Großglockner High Alpine Road
Motor Bike
· Nationalpark Hohe Tauern
Austria’s answer to Route 66...
moderate
Distance 314.3 km
Oberes Drautal – Dölsach – Iselsberg – Heiligenblut – Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße – Bruck – Schwarzach – Wagrain – Altenmarkt – Radstadt – Obertauern – Mauterndorf – St. Michael – Katschberg – Gmünd – Spittal – Greifenburg.

Author
Sabine Zölß, Alpstein Österreich
Update: July 13, 2022
Difficulty
moderate
Technique
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Highest point
Fuscher Törl, 2,553 m
Lowest point
547 m
Best time of year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Track types
Show elevation profileTips and hints
www.motorrad.kaernten.atStart
Oberdrauburg (617 m)
Coordinates:
DD
46.743030, 13.005070
DMS
46°44'34.9"N 13°00'18.3"E
UTM
33T 347610 5178541
w3w
///premixed.nearly.every
Destination
Oberdrauburg
Turn-by-turn directions
Starting in Oberdrauburg, the route runs up the River Drau, Carinthia’s longest and most important river, towards Lienz. Over the Iselsberg you’ll return to Carinthia, riding along the Upper Möll Valley and past roaring waterfalls to Heiligenblut, which is famous for its Gothic pilgrimage church and adjoining mountaineers’ cemetery, both well worth a visit. There begins the 48 km long Grossglockner High Alpine Road with its 36 hairpin bends. Nature andriding experiences of a special kind await bikers on this spectacular road that was first opened in 1935. The first high point is the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe from where you can enjoy magnificent views of the Grossglockner (3,798 m), Austria’s highest mountain, as well as of the Pasterze, the longest glacier in the Eastern Alps. Dozens of marmots play right next to visitors, and with a little luck, you might also see the impressive ibexes. Then continue through the Hochtor, and, after a short downhill ride, you will reach the highest point of this tour at 2,571 m altitude, the Fuscher Törl and Edelweissspitze. Wonderful panoramic views of the peaks of more than thirty 3,000 m high mountains can be enjoyed from here. Then head quickly downhill to Bruck and along the B 311 to St. Johann im Pongau (Pongau Cathedral is well worthseeing), and further on via Wagrain and Radstadt; there, turn onto the B 99 towards Obertauern. The route leads downhill again, with the next ascent waiting near St. Michael im Lungau up to the Katschberghöhe, a popular winter sports resort. Continue on the B 99 through the Lieser Valley (the medieval artists’ town of Gmüd with its Porsche Car Museum is well worth a visit) as far as Spittal an der Drau, and then over the Lurnfeld and the Upper Drau Valley back to the starting point.
Note
all notes on protected areas
Coordinates
DD
46.743030, 13.005070
DMS
46°44'34.9"N 13°00'18.3"E
UTM
33T 347610 5178541
w3w
///premixed.nearly.every
Arrival by train, car, foot or bike
Difficulty
moderate
Distance
314.3 km
Duration
5:00 h
Ascent
8,031 m
Descent
8,031 m
Highest point
2,553 m
Lowest point
547 m
Statistics
Maps and trails
- 17 Waypoints
- 17 Waypoints
Distance
km
Duration
: h
Ascent
m
Descent
m
Highest point
m
Lowest point
m
Questions and answers
Would you like to the ask the author a question?
Rating
Help others by being the first to add a review.
Photos from others