Car Hiking

One of the best experiences in ascending a summit is the buffet of panoramas stretching into far horizon. The serenity in peering into the vast expanse soothes the strains from the mundane routines of life.

On this road trip, I wanted to get as much of those as I can manage. Traditionally, ascending a peak would require a great deal of effort hiking over arduous terrain gaining elevation. However, there are also road-accessible places that offers commendable views. Let’s call this car-hiking.

Wattens, Mittenwald

I will scrutinise the contoured map to find:

Spots in higher elevation overlooking the surrounding
Water bodies adjacent to mountainous area
Spots with direct view to a mountain peak, not too far away

Where any of these meets AND is accessible by road, I will give it a go. Some of these may even be marked on google maps as points of interest.

So here’s my top 6 car-hiking list from Swiss / Germany / Austria:

1. Zugspitze Tunnel View

Parking lot at Biberwier

2. Foot of Zugspitze

Along in L71, this spot
The 3rd pic: Anyone drew this before as a kid?
Google street view

3. Old Castle Outlook

Burgruine Falkenstein Allgau
CAUTION: This goes up a 1 way mountain road. Look out for the traffic light guiding the ascend/descend route. The last I went, only the first 15 mins of the hour is open for ascent.
There is a public parking lot near the summit, before the resort (yes they built a resort up here)

4. Ocean of Clouds

5. Tyrolean Cottage View

Near Landhaus Sonnenbichl
It is difficult to find parking up here. Recommended to find somewhere below and take a short hike up

6. German Countryside View

Spot near Sulzberg

I hope you guys enjoyed the virtual trip. When are around the area, do check those spots out and let me know how it went 🙂

Feel free to leave a comment for any enquiries!

Full GoogleMaps List here

Extra tips before you go:

Stay safe, do NOT stop in the middle of the road
Parking:
- Where available, use the public car parks
- Look for non-busy side roads with gravel, most of the time you can park at the side for a while just to get to the view points
- Do NOT park at people’s house/property without permission
Take extra care while navigating mountainous road. Do NOT underestimate the slopes. The descending drives are MORE DANGEROUS as it is acceleration from gravity. Brake vigilantly, go slowly when unsure.