk leads through the reed belt of Lake Zell to a bridge. Cross the bridge and immediately behind it turn sharp left into the "Rösslpromenade", which leads to the "Porsche Reithalle". Here you turn left onto a path that leads through a beautiful avenue to the "Wiesen-Königreich" viewpoint. It should be mentioned at this point that this section is located in part of the Wiesen-Königreich, a wetland area on Lake Zell, and the nature discovery trail established in 2015 highlights the special features of this nature reserve.

After the viewpoint, turn left onto the path that leads to Thumersbacher Straße, from which you turn right (signposted Tauernradweg). Immediately afterwards, a right-left turn at the Trauner car dealership leads to an underpass on the other side of the main road. Here you continue along the Tauern Cycle Path past the Shiloh Ranch to a crossroads and take the path diagonally to the right (do not go through the underpass), which takes you along the railroad line, past the sports field, to a pedestrian bridge, the "Stefan Schwaiger Steg". Then cross the bridge and turn left behind it into a small road that leads directly to the village square of Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße. At the village square, where you will also find the BRUCK FUSCH | GROSSGLOCKNER tourist information office, you have reached the end of the stage. From here you can see the Lukasbrücke bridge, which incidentally marks the start of the world-famous Grossglockner High Alpine Road with the kilometer marker 0.

Coming from the north: German highway A9 from Munich

Coming from the south: A10 Tauernautobahn

Coming from the east: A1 Westautobahn

Coming from the west: A12 Inntalautobahn to Wörgl, then federal highways

www.hohetauerntrail.at

Vacation Region Hohe Tauern National Park

Gerlosstraße 18 5730 Mittersill, Austria

Tel. +43 6562 40939 E-Mail: hohetauerntrail@nationalpark.at

Booking center & info hotline Trail Angels GmbH

9821 Obervellach 15, Austria

Tel. +43 4782 93093 E-Mail: info@bookyourtrail.com