FV Finkenberg village and amenities
TR Transport
WA Walking
OW Our walks
Walk Photos
Welcome to our Finkenberg web page, our summer holiday destination in 1992. Photos are scanned so the quality is variable. we hope the photos give a feel for the resort and the walking, and that you find the links to other web pages helpful.
You are at: Home > Finkenberg
|
OH Our holiday
FV Finkenberg village and amenities TR Transport WA Walking OW Our walks |
Walk Photos |
If you have any questions or suggestions to improve information given, please contact us via D and J.
We stayed at the the Chalet Delmhof. This was a small bed and breakfast guesthouse that was clean and friendly. We took our evening meals in local restaurants. Our two favourites were the Hotel Neuwirt and the Hotel Stock. Many Crystal guests were based at the four star Hotel Eberl.
Crystal arranged our holiday, and at the time were only main operator to Finkenberg in summer. However when we checked the Crystal site in July 2005, Finkenberg wasn't an option, although Mayrhofen was. Most of the major 'Lakes and Mountains' operators include Mayrhofen, which is only a short distance from Finkenberg, and is connected by a good bus service. If you wished to make your own arrangements then you could fly to Innsbruck and catch the express train to Jenbach, switching to the Zillertal Railway to Mayrhofen, and from there the Post Bus to Finkenberg.
Finkenberg (839m) is situated about a 15 minute bus ride (3km) away from Mayrhofen (633m) in the Tux Valley. Finkenberg is a small village straddling the Mayrhofen to Hintertux road. Finkenberg is part of the Zillertal holiday region.
Finkenberg is a quiet resort, and is mainly suited to people who enjoy walking or are looking for relaxing break.
There are a number of shops including a couple of small supermarkets, a kegelbahn (bowling alley) and an outdoor swimming pool.
The tourist office is on the main road, and is the source of the stamping card for the walking medal, as well as local information.
Finkenberg is close to Mayrhofen and if going back to this area we would probably base ourselves in Mayrhofen. The main reason is that public transport is centred on Mayrhofen. There is a more accomodation to choose from in Mayrhofen at all standards, and more ameneties. On the downside it is much busier, and some people find it too touristy.
There is a local postbus service which runs between Hintertux and Mayrhofen, with bus stops in Finkenberg. Mayrhofen is a local transport hub, and postbuses head out in many directions. Post bus stops are marked on the Kompass maps with a H in small red circle.
It is worth noting that when we went the buses run from early morning, but finished around 5pm, you would need to check if this is still so, and plan your walks accordingly. If you are changing in Mayrhofen there may be a 20 to 30 minute wait for the bus to Finkenberg - whilst Finkenberg can be easily reached on foot, at the end of a tough day a further 1,000' of ascent can lead to matrimonial rift.
Mayrhofen is the terminus of the historic Zillertal Railway which runs to Jenbach. Jenbach is on the Austrian Railways Network so it is possible to take a day trip to Innsbruck using the two railways.
Finkenberg has a modern cable car - the Finkenberger Almbahn, which takes you to the top of the Penken (2095m) and has a midway stop. There are a number of cable car in the area, and we made use of many of these.
Whilst we were there we bought a six day travel pass, at the time this covered both lifts and postbus services in the area. This ticket is still available - and there are now several other options.
Two of our walks also made use of private bus services - these are covered in the information for those walks.
Finkenberg/Mayrhofen is an excellent walking area. A number of main and side valleys run south from Mayrhofen into the main mountain areas. To the west is the Penken, and to the east the Gerlosteinwand walking areas. To the north runs the main Ziller valley. After two weeks there were still many walks for us to do, hence we intend to make a return visit.
The area has a large number of mountain huts and inns, these make for pleasant refreshment stops, as well as a focal point for the walks. Some of the peaks in the area have paths to the top, and the ones we climbed are mentioned in the walks.
Kompass map 037 at scale 1:25000 of "Mayrhofen, Tuxer Tal, Zillergrund." covered all the walks. This came with a walking guide that is writtten in German and English.
