Login
Stores
Cart
There are winter days when you don’t need much at all: a bit of movement, cold air, warm sunshine on your face. And then – as a bonus – a place where you don’t just stop, but truly indulge. Because sport can be many things: challenge, training, restraint. Or simply the most enjoyable way to treat yourself – completely without guilt. That’s exactly what happens when touring and cuisine push each other. You don’t just go “up to the hut.” You go in and enjoy: mountain breakfast, sushi on a sunny terrace, a dinner for two, a three-course menu spread across three huts, or a really good Kaiserschmarrn.
Here are five tours that combine sport and pleasure in a way that feels like a small winter adventure – with enjoyment instead of sacrifice.
CULINARY WINTER HIKE IN THE KLEINWALSERTAL: 3 COURSES, 3 HUTS
A “to go” menu – changing locations between courses
How about a slightly different hut tour: you enjoy your starter at the Sonna Alp, walk on to the Max Hütte for the main course, and finish with dessert at the Bühlalpe. In between, you let your gaze wander over the mountain scenery, warm your face in the sun, and stroll comfortably along the cleared winter high trail from hut to hut, from course to course. “To go” takes on a whole new meaning here.
The starting point is the Walserhaus in Hirschegg. From there, you follow the Rohrweg up to the Heuberg lift mountain station – around 250 vertical meters, manageable and easily doable even with a slight appetite. At the top, you reach the panoramic trail and within minutes arrive at the Sonna Alp. Modern, without kitsch – and that’s reflected in the kitchen too: simple, typical dishes, freshly and creatively interpreted.
For the main course, you continue to the Max Hütte, slightly below, reached via a gentle descent through dense forest. On the menu are hearty stews, served personally by the Walser hut host. Wood crackles in the tiled stove, skiers swoosh past outside – a bit of “experience gastronomy.” For dessert, you climb briefly back up to the high trail and stroll for about 20 minutes to the sunny terrace of the Bühlalpe. On the menu: “Helmut’s world-famous Kaiserschmarrn.” Served sizzling in the pan, accompanied by baked apple liqueur – and the day is yours.
From here, you can walk down into the valley or head back to the Sonna Alp (about 30 minutes) and float down on the Zaferna double chairlift.
Tour: Winter hike (cleared high trail)
Start: Walserhaus, Hirschegg
Distance: approx. 6 km
Walking time: approx. 45 min (without stops)
Elevation gain: approx. 250 m
Food stops: Sonna Alp (starter), Max Hütte (main course), Bühlalpe (dessert)
In short: You change locations.
Winter hiking with stops in Kleinwalsertal. Photo: Kleinwalsertal Tourism/Frank Drechsel
WINTER RUN AT TEGELBERG / ALLGÄU: ROHRKOPFHÜTTE & MOUNTAIN BREAKFAST
Morning run: three kilometers, 500 vertical meters, one breakfast table
There are tours where the reward is always the same: Kaiserschmarrn, soup, hut classics. And then there’s this rare category that does everything differently – because it feels less like a “stop for food” and more like a ritual: breakfast on the mountain.
The Rohrkopfhütte on Tegelberg sits at 1,320 meters and serves an Allgäu mountain breakfast every Sunday from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. You run up and sit on the terrace with views of the winter landscape and the royal castles. Breakfast here is not a side note. It’s the goal.
And no, this is not a leisurely morning stroll. This is a winter run – a “breakfast run.” Three kilometers and around 500 vertical meters are the perfect format to start the day actively. Even better as a weekend escape: arrive on Saturday, enjoy spa and cuisine at Hotel Das Rübezahl in Schwangau – and on Sunday morning, the winter run up to the hut. As a hotel guest, breakfast at the hut is included. Want to join as a day guest on Sunday? That’s possible too – but only with advance reservation (approx. €24 per person).
Tour: Winter run / sporty winter hike
Destination: Rohrkopfhütte Tegelberg (1,320 m)
Distance: approx. 3 km (one way)
Elevation gain: approx. 500 m
Time: approx. 1–1.5 h ascent
Culinary highlight: Allgäu mountain breakfast Sunday 9:30–11:00 a.m.
