Grunstein

Dogs Off-leash

Features Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Views

When you picture Germany and the Alps, this run is exactly what should come to mind. It's not the tallest and it's not the most difficult. In fact, it's quite an easy route by alpine standards but it's a great example of an easily accessible, "typical" Alpine run starting up a winding dirt road, then tapering off to a nice steady singletrack climb.

You'll start from the town of Konigssee, a beautiful little vacation town with some shops, places to eat or grab a beer. As you progress up the mountain, you'll be greeted by better and better views of this town from above!

This route requires little to no route finding experience, just follow the signs for "Grunstein" and, if you don't have rock-climbing gear, avoid the signs that say "Grunstein-Klettersteig" (see Description below for this fun alternative!). There are a few washed out areas of the trail, but no more than a few percent. It can stay wet for a while after the rain (and it seems to rain a lot in Germany!), but the trail is overall well maintained and in good shape.

Can often be wet, but otherwise in good condition.

Starting by the Bob-Bahn (Bob Sled track) which you can often see various teams practicing from Italy, Austria and Germany, start up the trail.

You'll meet a fork for the Klettersteig or Via Ferrate route. This is a nice way to get to the top, the GPX does not include this here, but it is like rock climbing, using a harness and a two-point force-limiting harness. Multiple variations on the difficulties exist from A/B to C/D and makes a fantastic way to the top if you're in the mood for something more adventurous than a run. You can rent gear at the base, the people seem to speak good English.

In this case, just keep following the trail up. You know you're pretty close when you pass the beer garden. I recommend stopping for a cold one, by then you've earned it.

Get to the top and enjoy fantastic views over Konigssee. You'll be significantly lower than most of the surrounding peaks, since this isn't a huge run, but the view is nonetheless exhilarating. I try to do this trail every time i visit Germany, especially when traveling with less experienced runners!