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View from the Gerlitzen slopes over Lake Ossiach

Hiking

Hike the Gerlitzen or the Ossiacher See Trail

Ossiacher See · Carinthia

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Hiking
COUNTRY
Austria
REGION
Ossiacher See · Carinthia
DURATION
2–3 days

ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE

WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE

What you’ll experience

Two hiking personalities share one lake. Up high, the Gerlitzen offers cable-car-assisted panorama trails and hut-to-hut walks such as the 4-Huts route — with the Alpe-Adria-Trail crossing the summit on its 690 km run from the Großglockner to the Adriatic. Down low, the 35 km Ossiacher See Trail circles the shore in two relaxed stages past waterfalls, moor and castle.

THE EXPERIENCE IN DETAIL

What it’s really like

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

HIGHLIGHTS

Moments worth savouring

01

Cable car up, hut lunch, ridge walk

02

Alpe-Adria-Trail summit stages (18–20)

03

Finsterbach waterfalls near Sattendorf

04

Two-day lake circuit with boat returns

WHAT TO EXPECT

Good to know before you go

Summer lift operation mid-May to late October; the summit is stroller-accessible via cable car. Bring layers — the Gerlitzen earns its “sunny” title but afternoons cool fast.

MAP & LOCATION

Hike the Gerlitzen or the Ossiacher See Trail

Hike the Gerlitzen or the Ossiacher See Trail, Ossiacher See, Carinthia, Austria

ATTRACTIONS NEARBY

Pair it with these sights

The baroque west facade of Ossiach Abbey on the southern shore of the lake
Abbey & Concert Venue

Ossiach Abbey

The first Benedictine monastery in the Duchy of Carinthia, founded by Count Ozi around 1024, dominates the narrow southern shore. Its baroque collegiate church — rebuilt after a fire in 1484 — is now both parish church and the main stage of the Carinthian Summer festival, founded here in 1969 with a benefit concert by pianist Wilhelm Backhaus; the organ bears his name. Alban Berg Hall, a modern concert wing added in 2009, completes the music campus.

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The MS Ossiach excursion boat at the landing stage beneath the Gerlitzen
Lake Cruise

Ossiacher See Boat Cruise

Two ships — the MS Ossiach and MS Villach — work a zig-zag route between the lakeside resorts from May to October, and the full round trip takes a satisfying 2.5 hours. The boats dock at the abbey, the Bleistätter Moor, Steindorf and the Gerlitzen cable-car base, so the ship doubles as practical transport: hike one shore, cruise back the other.

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The Gerlitzen massif rising behind its lakeside landing stage
Mountain

Gerlitzen Cable Car & Summit

The Gerlitzen — “the sunniest mountain in Carinthia” — rises straight from the northern shore, and the Kanzelbahn lifts you from the lake at 550 m to the Kanzelhöhe arena at 1,440 m in ten minutes; new for 2026, Kanzelbahn II continues toward the summit plateau at 1,911 m. Up top: 147 km of marked trails, the alpine water playground at Neugarten, a paragliding take-off considered Austria’s finest flying mountain, and a 360° panorama from the Hohe Tauern to the Julian Alps.

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The dam path crossing the reed beds of the Bleistätter Moor at the lake’s eastern end
Nature Reserve

Bleistätter Moor

The lake’s quiet eastern end is a re-naturalised moor crossed by a straight dam path: a Slow Trail leads 7 km through wet meadows where the Tiebel stream fans into the lake, past a 1931 pump house and reed beds alive with warblers, herons and dragonflies. It is the flattest, quietest walk on the lake — and one of Carinthia’s officially designated “slow” routes.

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The concrete and steel forms of the Domenig Steinhaus on the Steindorf lakeshore
Architecture

Domenig Steinhaus

On the Steindorf shoreline stands one of the strangest houses in Austria: the Steinhaus, architect Günther Domenig’s deconstructivist autobiography in concrete and steel, grown from sketches from 1986 to 2008 and listed as a monument in 2012. Guided tours walk you through fractured rooms, floating stones and a glass cylinder that dives to the groundwater — the “built self” of the architect of the Nuremberg Documentation Centre.

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The Strandbad beach on the northern shore at Bodensdorf
Lake & Beaches

Strandbad & Lakeshores

The lake warms to 27–28 °C in long summer spells — among the warmest in Austria — and the shallow eastern basin heats fastest. Free public lidos at Bodensdorf and Sattendorf, grassy sunbathing lawns at Steindorf and Annenheim, and water-ski and sailing schools on the northern shore make swimming the default activity; the Bodensdorf Strandbad Toff sits right by the station.

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MORE EXPERIENCES

More to do in Ossiacher See

The flat cycle path crossing the eastern moor of Lake Ossiach
Cycling

Cycle the Ossiacher See Loop

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Swimmers on the grass lido at Bodensdorf
Swimming

Swim and Paddle the Warmest Shores

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Evening atmosphere on the campgrounds of Lake Ossiach
Camping

Camp on the Quiet Shores

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The abbey church that hosts the Carinthian Summer festival
Culture

A Concert Evening at the Abbey

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The ruin of Landskron castle above the Ossiach lake valley
Road Trip

Day Trips: Villach, Landskron & the Three Borders

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FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Landgasthaus Berghof — traditional Carinthian kitchen in the historic house on the southern shore, open all year

02

Gasthof zur Post (Ossiach) — classic guesthouse by the abbey with a beer garden, Kasnudeln and trout

03

Seeterrasse Seehotel Hoffmann — regional dishes on the lakeside terrace in Steindorf’s eastern bay

04

Buschenschank Rogatsch — farm-gate cold platters and cider at 1,057 m above Steindorf, with the lake at your feet

05

Stoffelwirt (Bodensdorf) — hearty Carinthian inn minutes from the station and lido

06

Gasthof Laggner (Steindorf) — regional and Mediterranean cooking with a garden under the Steinhaus ridge

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Seecamping Berghof — the lake’s classic family campground on the southern shore, since the 1950s

02

Hotel SeeRose — 4-star wellness hotel directly on the shore at Bodensdorf

03

Seehotel Hoffmann — modern 4-star on the eastern bay in Steindorf with lake sauna

04

Apart Hotel Legendär — upscale lakefront apartments with spa and private beach in Steindorf

05

TerrassenCamping Ossiach — terraced pitches with lake panorama on the abbey shore

06

Hotel Ossiacher See — family-run 4-star with panorama indoor pool above Steindorf

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ITINERARIES

Day-by-day routes

Ossiacher See Round Trip — Ossiacher See1 day

Ossiacher See Round Trip

The full lake circuit by bike or car — abbey, moor, lidos and the Gerlitzen panorama in one relaxed loop.

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Lakes and Borders: Ossiach, Villach & the Karawanks — Ossiacher See1 day

Lakes and Borders: Ossiach, Villach & the Karawanks

From the quiet lake over Landskron to Villach and — if the day allows — across the border into Italy or Slovenia.

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NEARBY DESTINATIONS

Continue the journey

Villach & Faaker See

Villach & Faaker See

Carinthia

Klagenfurt & Wörthersee

Klagenfurt & Wörthersee

Carinthia

Bad Kleinkirchheim

Bad Kleinkirchheim

Carinthia

Graz

Graz

Styria

PART OF

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