We plan to visit the Garmish area 3-4 days this summer. We have never been in this area before and plan to see several of the major attractions in this area. A recent post mentioned hiking the Zugspitze. Can anyone tell me about this hike, ie, how long in terms of time it might take, how tough a hike it is, how many miles it is,and what conditions we might find in early July.

Thanks!

I've never hiked up the Zugspitze but there are lots of other hikes around Garmisch and Mittenwald. I think hiking up the Zugspitze would be a bit rough towards the top and would probably take all day. If you hike up, make sure you know when the last cablecar/train is back down! It's probably around 5pm (just guessing). Hard to say about the weather; it could be chilly and rainy with no visibility that high, or sunny and hot (although not hot at the top!).

Here are some links that might be useful.
http://www.zugspitze.de/english/

http://www.mittenwald.de/index-english.html

http://www.mittenwald.de/kur-english...s.html#dammkar

Thanks for the information. We may try a "moderate" climb. We did the Grand Canyon, South Rim to River and back 2 years ago. The climb out was 1 mile up and 10 miles long(?) on the Bright Angel Trail. It took 7 hours and I was in good shape then. We may consider taking the cable car up and hike down.

You might also consider the Alpspitze, next to the Zugspitze. You can hike up and cable car down or vice versa. A really cool hike is to take the cable car up, then hike down through Höllental gorge (klamm in German), or in reverse. That takes 4-5 hours. You can take the Zugspitzebahn to the Alpspitz cable car and back from near the gorge. I can't remember the name of the train stops but you can get a map at the Zugspitzbahn ticket office. Another Alpspitz option is to hike up the side opposite the gorge and cable car back down. Hiking up takes 4 hours or so I think. Both of those are really nice hikes with pretty scenery. There's a hike around the peak with rope ladders and the like if you're into that.

Another nice hike starts near the Olympic Stadium and goes through Partnachklamm (another gorge) then up Eckbauer. You can take a cable car down or hike. I can't remember how long that takes but it's easier than Alpspitz.

We didn't find the Wank that exciting (ar ar). It also has a cable car so you can hike up or down and take the car the other way. IMO the views and scenery aren't that fabulous.

All of these mountains have huts (restaurants) at the top and/or on the way. Unless the forecast is hot and sunny for the next few days, take raingear! I'm hoping to do one of these hikes this weekend.

Hey Peep!
In your May response to my post on hiking the Zugspitze, you indicated you had a hiking trip planned in the Garmish area. Just wondering which trip you chose and how it went. I leave this Sunday, so any suggestions or reccomemdations you might have would be welcome.

Howdy Mers1! We didn't go to Garmisch that weekend but went to Spitzingsee instead. Have fun! It has been warm and sunny around here lately so hopefully you'll have nice weather for your trip! Be sure and post about your hiking experiences! I'm always looking for ideas on where to go.

4Sammy, here's some more info! Another nice area is Bayrischzell.

Hi Peep, thanks!

Thinking now of hiking in Fussen area (staying overnight in Fussen and hiking one day, seeing the castles the next day). What do you think of that ? We really only have 5 days in Munich and have never been before, so we are obligating several days to seeing the city. This leaves 2 days for hiking / castles. Just want to make the most of the short time we have.

To the top for the person asking about Zugspitze!