Salzkammergut · Field plan · v4
August 2026

Three days from
the Predigtstuhl

Base: Berghotel Predigstuhl 1 004 m, above Bad Goisern at the end of a 6.2 km toll-free panorama road — Hallstättersee and Dachstein at the door. Slow mornings by design: out the door at 10:00 on Days 1 & 3 and 09:00 on the big middle day. Breakfast at the hotel (ask Coleen & Kevin for a Lunchpaket the evening before), picnic lunch on the trail, dinner lands ~19:00 — 19:30 at the latest — with the sunset run after, if the mood strikes. Drive times include the ~12–15 min mountain road.

The map

Red-white-red marker = your hotel. Dashed lines show stop order, not the driving route — tap any pin for notes and a Google Maps link. Switch to the Topo basemap (layers control, top right) for contour lines. The map needs an internet connection; everything else on this page works offline.

How your saved list splits

West · Day 1

Vorderer & Hinterer Gosausee, Ewige Wand, Rathlucken Hütte, Predigtstuhl, Bergwerkskogel (the small summit on the Ewige Wand loop).

Attersee + Traunsee · Day 2

Großer Schoberstein, Kleiner Sonnstein (peak, hiking area and the Siegesbach parking — three of your pins), Badeplatz Rindbach, plus the plan-B set: Nixenfall, Europabad, Kleiner Schoberstein, Hollerberg.

Wolfgangsee · Day 3

Zwölferhorn & the cuki bench 🪑, Ochsenkreuz, Bürglstein Rundwanderweg, Falkensteinwand (alternate walk). The Schafberg train rides along as the on-request upgrade; Bleckwand as the big-hike swap.

Skipped by your call: the Ausseerland cluster (Loser, Augstsee, Toplitzsee, Fischerhütte) — a ready-made spare day if weather kills a hike. Still cut: the far Traunsee-north pins (Miesweg, Erlakogel, Eibenberg, Hinterer Langbathsee, Baumwipfelpfad, Traunkirchen village, Mostschenke im Heustadl) and the far-east ones (Stift Admont, Strumboding-Wasserfall, Stodertal viewpoint). Spiegelsee/Reiteralm — verdict at the bottom.

Day 1 · West · out 10:00 · ≈35 min

Gosau lakes & the home cliffs

★ Vorderer Gosausee★ Hinterer Gosausee
08:30
Slow breakfast
Pick up the Lunchpaket. Chasing the mirror shot? The glass-calm lake is a before-breakfast dawn mission now — see the drone list.
Drive · 35 min
10:40
Vorderer Gosausee map ↗
Paid car park — expect company at this hour, the coaches arrive with you. Do the flat 4.5 km lake loop; the Dachstein glacier backdrop doesn’t care about the clock.
On foot · 1 h 15
13:15
Hinterer Gosausee map ↗
Forest road past the Gosaulacke, no cars allowed (~1 h 15 each way). Quieter and wilder — picnic here (cows, self-service drinks hut). ~12–13 km total for the day, easy-moderate.
Walk back · 1 h 15 Drive · 35 min
16:00
Hotel — feet up
Drive · 5 min
17:00
Ewige Wand map ↗
Park at Rathlucken Hütte (2 min below your hotel, same road), stroll 15–20 min to the gallery path blasted into the cliff — Hallstättersee and Krippenstein views, climbers on the wall, paragliders overhead. The Bergwerkskogel summit from your list is +45 min on the same loop.
18:45
Dinner · Rathlucken Hütte map ↗
Proper rustic Austrian. Cash only, closed Mon–Tue — and the kitchen closes at 20:00, so order by 19:15. Fallback: the hotel restaurant tonight (Steegwirt is saved for Day 2).
20:00
Sunset run · Predigtstuhl meadow
Two minutes from the dinner table — your own “Naplemente? Szallas melett” note was correct, this is the spot.

Weather backup / bonus wow: 5fingers platform on Krippenstein — Dachstein cable car from Obertraun, 20 min from the hotel. Slots in instead of (or before) the Ewige Wand if clouds sit low on the Gosaukamm.

BreakfastSlow hotel buffet + Lunchpaket
LunchPicnic at Hinterer Gosausee (backup: kiosk at Vorderer)
DinnerRathlucken Hütte · order by 19:15 · cash · closed Mon–Tue
≈ 13 km on foot · ≈ 1 h 20 driving
Day 2 · Attersee + Traunsee · out 09:00 · ≈45 min

