Walking Austria: Bad Ischl to Strobl (Wolfgangsee)

The area around Bad Ischl is covered in lakes. Small ones. Huge ones. All intertwined with rivers and overlooked by mountain peaks. It’s one of the things that makes this place so beautiful. And, of course, visiting lakes is one of the things you pretty much must do if you come here.

The most famous spot is Hallstatt – and it’s famous for a reason, because hot damn it’s gorgeous. But my own favorite lakeside views come from another direction: the small town of Strobl on Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang).

We spent a sunny day walking from Bad Ischl to Strobl, through small towns, alongside a river, and to the very pretty lakeshore. 

This is that hike:

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Want to experience the hike for yourself? Here are some relevant details: 

Directions

From Bad Ischl, make your way to the river as it loops north of town and out to the west and follow the walking/biking path to the west alongside it. For most of this hike, you’ll follow the river, though occasionally it meanders through a town or away from the river for a short time. When in doubt, follow signs for Strobl (they should start appearing an hour or two into the walk). 

The one somewhat confusing spot on this route is once you hit Kreutern. When the path spits out onto a little road, make a left and walk up to the main road through town. On the main road, make a right. In less than five minutes, you should see a hiking trail sign pointing off to your left, where the path reappears beside the river.

Hiking times and local transportation

The hike took us about 4.5 hours one way at a middling pace. To get back to Bad Ischl, we took a bus that comes every couple hours. Check bus timelines before you go. The last bus out of town leaves rather early.

Dogs on trails

As is the usual with Austria, dogs are welcome.

Is the trail crowded?

Some portions of the trail (including the very beginning and very end) are well trodden while others were rather solitary.

What to bring

As always with hiking, wear good shoes (I like Solomon’s Speedcross trail running shoes) and weather-appropriate clothing. Parts of the trail are in the sun, so good sunscreen is a smart packing choice. And there are no water fill-up stations along the way, so make sure you’re carrying enough water. 

For the dog, I always carry a small carrier backpack just in case. And because I love taking photos, you won’t find me on a trail without my camera (All the photos above were taken with my Sony a6000.)

Happy hiking!