Promising tour around the “Grüner See” (green lake) up to the “Sonnschienalm”
The tour starts at the “Grüner See” (green lake) which is a karst lake located in Tragöß-Sankt Kathrein (Styria). This lake fills up slowly with melt-water from the surrounding mountains and thus is very clear but also very cold (5-6°C). The water-level heavily depends on the season: it reaches its maximum level in early summer (around 10 m) but nearly dries out in fall.
Tip: The current water-level is tracked on this website.
Please note that the tour is very much exposed to sun, don’t forget proper sun protection (hat, sun screen)!
Tour Description
| 00:00 | Parking at the parking lot Grüner See (ticket required!) |
| 00:05 | Start the tour at “Gasthof Grüner See” (restaurant) Follow the Seesteig around the lake. |
| 01:00 | Follow the small and steep trail (at the other end of the lake) through the wood towards the Klammhöhe. The trail leads into a dirt road which directs to the Klammhöhe. |
| 01:30 | Detour at the Klammhöhe towards the viewpoint: turn right towards the Kamplsteig. |
| 01:35 | Take the Kamplsteig that leads to the viewpoint “Blick zum Grünen See“. |
| 01:45 | Break at the viewpoint Blick zum Grünen See (enjoy your brought ). |
| 02:15 | Walk back on the Kamplsteig towards the Klammhöhe. |
| 02:20 | End of Detour: Follow the dirt road towards In der Klausen. |
| 02:40 | In der Klausen: pass by a small lake and a farm at your left hand-side and and follow the trail towards the Klamm (flume). |
| 02:45 | Ascend through the Klamm (flume), an impressive section of the trail. |
| 03:00 | Klammboden: Follow the trail through the Klammboden, a nice and wide mountain pasture. |
| 03:30 | At the end of the Klammboden, follow the small and very steep trail uphill towards the Sonnschienalm. |
| 04:10 | Turn left when reaching the crossing of the two trails towards the Sonnschienalm. |
| 04:50 | After reaching the top, the Sonnschienalm begins. Keep right and head towards the Sonnschienhütte. |
| 05:05 | Take a well-deserved rest at the Sonnschienhütte (). |
| 06:10 | Descend via the Russenstraße and enjoy the awesome view. Take the trail that constantly shortcuts the Russenstraße. |
| 07:30 | Optional detour: Shortly before the end of the Russenstraße take the shortcut to the Jassing Almhüttn for a refreshment (). Follow the Almweg till you reach again the green lake. |
| 08:25* | Relax and recap @ Gasthof Grüner See (). |
*: Time not considering the break at the Jassing Almhüttn.
General Tour Data
| Area: | Hochschwabgruppe, Styria, Austria | |
| Distance: | 20km | |
| Ascent: | 980m (3h 06min) | |
| Descent: | 958m (2h 16min) | |
| Highest Pt: | 1542m | |
| Lowest Pt: | 770m | |
| Duration: | 7h 15min (without breaks) 8h 30min (with breaks) |
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| Stop/Rest: | Sonnschienhütte (1526m) Jassing Almhüttn (890m) Gasthof Grüner See (778m) |
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| Equipment: | Backpack with standard hiking equipment Snacks and plenty of water Sun & Weather protection Camera |
| Download GPX | ||
| O | Tour at outdooractive.com |
Tour Diary
| Last tour: | 2017-06-09 10:00 | ||
| Weather: | Very sunny, hot | ||
| Participants: | Stefan, Debora | ||
| Activity: | Suunto | ||
At a glance
| Level | moderate |
| Technique | |
| Shape / Fitness | |
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| Scenery | |
| Best time in the year | |
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Interesting background information
The lake’s unique blue-green color results from:
- the fact that clear water absorbs the red portions of light
- the lake itself is surrounded by mountains and therefore protected from wind and thus there are no waves on the surface
- the soil beneath is mostly chalk and thus no floating particles are set out into the water
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