Patscherkofel Nord-Trails

Patscherkofel (Innsbruck)

As Innsbruck's local mountain, the Patscherkofel not only offers some far-reaching views over the Wipp and Inn valleys, but also an interesting and sometimes very technical trail descent down to Innsbruck.

Description

The tour starts just outside Innsbruck near Ambras Castle Park. The route first climbs briefly on asphalt on Aldranser Straße and then continues steadily uphill on a mixture of side roads and cycle paths. Passing the Patscherkofelbahn valley station, the route continues on asphalt for a few meters before turning left into the forest and following a classic forest path via the Patscher Alm and Hochmahdalm to the Patscherkofel Schutzhaus or Patscherkofel mountain station. The long ascent is amply rewarded by the panoramic views.

From the mountain station, you are above the tree line and cover the last few meters of altitude to the summit of the Patscherkofel, which lies at over 2,200 metres above sea level and offers an impressive panorama. The views of the Nordkette in the north and the main Alpine ridge in the south are real highlights here.

Another highlight is the trail descent. Overall, the trail is between difficulty levels S2 and S3, S1 in places, and is challenging throughout. The descent first leads through typical Swiss stone pine forests with steep steps and hairpin bends towards Boscheben and then crosses the Zirbenweg trail in a hairpin bend back to the Patscherkofel mountain station. Here you have already covered a considerable number of trail meters and Elevation loss.

The route continues towards Lanser Alm, where an interesting mix of trail sections awaits you, some of which are challenging. In Sistrans, you reach asphalt again, cross the official bike route towards Lans and tackle the Lanser Köpfl (also known as Lanser Kopf). This area offers numerous trail options, but some sections are quite challenging (be careful, some passages are heavily rutted by local bikers). The trail leads down into the Inn Valley, and on the Tummelplatzweg trail, the freeway is crossed in the direction of the Landesgedächtnisstätte before the route finally leads back to the starting point as a transfer route.

Conclusion: Overall, this tour is a varied and scenic all-mountain or enduro tour, but it is best tackled outside of the main tourist season or anti-cyclically, as the area is heavily frequented by the Patscherkofel cable car, especially in the summit area.

Note: The route is located on Austrian territory and leads over routes that are not approved for mountain bikers. Riding this route on a mountain bike is the responsibility of each individual, in full awareness of the legal situation.

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