Two summits, two lakes

★ Großer Schoberstein · Attersee★ Kleiner Sonnstein · Traunsee
08:00
Breakfast + lunch pack
Your one early day — the 09:00 start goes to the day with two climbs. Out the door sharp.
Drive · 45 min via Bad Ischl
09:45
Parkplatz Wandergebiet Weissenbach map ↗
Paid lot at the Attersee — ticket machine sells a 6-hour minimum.
Loop · ≈3 h 30
10:00
Großer Schoberstein loop map ↗
Your double-screenshot hike: 6.6 km / 549 m to 1 037 m. Lunch ~11:45 on the cliff-edge bench with the whole Attersee below — the couple shot of the trip, and the spot to check the storm radar. Skip the Kleiner Schoberstein extension today; the legs are booked at the next lake.
Drive · 30 min via Mitterweißenbach
14:00
Parkplatz für Wanderweg zum Sonnstein map ↗
Your saved pin at Siegesbach, right on the Traunsee shore between Ebensee and Traunkirchen. Small free lot (~15–20 cars) — full at this hour? Flip the order: swim at Rindbach first, climb after; the summit in soft late light is arguably better anyway.
Up + down · ≈2 h
14:15
Kleiner Sonnstein, 922 m map ↗
The Traunsee’s best short hike, and three of your pins point at it. ~500 m straight up from lake level — steep, steady, ~1 h to the cross, a few secured rocky steps near the top, sturdy shoes. The summit hangs directly over the turquoise fjord: Traunstein wall across the water, Traunkirchen’s peninsula at your feet.
Drive · 12 min via Ebensee
16:30
Swim · Badeplatz Rindbach map ↗
Ebensee’s lake lawn in the Traunsee’s south-east corner — easy entry, grass, the Traunstein filling the sky, parking ~€6. This is almost certainly your saved “Rindbach” and “Strand” pins.
Drive · 50 min via Bad Ischl
18:20
Home — shower & change
Drive · 15 min
19:00
Dinner · Welterbe-Wirtshaus Steegwirt map ↗
Riverside terrace where the lake drains into the Traun, open daily to 22:00 — order the potato salad, the recipe is 400 years old. Kitchen runs late, so a 19:00 seating is relaxed.
20:10
Sunset run · Steeg shore or the meadow
The Hallstättersee shore is two minutes from the dinner table; the doorstep meadow waits at home. After two summits, either counts as ambition.

Plan B — storms building at lunch, or legs done after the bench? Skip the Traunsee leg and run the mellow original from the same morning parking lot: the flat 30-min stroll to the 80 m Nixenfall waterfall, then a swim at the free Europabad lawn 300 m from the car. The Sonnstein keeps for another trip. (And if you want more instead: the Kleiner Schoberstein extension or the Hollerberg platform, both on your list, are the add-ons.)

BreakfastHotel buffet + Lunchpaket · 08:00
LunchPicnic on the Schoberstein bench
DinnerSteegwirt · 19:00 · open daily to 22:00
≈ 11 km on foot · ≈ 1 050 m up over two summits · ≈ 2 h 15 driving
Day 3 · Wolfgangsee · out 10:00 · ≈45 min

The cuki bench & the lake finale

★ Cuki bench 🪑 · Zwölferhorn 1 522 m★ Wolfgangsee
08:30
Lazy breakfast + lunch pack
Nothing to book today — the bench takes walk-ups.
Drive · 45 min via Bad Ischl & Strobl
10:45
Zwölferhorn Seilbahn, St. Gilgen map ↗
Runs daily 9–17, eleven minutes to the top, return ticket mid-€30s, no reservation needed. A paragliding hotspot — great to watch, no drone up here.
Cable car · 11 min
11:00
Cuki bench 🪑🪑 + Pillstein loop
The bench from your own saved note, with the whole Wolfgangsee below. Walk the easy Pillstein panorama loop (~1 h, twelve little stations), picnic at the top with the lake district spread out — and if you’re curious, a small Von Trapp family mini-museum opened near the top station this spring.
Cable car down · 11 min Drive · 5 min
14:00
Ochsenkreuz map ↗
Your saved swim spot, five minutes from the valley station — turquoise bay, short walk from the road, last swim of the trip.
Drive · 18 min via Strobl
15:45
Bürglstein Rundwanderweg map ↗
Your saved pin: an easy 1–1.5 h loop around the little lakeside hill between Strobl and St. Wolfgang — cliffs, benches, water views the whole way. Street parking by the trail gate. Alternatives: the Falkensteinwand pilgrim trail from Fürberg (~1.5 h, chapel built into the cliff), or a 10-min hop to St. Wolfgang for Michael Pacher’s carved altar (1481).
Drive · 45 min via Bad Ischl
18:00
Home — shower & pack a little
Drive · 10 min
19:00
Farewell dinner · Weissenbachwirt map ↗
Your saved local Wirtshaus — note it’s in Weißenbach bei Bad Goisern, 10 min from the hotel, not at the Attersee. Huge honest portions, cheap, cash only. Open Thu–Sat to 22:00, Sun only to 18:00, closed Mon–Wed — if the days don’t line up, Steegwirt or the hotel restaurant.
20:10
Last sunset · terrace or meadow

In the mood for the postcard train instead? The SchafbergBahn from St. Wolfgang is the on-request upgrade: Austria’s steepest cog railway (since 1893), 35 min to the 1 783 m summit, Himmelspforte ledge and eleven lakes on a clear day. €61 pp return, daily April 25 – November 1, and August slots sell out — book both directions online days ahead at 5schaetze.at; with a 10:00 start aim for a late-morning slot. Seat tip: uphill, views start left and switch right near the top; picnic up there and skip the summit hotel restaurant. It replaces the Zwölferhorn block — Ochsenkreuz and dinner stay. Hungry for one more summit instead? The Bleckwand rock window: 12.2 km / 1 049 m out-and-back from near Strobl.