There is a local walking badge that can be earnt. The stamping books are available at the tourist office. We had to visit a number of mountain huts, 5 for the bronze, 10 for the silver and 15 for the gold. The gold was difficult as there were only 16 huts to choose from - but we did achieve it. Because of the 'parish boundary' and transport, it would have been, easier to achieve the Finkenberg walking medals from Mayrhofen!
|
W1 Finkenberg and Mayrhofen
W2 Gamshutte W3 Innerboden, Oberboden and Maxhutte W4 Penken and the Hollenstein Hut W5 Rastkogel (2762m) W6 Furtschagelhaus |
W7 Grawand, Alpenrose and Berliner Huts
W8 Brandberg Kolmhaus W9 Olperer and Friesenberger Huts W10 Kasseler Hut W11 Frauenwand (2541m) W12 Grublspitze (2395m) |
| This is was an afternoon's walk from Finkenberg to Mayrhofen and back. The morning had been taken
up by the reps talk - in subsequent holidays we have sometimes skipped the talks unless covenient.
We took path 32 from Finkenberg down to Mayrhofen, and returned via path 31, these run alongside the Tux river gorge. Whilst in Mayrhofen we ambled around and treated ourselves to tea and cake. |
|
 |
|
| Looking back to Finkenberg | Devil's bridge |
| From Finkenberg (839m) we took path 533 which zig zags through the forest to the Gamshutte (1921m - stamping point). We returned to Finkenberg descending the steeper path 534 via Brunnhaus. | |
 |
 |
| Gamshutte | View of Gunngl valley |
| This walk explored the north and south side of the Zemmtal. From Finkenberg we took bus to Mayrhofen, and then caught the bus to Ginzling. Ginzling is a small village on the road that leads south from Mayrhofen up the Zemmtal to the Schlegeis Reservoir. From Ginzling (985m) we took the forest path to the Innerboden mountain inn (1301m - stamping point), and continued up the path to the Oberboden mountain inn (1500m - stamping point). From Oberboden we followed a forest road to Paschbergalm, and picked up a path which lead down to the main road at Leiten (1046m). We then picked up the path on the south side of the valley, which leads up to the Maxhutte (1445m - stamping point). From Maxhutte we took the main path 522 back to Ginzling for the bus. Although this walk was on very good tracks, it involved some 900m of ascent. Innerboden, Oberboden and Maxhutte all served refreshments, We particularly enjoyed the Maxhutte, which was in a lovely setting and very popular. | |
 |
 |
| On the Way to Oberboden | Maxhutte and the Gunggltal |
| This was two short walks in one day, as we were bagging stamping points. It was the first day of our 6 day Z-ticket. We took the Finkenberg Almbahn cable car to the Middle Station (1710m),and from here followed paths 28 and 22A to the top of the Penken. We stamped our walking cards at the Penkenjochhaus (2095m) and then came down chair lift to Finkenberg, where we took the Hintertux bus to Juns. From Juns (1340m) we walked up the track to the Hollenstein Hut (1710m - stamping point). From the hut we followed path 28 down to the village of Lanersbach. Lanersbach looked a good centre for walking, the walking medal here explores more of the Tux valley than the Finkenberg one. Lanersbach would be a good base for someone primarily looking for walking and relaxation. | |
 |
 |
| Anyone for golf? | View |
| This was an excellent walk. We took the Finkenberger Almbahn to the top of the Penken (2095m), and from here walked along the grassy ridge via the Wanglspitze (2420m) to the summit of the Rastkogel (2762m). There are extensive views from the Rastkogel as it is the highest point in this area of the Tuxer Alps. From the Rastkogel (2762m) we descended to the Rastkogel Hut (2124m - stamping point) and then onto the Sport Alm on the Zillertal High Road. From here a private bus runs to Ramsau Hippach, and from there we caught the postbus to Finkenberg, changing at Mayrhofen. The Z-Ticket did not cover the private bus from the Sport Alm. This was a long day. If you are not a fast walker it is best to get an early cable car giving you time to enjoy the walk, as it is about 6 hrs walking time. When we did the walk there was only one suitable private bus, which left Sport Alm about 4pm. It would be best to check the times locally at the tourist offices. | |
 |
 |
| Toll booth | View |
| This was an easy walk up to a nice hut. We took the bus to Schlegeis Reservoir - again changing in Mayrhofen. The road to the reservoir is a toll road, and you have to pay the driver for this. We got off at the last stop at Zamsgattel (1800m). From here the path follows the shore of the reservoir before ascending to the Furtschagelhaus (2293m - stamping point). If you have enough time and energy, you could continue up path 502 to the Schonbichler Horn (3134m). We had a leisurely stop at the Furtschagelhaus before retracing our steps back to the bus stop at Zamsgattel. | |
 |
 |