In short: Running to breakfast.
SNOWSHOES & SUSHI: POWDER-TO-PLATE BETWEEN KARWENDEL AND SEEFELD
No stew today. Today it’s rolls.
How about a winter day with two chapters: first, a sporty snowshoe hike that feels like “real outdoors” – long and deep in the Karwendel. Then, just a short drive away: a sunny terrace and sushi. Powder-to-plate, so to speak.
The starting point is the Nature Park Information Center in Scharnitz. From here, the official snowshoe route S8 leads up to the Pleisenhütte at 1,757 meters. This is a true day tour: 15.8 kilometers, 780 vertical meters, and about 6 hours of walking time. Not a “quick one,” but perfect if you want to use snowshoes as real sports equipment.
After the tour, you change the setting: Seefeld is only a short drive away. Here, the winter sports day ends in style at the Woods Kitchen & Bar. The sun terrace is a dream (best to reserve). Sushi lovers are in heaven – as are steak fans.
Tour: Snowshoe & sushi – powder-to-plate
Destination: Pleisenhütte (1,757 m) + Woods Kitchen & Bar (Seefeld)
Distance: 15.8 km
Elevation gain: 780 m
Time: approx. 6 h
Culinary: Pleisenhütte (open on weekends) & Woods Bar: sun terrace, drinks & highlights like sushi and Tyrolean grass-fed beef steak
In short: You end with sunshine and sushi.
Powder to Plate winter hikes can be found in Karwendel and Seefeld. Photo: Tirol Werbung, Seefeld/Frank Stolle
GRAMAI: SNOWSHOEING, DAY SPA & DINNER FOR TWO
Day spa & dinner – this is how reward works at the valley end
There are tours that make you tired. And there are tours that clear your head. The snowshoe hike to Gramai Alm is one of those: a long valley path that sweeps your mind clean until, at the end, there’s only winter and the Karwendel. You’re not in summit mode – you’re in flow. You warm up step by step, you walk yourself free.
And then comes a finish that’s unbeatable in winter: instead of “just” stopping for food, you pick up your reserved spa bag and truly relax in the day spa. Afterwards, a dinner for two – and a romantic walk back under the stars with headlamps to the Karwendeltäler parking area.
Tour: Snowshoe hike to Gramai Alm – day spa & dinner for two as the finale
Start: Karwendeltäler parking / cross-country parking at the edge of Pertisau
Distance: approx. 14 km (round trip)
Elevation gain: approx. 250 m
Time: approx. 4:30 h total (without long stops)
Culinary: Falzthurnalm possible, Gramai day spa (reservation required) & dinner for two
Note: No card payment possible
In short: Spa, dinner, starlit sky.
Sometimes you just need to clear your head in winter. Photo: La Munt
OBERE FIRSTALM: KAISERSCHMARRN BLISS & SLEDGING FUN
Kaiserschmarrn as an energy bar. And 2.5 kilometers of sledding smiles.
Some winter tours are a complete package: movement, hut, fun – especially with kids. The Obere Firstalm at Spitzingsee delivers exactly that, delightfully uncomplicated.
The ascent starts at the Spitzingsattel and follows the sledding track straight up. The run is 2.5 kilometers long, moderately steep, and considered family-friendly. At the top, you can even rent a sled. And then comes the classic that’s mandatory here: Kaiserschmarrn. Not as dessert, but as an energy bar served in a pan. Warm, sweet – perfect to kick off the second part of the plan: sledding. If you like, even as a night activity, since the run is lit in winter until 10:30 p.m. For us, this is “winter perfection.”
Tour: Winter hike & sledding action
Start: Spitzingsattel / Spitzingsee (depending on route)
Destination: Obere Firstalm
Time: approx. 40–60 min ascent (depending on pace)
Culinary: Kaiserschmarrn (hut classic)
Bonus: 2.5 km sledding run, sled rental at the hut
Extra: Floodlit sledding run until 10:30 p.m.
In short: Walk up, feast royally. Sled down.