Today, we are featuring another guest to share with you another amazing travel location. If you are going to be in Munich, you will want to visit the awesome Leutasch Gorge. Melissa Wilson visited the location in late August of 2017 and was kind enough to share all her tips with us.
How to Get There
The Leutasch Gorge is located about an hour and a half south of Munich. Melissa says to just plug Mittenwald into your GPS and hit the Autobahn (95), which will take you right into the town.
Melissa says there is an option to take a train, but you would need to catch a taxi from the train stop and she isn’t sure of their availability. She recommends renting a car if you are going to make the trip. We have always found renting a car is a favorite experience of traveling anyways as you get to experience so much more of the country!
Once you get into Mittenwald, Melissa says it gets a little more difficult. The entrance to the park is difficult to find and there weren’t many people around that spoke English enough to be helpful. Melissa ended up parking in the wrong spot, but they found a trail along the edge of the park that took them right up into the gorge.
You can also get to park from Austria, where you reach the actual official entrance. The closest main city is Innsbruck. You will go through Seefeld to reach the official parking lot near the village of Schanz. A parking day-ticket will cost you 5 Euro at this parking lot.
Planning
There isn’t too much planning you need to do before heading to Leutasch Gorge (hopefully, we get most of that done for you!). Melissa recommends mapping out the site and your route beforehand so you have a good idea of where you will be going.
She said they did a lot of research and planning and decided renting a car was the best option. Piggyback off her time and effort, and just make the arrangements to rent a car beforehand. If you aren’t familiar with driving in Germany, Melissa says it is worth the time to study the major road symbols and traffic laws before you get there.
Should you Expect Crowds?
Melissa said in late August, the gorge was pretty empty. In fact, they saw very few people during their time there. While that isn’t too surprising seeing as how the location is a bit remote, I still think it is only a matter of time before this beautiful natural location starts getting more visitors. Hopefully, it never reaches the annoying level of places in the U.S. like Yosemite or Zion, but there is no doubt it will see increased traffic before too long.
What it’s Actually Like to Visit Leutasch Gorge
A very well-done system of paths and bridges makes the entire path pretty easy to walk. The entire path will only take about two hours. If that is too long for you, there are also places where you can loop back and make it a shorter trip.
All along the walkways, there are signs explaining about the geology and plants you are seeing. There are also some activities and games set up in case you have younger kids with you. Something fun is that you can learn all about the legends of the Kobelden, small creatures that were once believed to live in the Gorge and surrounding forests.
In Melissa’s own words:
My experience at (Leutasch Gorge) was surreal-in a good way-and almost magical. I feel so lucky to live in a time where a little internet research showed me more options. I felt like (Leutasch Gorge) couldn’t be real because (it is) just this virtually untouched hidden gem that is not well traversed. The gorge actually forced me to conquer my fear of heights. While you are walking, you are on a steel walkway that is built into the side of the mountains with a very high bridge connecting one mountain to another.
Other Tips for Visiting Leutasch Gorge
- Melissa recommends giving yourself a full day to travel and see the Gorge.
- With any extra time you have, Melissa says to just enjoy the German countryside as it is a magical place to drive through.
- Melissa said having a small backpack was really useful at the gorge to carry some snacks and camera gear since you won’t want to miss the opportunity to photograph all the beauty you will see. You can see our recommended camera backpacks that we love, or check out Nomatik for a great travel backpack.
- For the most comfort, Melissa recommends wearing some hiking clothes and good shoes. Hiking shoes, or the Tevas Melissa wore, would be best, but you get buy with just tennis shoes.
- If you are in need of a food break, there is a small cafe halfway through at the entrance of Wasserfallsteig, which is also the entrance to the portion where you can reach a 23 meter waterfall, but there is a 2 Euro entrance fee.
- The Gorge is open every day, year round, as long as the weather isn’t too severe.
- While the Gorge is worth the visit itself, Melissa recommends exploring some of the other trails and spending some time in the town.
About Melissa Wilson
Melissa is a licensed veterinary technician, where she works in a busy practice and loves what she does. She describes herself as a voracious reader, avid hiker and has an obvious love of travel. She tries to experience at least one new place every year. She speaks conversational Spanish and is in the process to trying to learn German.
One thought on “The Traveler’s Guide to Leutasch Gorge in Germany”