A circular route through the Hohe Wand Nature Park, which is home to a petting zoo, an observation tower, and a skywalk and panorama terrace. An ideal destination for families!
Description
Atmospheric inversion – sun at the summit, fog in the valley. Atmospheric inversion is particularly striking in mountainous regions. While it is foggy for days on end in the valley, the Sun King reigns supreme in the mountains. There is nothing quite like heading to the Hohe Wand to soak up the sun. The Hohe Wand is indeed a plateau, but it is not always flat, and so our route leads through the hilly woodland of the nature park to various inns, the nature park centre, and the skywalk and panorama terrace.
Nature park entrance: Adults €1.80 | Children €1 | Cars €2.
Starting point of the tour
Gasthof Postl, Hohe Wand
Destination point of the tour
Gasthof Postl, Hohe Wand
Route description Hohe Wand Nature Park – hiking above the clouds
Our hike will start at Gasthof Postl, and a short visit to the skywalk and panorama terrace is always worthwhile. The mist covers everything below us like an ocean, and only sporadic mountain summits jut out, looking like small islands. You can almost imagine how the sea reached Hohe Wand millions of years ago. After this impressive view, our route will lead us through the hill forest to the Gasthof Luf (open all year, but closed on Mondays), and on to the Hochkogelhaus. A narrower, more comfortable path begins directly outside the Hochkogelhaus, towards the Gasthof Kleine Kanzel, and a 45 minute walk will lead us to the nature park centre. Once there, visit the petting zoo, the lime kilns, the charcoal kilns, the Alpin- und Heimatmuseum (Alpine and local history museum), the Generationenwald playground, or the observation tower. We will then continue in the direction of the Gasthof Postl, calling at the deer park, where the hungry inhabitants wait for plenty of visitors who will feed and stroke them. After that, we will follow the signs to Gasthof Postl – there is a gentle descent through the forestland of the Hohe Wand Nature Park – and back to the starting point.
Directions
1) A2 – departing from Wöllersdorf – turn right onto the B21 towards Gutenstein – turn off towards Dreistetten – Muthmannsdorf – Emmerberg – Gaaden – Stollhof – toll booth (fee) – take the year-round mountain road to the Hohe Wand plateau 2) A2 – departing from Wiener Neustadt West – Weikersdorf – Winzendorf – Emmerberg – Gaaden – Stollhof – toll booth (fee) – Hohe Wand 3) From Neunkirchen – Würflach – Willendorf – Höflein – Zweiersdorf – Maiersdorf – toll booth (fee) – Hohe Wand
Parking
Parking facilities at Gasthof Postl, Gasthof Luf, or at the nature centre – vivarium car park.
By train from Vienna or Graz to Wiener Neustadt – and from there to Winzendorf (there are hourly trains from Wiener Neutstadt to Puchberg). From Winzendorf, hike to Maiersdorf via Prossetschlucht (5km), from where you can hike up Hohe Wand on one of the many routes in approximately 1 hour. Or switch in Wiener Neustadt to a train heading to Puchberg am Schneeberg. Disembark in Grünbach am Schneeberg. By following the Grafenberg route (marked by blue signs), you will reach the Wilhelm Eicherthütte on the plateau in about 1.5 hours. You can also take the Gutensteinerbahn (from Wiener Neustadt) to Oberpiesting or Waldegg, and hike on the rear side of the Hohe Wand.
See www.oebb.at for more information.
Author's tip
Soak up the sun in the Hohe Wand Nature Park!
