Ehrwald - Sonnalpin (via Gatterl)

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards Spittal and forward towards Lienz (a little after Spittal highway ends). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through Drau valley, which brings us in Italy. The road further leads past Dobbiaco / Toblach and Brunico / Bruneck. We still continue on the main road and then we join the highway towards Austria (direction Brenner, Innsbruck). In Innsbruck we continue on the highway which runs towards the west by the river Inn (at the highway junction direction Innsbruck-West). We leave the highway at exit for mountain pass Fernpaß. We continue driving through the mentioned mountain pass and when the road starts descending we continue right towards the settlement Ehrwald (at the turn-off there are also signs for Zugspitze). When we drive through the settlement Ehrwald we go right towards the cableway Ehrwalder Almbahn. Further, the road starts ascending, and we all the time follow the signs for the mentioned cableway. We park on one of the parking lots at the bottom station of the cableway.

Path description:
At the bottom station of the cableway at first we continue right on the road, and after few ten meters, we continue left on a macadam road following the signs »Ehrwalder Alm«.
From the crossroad a relatively gently sloping road runs by the forest and soon brings us to another crossing. At the crossing, we continue straight on the road, and demanding path (Immensteig) towards the lake Seebensee branches off to the right.
The road further runs by the ski slope by the edge of the forest and leads us past the bottom station of the chairlift and a smaller cottage by the path. At the cottage where a view opens up towards the summit Westliche Plattspitze, we continue slightly left and we start ascending a little steeper. The road then brings us into the forest and continues to ascend quite steeply. Higher, we come on the left side of the cable car and we are still ascending through the forest. When we again come out of the forest on a ski slope, our path turns right and then again runs on the right side of the cableway. The road further all the time runs near the cableway by the ski slope. Such a path from which also increasingly beautiful views opening up then soon brings us to cottages on the mountain pasture Ehrwalder Alm where there is also an upper station of the cable car. To mountain pasture is otherwise also in the summer months possible to come with cableway.
From the upper cableway station we continue on a macadam road which quickly brings us to a crossroad. We continue on the left road, straight leads the path to the nearby inn Gasthof Alpenglühn and forward towards the lake Seebensee and mountain hut Coburger Hütte. Only after few ten meters of walking, we come to another crossing. This time we continue on a macadam road slightly right and we follow the signs for mountain pasture Hochfeldern Alm.
Further, we for some time walk on a quite gently sloping macadam road which all the time runs towards the east. After approximately a little less than half an hour of walking from the mountain pasture Ehrwalder Alm, the path brings us to another marked crossing.
We go left on a footpath (Max Klotz Steig) towards the mountain pasture Hochfeldern Alm, and straight on the road leads a slightly longer path to same mountain pasture and the path towards the valley Gaistal. From the crossing, we at first ascend on a grassy slope by the ski slope, and then the path brings us into the forest. A well-beaten path through the forest at first ascends a little steeper, and then in a gentle ascent crosses a slope towards the east. Such a path then soon again joins the macadam road. From here only a short ascent follows on the road to the mountain hut on the mountain pasture Hochfeldern Alm.
At the mountain hut, we continue left on a footpath following the signs »Knorrhütte«. The path then ascends on grassy slopes above the mountain hut and later turns a little to the right and it brings us to a crossing.
At the crossing, we continue right and then we soon cross a stream. Further, the path is ascending diagonally on grassy slopes, and higher we are for some time ascending also through dwarf pines. The path with a view here all the time runs towards the northeast and it brings us to a saddle Am Brand below the slopes of the peak Östlicher Gatterlkopf.
On the saddle, the path turns slightly to the left and it brings us on little steeper slopes. The path here descends a little and crosses slopes towards the northeast. Such a path then brings us to a marked crossing on the saddle Feldern Jöchl.
At the crossing, we continue left towards the mountain hut Knorrhütte, and right leads the path into a valley Gaistal and mountain pasture Rotmoos Alm.
From the crossing, the path at first descends a little and crosses slopes below the eastern slopes of the peak Östlicher Gatterlkopf. Next follows a short ascent to a saddle Gatterl where there is also the border between Austria and Germany. At the ascent to a saddle the slope is a little steeper and there are also some steel cables for help.
From the saddle, we slightly descend and a view opens up towards the valley Reintal and towards the summit Zugspitze. Further, the path for quite some time crosses not that steep slopes towards the north all the way to the mountain hut Knorrhütte.
At the mountain hut where there is a crossing, we continue left following the signs »Sonnalpin, Zugspitze«. The path from the mountain hut starts ascending on the scree towards the northwest and brings us below the walls of the peak Innere Höllentalspitze. The path then turns slightly to the left and becomes a little less steep. Here the path runs on the right side of a wide plateau named »Auf dem Platt«. From the path, we have all the time a nice view towards a ski slope and on peaks above the mentioned plateau. Not too steep path then for quite some time runs towards the west all the way to a crossing a little before the restaurant Sonnalpin.
To the right leads the path towards the summit Zugspitze, and we continue left and only a short ascent follows to restaurant Sonnalpin, which is situated by the ski slope.

On the way: Ehrwalder Alm (1502m), Hochfeldern Alm (1732m), Am Brand (2120m), Feldern Jöchl (2041m), Gatterl (1897m), Knorrhütte (2052m)

Trip can be extended to: Zugspitze (1 h 30 min)