BreakfastLazy hotel buffet + Lunchpaket
LunchPicnic at the top, by the bench
DinnerWeissenbachwirt · 19:00 · Thu–Sat · cash
≈ 5–7 km on foot · ≈ 1 h 55 driving · 2 × 11 min cable car

Sunset spots · ≤ 30 min from the hotel

Date (Aug 2026)Sunset, valley
Aug 120:40
Aug 520:34
Aug 1020:26
Aug 1520:18
Aug 2020:09
Aug 2519:59
Aug 3119:48

Ridgelines steal the last 30–45 minutes, so be in position ~45 min before the table time. Post-dinner reality with a 19:00–19:30 seating: the doorstep meadow and the Steeg shore are the ones you’ll actually make; the Gosausee alpenglow run needs the fork down by ~19:45 in early August, earlier later in the month. If your dates include Aug 12: a partial solar eclipse is visible from this area low in the evening sky — that night’s sunset session doubles as an eclipse session (bring proper solar glasses).

Drone shots · Neo 2 / Mini 4 Pro

Rules first — this region is a minefield. Airspace is federal (Austro Control) but nature protection is state law, and flying in Naturschutzgebiete, national parks and Natura-2000 areas is mostly banned or strictly regulated — sub-250 g does not exempt you. Register as an operator, carry insurance, and check the Austro Control Drone Space map before every launch. Hard no-fly on this itinerary: paraglider launch sites when gliders are up — the Zwölferhorn top station and the Predigtstuhl are both — the Schafberg summit if you take the train option, and anything marked as a protected area in the app. Dawn is your window everywhere: calm air, no people, best light.

Your screenshots — verdict & alternates

In the plan: Vorderer Gosausee (Day 1), Schoberstein (Day 2 — sent twice, message received) plus the Kleiner Sonnstein for the Traunsee, and the cuki bench 🪑 on the Zwölferhorn as the Day 3 finale.

Why Kleiner Sonnstein won the Traunsee slot: three of your saved pins point at it (the 922 m peak, the hiking area, the Siegesbach parking), it’s the lake’s best effort-to-view ratio, and it sits 30 min from the Schoberstein trailhead — the only Traunsee highlight that genuinely pairs with the Attersee day. The runner-up, the Miesweg cliff boardwalk under the Traunstein, lives at the Gmunden end — 1 h+ each way — and pairs with your saved Mostschenke im Heustadl for a future Traunsee day instead.

Schafberg moved to on-request: the postcard train is the Day 3 upgrade if the mood strikes — booking details sit in the day card, and it needs slots reserved days ahead, which is exactly why the walk-up Zwölferhorn makes the better default.

Out by your call: the Loser / Augstsee screenshot and the Toplitzsee. They stay a ready-made spare day — if a storm front kills a hiking day, that loop (Loser circuit + fish dinner at the Fischerhütte, closed Tue–Wed) is the plug-in replacement.

Bleckwand (your rock-window screenshot) is the Day 3 swap for strong legs: 12.2 km / 1 049 m out-and-back from near Strobl. Spiegelsee / Reiteralm stays cut: the most photogenic of the five, but ~1 h 20 each way on the Schladming side of the Dachstein — it deserves its own trip. 5fingers on Krippenstein is pencilled into Day 1 as the add-on / weather backup — 20 min from the hotel, arguably the region’s best viewpoint for almost no hiking.

Practical notes

Start times, baked in per your call: out the door 10:00 on Days 1 & 3, 09:00 on Day 2 — the earliest start goes to the day with two summits. Check the storm radar from the Schoberstein bench at lunch; if towers build over the Höllengebirge, take Plan B.

Late starts mean company: the Gosausee car park and the lifts run busiest 10:00–15:00, and the little Sonnstein lot (~15–20 cars) may be full at 14:00 — flip swim and climb if so. The Sonnstein itself is steep with a few secured steps; sturdy shoes.

Nothing to pre-book for the default plan. Only if you take the Schafberg train option: reserve both directions days ahead at 5schaetze.at / ticketing.schafbergbahn.at — €61 pp, daily April 25 – November 1. The Zwölferhorn takes walk-ups.

Dinners sit at 19:00 (your 19:30 ceiling holds everywhere except Rathlucken — order there by 19:15, kitchen closes 20:00). Book a day ahead; Rathlucken Hütte and Weissenbachwirt are cash only, so carry euros.

Closing days to check against your actual dates: Rathlucken Hütte Mon–Tue, Weissenbachwirt Mon–Wed (Sun only to 18:00). Steegwirt is open daily.

Budget items: paid parking at Gosausee, Weissenbach (6 h minimum) and Rindbach (~€6); Zwölferhorn return mid-€30s pp; Schafberg €61 pp only if you opt in.

All drive times are approximate and include the hotel’s mountain road; add margin on summer weekends around Hallstatt and St. Gilgen.