Sonntagskarseen Lakes

The Sonntagskarseen Lakes - a rewarding tour to a unique landscape amidst the Schaldminger Tauern mountain range.

A tour with medium difficulty to the Sonntagskarseen Lakes. From the valley head of Untertal at Almgasthaus Riesachfall you hike up the alpine trail Höll to Gfölleralm. Passing by Kaltenbachalm at Riesachsee Lake you continue along the Riesachtal valley and walk past Berallerhütte at Kotalm alp. Continuing past Waldhornalm and Preintalerhütte chalets you eventually reach the Sonntagskarseen Lakes.

Highlights of the tour:

Riesach waterfalls and alpine trail through "Höll" gorge
Mountain lakes Riesachsee and Sonntagskarseen Lakes

Please note: The Alpinsteig is NOT suitable for dogs - tip: bypassing on the forest road to Riesachsee

Characteristics

Skill

Fitness

Best season

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

The tour in numbers

medium

Level of difficulty

17,8 km

Route

6:57 h

Time

1067 hm

Uphill

1067 hm

Downhill

2075 m

Highest point

Map & downloads

Download GPX data

Download KML data

More information

From Schladming take provincial highway L722 (Rohrmoosstraße road) to Rohrmoos and at the roundabout continue on provincial highway L723 (Tälerstraße road) towards Untertal. Once you reach the village of Untertal keep on going towards Untertal valley and Seeleiten car park at its valley head.

From Seeleiten car park follow trail n° 777 up to Riesach waterfall. From there follow the alpine trail through "Höll" gorge to Gfölleralm chalet. From there walk past Riesachsee Lake and pass by Kaltenbachalm and Berallerhütte chalets on the way to Preintalerhütte and Waldhornalm chalets. From the Preintalerhütte the route leads along the flat valley floor to the steep steps, and then ascends to the lower Sonntagskarsee Lake. Along the lake follow route no. 784; then gently uphill to the upper Sonntagskarsee Lake. The mighty summits of Waldhorn and Kieseck of the Sonntagskar, with its high flanks make certain that even in mid-summer there is a layer of ice on the lakes, giving it an arctic character. Return on the same path.

The tour can be well combined with a multiple day hike along the Schladminger Tauern High Trail.

With the Planai buses from Schladming (Planet-Planai, Lendplatz) or Rohrmoos (Rohrmoos-Zentrum) to Untertal valley - bus stop "Riesachwasserfall" at Seeleiten car park.

Buses of Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen: www.planaibus.at

Seeleiten car park at the valley head of Untertal.

Information about bus schedules: www.planaibus.at

360° drone images

Get yourself an overview with our 360° drone images:

Ascent to Preintalerhütte: https://vonoben.schladming-dachstein.at/sommer/index.php?S=317
View over Riesachsee Lake: https://vonoben.schladming-dachstein.at/sommer/index.php?S=318

Hiking map ‘Hiking WEST’ available at the information offices in the region.
Schladming hiking map, 1:25,000, available at the Schladming information office.
Hiking map Schladming-Dachstein, 1:50,000, available at the information offices in the region.
Hiking guide Schladming-Dachstein by Herbert Raffalt, available at the information offices in the region.