Route description: Start at the train station in Reith and follow the road as it leads north. Cross Römerstraße road to continue north on Panoramaweg road and follow it as it turns around a bend and continues in a southerly direction. Continue along Panoramaweg until you come to trail 211, which turns off to the north. After a few minutes, the trail branches off to the right and snakes along to the Schartlehnerhaus mountain hut (1,856 m). The path then leads across the Latschenrücken ridge of the "Schoaßgrat". The initial part of this path is very winding and then becomes less so for the final ascent to the Nördlinger Hütte mountain hut (2,239 m). Alternative route: Start at the bottom lift station of the Bergbahnen Rosshütte in Seefeld. Take the funicular up to the Rosshütte (1,751 m) followed by the Härmelekopfbahn cable car to the start of the hike. From there, you can either proceed directly along the Kuntersteig trail (10) to the Nördlinger Hütte mountain hut (option 1) or follow the steep and exposed route via the Härmelekopf and Reither Spitze mountains (79) to the Nördlinger Hütte mountain hut (option 2). More information can be found here: https://karwendel-hoehenweg.at/

Route description: This stage starts at the Nördlinger Hütte mountain hut and initially heads east. The trail then turns north and passes below the eastern rock faces of Reither Spitze mountain before heading east once more to the Ursprungsattel ridge (2,087 m). From there, do not continue towards the Freiungstürme mountains. Instead, head north-east and follow the trail that leads downhill. At the Breiter Sattel ridge (1,794 m), turn right to follow trail 74 towards the Eppzirler Scharte col. This trail takes you over a large scree field on the Kuhljoch and then winds its way up to the Eppzirler Scharte (2,102 m). From there, the route leads down the lime gravel-filled Höllkar corrie for around 200 vertical metres (trail 212) before following the gentle undulations of trail 211/212 to the Solsteinhaus mountain hut. More information can be found here: https://karwendel-hoehenweg.at/

Route description: From the Solsteinhaus mountain hut, take trail 213 down towards the Möslalm mountain hut. When the trail forks at the "Wilde Iss", follow the Gipfelstürmerweg trail (215) as it leads east past the Jagdhütte hut and then snakes up along a ridge to the "Hippen" peak. The trail snakes up a ridge to the "Hippen" peak. After a short descent, the route leads steeply back uphill and along sections that are secured with cables to the Frau Hitt col, which is located on the ridge to the west of the prominent pinnacle of rock known as Frau Hitt. Legend has it that the pinnacle represents a woman on a horse. The descent from the Frau Hitt ridge starts out very steep and then follows the Schmidhubersteig trail through wonderful alpine meadows to Restaurant Seegrube (1,906 m). From the Seegrube, take trail 216 up to the Hafelekarhaus (2,269 m). The Goetheweg trail (219) then leads south from below the Hafelekarspitze towards the Pfeishütte mountain hut. The trail first leads past the Gleirschjöchl to the Mühlkarscharte gap without any major variations in elevation. The views of the alpine city of Innsbruck and the Inn Valley are breathtaking during this section of the hike. At the Mühlkarscharte, the trail shifts to the northern face of the Nordkette mountain range where you can enjoy far-reaching views of the rugged Karwendel mountains. The trail snakes its way up to the Mandlscharte (2314 m) and then down to the Pfeis. The final section leads through mountain pines to the Pfeishütte mountain hut, which is the end of the third stage of the Karwendel Höhenweg trail. Alternative route: To avoid the 363 vertical metres of elevation gain between Restaurant Seegrube and the Hafelekarhaus, take the Hafelekarbahn cable car. More information can be found here: https://karwendel-hoehenweg.at/

Route description: Start at the Pfeishütte mountain hut and follow trail 221 (= Via Alpina) east as it gently climbs up to Stempeljoch col, which is located 2,215 metres above sea level on a ridge between the Pfeiser Spitze and Stempeljochspitze mountains. From there, the trail leads steeply downhill over a scree field. PLEASE NOTE: in early summer, there may still be a large amount of old snow on the Stempelreise scree field. This snow freezes solid and becomes extremely hard in the mornings (be sure to take crampons and poles with you)! After following the trail downhill for about 140 vertical metres, turn left on to the Wilde-Bande-Steig trail. Snow fields are also often found at this point. From there, the trail leads below the east and south faces of the Stempeljochspitze, the Roßkopf, the Großer Lafatscher and the Kleiner Lafatscher mountains with very little variation in altitude as it undulates gently towards the Lafatscher Joch. Before reaching the Lafatscher Joch (2,081 m), you have to complete another ascent with an elevation gain of around 80 metres. From this point, follow trail 222 (= Via Alpina) as it gently climbs east through the Kleines Speckkar and Großes Speckkar corries. During the last part of the hike before the Bettelwurfhütte mountain hut, you can enjoy far-reaching views of the Hall Valley and the Inn Valley, The hut is perched proudly like an eagle’s nest on the south face of the Kleiner Bettelwurf mountain. Alternative route: From Stempeljoch, you can take a detour to Stempeljochspitze peak (2,543 m). To do this, simply follow the signposted trail north from Stempeljoch. You will reach the peak of this Karwendel mountain in about half an hour. The views from the top are absolutely stunning.

Route description: After spending the night at the Bettelwurfhütte mountain hut, the eagle’s nest of the Karwendel mountains, take trail 222 back to the Lafatscher Joch (2,081 m). From there, turn north on to trail 223, which is also part of the famous "Eagle trail" long-distance hiking trail. The route leads continually uphill through the Lafatscher, Roßkopf and Speckkarspitze mountains to the Hallerangerhaus mountain hut. Alternative route: During this stage, you can also hike via the Speckkarspitze (2,621 m). To do this, when you come to the fork at Lafatscher Joch, turn north-east towards Speckkarspitze peak. From the Speckkarspitze, follow the path directly west down towards Durchschlag.

Route description: From the Hallangerhaus mountain hut, hike west along trail 224. (For a detour to Sunntigerspitze mountain: follow the sparsely marked trail leading north from the Hallerangeralm.) Continue past the Kohleralm mountain hut and you will soon come to the Lafatscher Niederleger hut. From there, the route gets a little steeper and follows the road down into the Hinterau Valley. If you would like to visit the Kastenalm mountain hut, you can take a short detour at the marked fork in the road. From there, continue along the road out of the valley, past the source of the Isar river. This is followed by a gentle ascent up to Gleirschhöhe (1,069 m) and a leisurely hike back down past the Gasthof Wiesenhof guesthouse until you finally reach the Isarbrücke bridge and then Scharnitz.