A fun, straightforward route deep into a peaceful valley.

Statistics

0 - 1

hrs

394

m

669

m

10

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Easy

Description

This is an easy bike ride to get the season started and, because of its relatively low altitude, it can be done any time from April onwards after all but the snowiest of winters.

The route starts at the little train station of Hochzirl, which is easily reached by car or train from Innsbruck.

It's also possible to ride up to the station but it's a bit of a grind and not highly recommended! Train is the best way of getting to Hochzirl station because the route finishes in Zirl village and if you drove up to Hochzirl then you have the problem of how to retrieve your car.

From Hochzirl station, ride down the road around one hairpin and then, just before reaching another hairpin, turn left off the road and head onto a gravel track. The track is not perfectly smooth but any obstacles are small and easily ridden over.

There aren't too many navigation decisions to be made, just keep following signs for Brunntal Hütte or Brunntal Hütte Mountain Bike Route and avoid dropping into the gorge down to the right.

The first landmark you reach on the ride is a small wooden bridge which enables hikers to cross a small river.

The river is small and shallow so for bikers, it's fine just to ride straight through it. Keep following the track as it heads north-east, deeper into the Brunntal valley.

Just before reaching the head of the valley you arrive at a beautifully-situated bench.

Take a moment to sit on it and enjoy the view before saddling up and swinging around to where the track begins to head back south.

The track descends gently and then reaches a junction from where it is possible (and highly recommended) to detour up to the peaceful Brunntal Hütte.

The hut is nestled in the forest and is wonderfully old fashioned and quaint.

From the hut descend back to the junction and then ride all the way out of the valley on a good but sometimes steep-ish track.

As you emerge out into the Inn valley the track turns into a tarmac road.

Follow this down to the bottom of the valley. The route ends on the E533 road to the north of Zirl village.

Once back at the road, either head into Zirl (from where you can catch one of the trains that run through the Inn valley) or cycle back into Innsbruck.