| Schlegeis reservoir | View from hut - Schonbichler Horn on left |
| This walk followed the Zemmgrund valley. We took the Schlegeis bus again, and alighted at the Breitlahner stop. From Breitlahner (1257m) we followed path 523 up the Zemmgrund to the Berliner Hut (2042m - stamping point). We stopped on the way at the Grawand Hut (1636m - stamping point). The Grawand Hut was pleasant, but we did not take to the Berliner. From the Berliner Hut it is possible to extend the walk up path 502 to the Schwarzensee. We retraced our steps stopping at the Alpenrose Hut (1873m - stamping point), this was our favourite hut of the three, it looked a nice hut to stay the night in. | |
 |
 |
| Approaching Grawand | Alpenrose |
| This walk was to the east of Mayrhofen. We took the bus to Brandberg,changing at Myrhofen. From Brandberg (1082m) we took the steep path up to the hamlet of Ahornach, and then picked up the main path 513 to the Brandberger Kolmhaus (1845m). The hut is named after the nearby peak Brandberger Kolm, which would be another 955m of ascent. From the hut we retraced our steps to Ahornach, and then continued along to the Steinkogelhaus (1269m) before descending through the forest to Mayrhofen. | |
 |
 |
| Ascent to Kolmhaus | Haystacks |
| This a circular walk from the Schlegeis Reservoir. Take the Schlegeis bus, and alight at the dam - Dominikus Hut (1805m). From here we took path 502 up to the Olpererhutte (2388m - stamping point). Then we followed path 526 which goes up to a height of around 2700m, before descending to the Friesenbergsee and Friesenberg Hut (2477m - stamping point). We liked this hut as the warden was friendly. Take care on the path over from the Olperer, as although marked the path can be indistinct at some points. From the Friesenberg Hut we descended to the reservoir down the main path 532. | |
 |
 |
| Helicopter bringing supplies at Olperer hut | Friesnbergsee and hut |
| This was our last hut required for the gold walking badge. After completing the Friesenberg walk it had snowed overnight and into the next day. We had gone to Innsbruck for the day, and although it had brightened up in the afternoon, there was still much snow around high up. We walked down to Mayrhofen and booked tickets at the Freiheit Travel Agency for the private Stillup bus. The man at the agency worried us with talk of deep snow and avalanches on the path. The mini-bus left at 10am from outside the Berghof Hotel and we got off at the Grune Wand Hut (1436m). From the hut we took path 515 to the Kasseler Hut (2178m - stamping point). Although there was snow on the path, there was no ice and we encountered no difficulties. The hut was very pleasant and surprisingly had table service. Most of the snow had melted, and we had an easy return to the Grune Wand where we had a drink before catching the mini bus back to Mayrhofen. We took the postbus back to Finkenberg and went to the tourist office to claim our gold walking badge (there is a charge for the badge). The only hut we didn't visit on the card was the Greizer Hut, which is a long walk up the Flottengrund valley from Ginzling. | |
 |
 |
| Approaching the hut | View from the hut |
| This was a good walk on which we had some excellent views. After achieving gold we decided to walk in the Tux Valley. We took the bus to Hintertux and then the cable car to the first station Sommerbergalm. From the Sommerbergalm (1986m) we walked up path 324 to the Tuxer-Joch-Haus The Tuxer-Joch-Haus (2313m) has a stamp, this was required for the Tux walking medal. From the hut we walked up path 527 to the top of the Frauenwand (2541m). We were rewarded with very extensive views, after the recent cold spell it was a lovely sunny day and clear. We returned to the hut and followed path 323, descending through the Weitental to Hintertux. We finished off an enjoyable walk with an ice cream sundae each, before returning on the bus to Finkenberg. | |
 |
 |
| Tuxer Joch Haus | Frauenwand |
| For the last walk of the holiday and we had poor visibility and a thunderstorm. We took the bus to Lanersbach and then took the Eggalm Chairlift to the Eggalm (1948m). Shortly after we got off they stopped the chair lift due to the weather. We walked up path 35 to the top of the Grublspitse (2395m), and then along the ridge to the Zilljochl where descended path 35 to Stoankasern (1984m). Stoankasern was a working farm which produced its own cheese, it also had a nice warm cafe out of the rain where we had a very welcome bowl of cheese soup each. Leaving the farm we walked down path 322 back to Lanersbach. It was still raining heavily, so we sheltered in the tourist office before catching the bus back to Finkenberg. Later we celebrated a very enjoyable holiday with a good meal in the restaurant at Hotel Stock. | |
 |
 |
| How many piggies? | Austrian moos |
This page was last updated on 11th February 2012.