Brauneck in Lenggries is a perfect example of a day trip from Munich that can be done by hikers, skiers and families looking for a break in the mountains! Due to its proximity from Munich and easy accessibility to the summit, it is popular all year around. Therefore, if you are in Munich and in need of a quick mountain fix with spectacular views, Brauneck is indeed your best bet.
In this blogpost, I spill everything you need to know to hike Brauneck and enjoy the spectacular view over the Bavarian Alps
Contents
- Why Brauneck?
- Getting to Brauneck
- Public Transportation
- Car/Motorbike
- Hike to Brauneck
- Best time to visit Brauneck
- Things to know about Brauneck
- Costs
- Transportation
- Food
- My Brauneck experience
- Ready, Set, Go!
Why Brauneck?
Brauneck is both a prominent and a popular peak in the Lenggries area. Due to its prominence and popularity, the summit is always a busy affair. Moreover, there is also a cable car that runs all the way to the summit. This makes Brauneck easily accessible to non hiking enthusiasts as well. Therefore, if you are looking for a peaceful summit experience that is shielded away from the cacophony of daily life, Brauneck is definitely not the summit for you! In this case, I suggest Rotwand or Jochberg instead.
But, if you are interested in a peak that is located less than ninety minutes from Munich with a summit restaurant to dine with the views, watch some paragliders take off from the summit and an optional cable car descent after trudging all the way up, Brauneck is a perfect choice. As an added bonus, this trail is also beginner friendly, requires absolutely no equipment and is easily accessible with public transportation.
Either way, I would also highly recommend glancing through my beginner’s guide to alpine hiking before embarking on this hike so you can be fully prepared for this adventure.
Getting to Brauneck
This hike is best done as a day trip from Munich. Therefore, this section will feature directions from Munich. If you are reading this blog from elsewhere in the world, feel free to add this hike to your Bavarian Itinerary to experience a perfect day trip to the Bavarian Alps.
Public Transportation
Once in Munich, getting to the starting point of the hike is quite easy. The Bayerische Oberland Bahn (BOB) runs every hour from Munich to Lenggries. Once you reach Lenggries, continue further with bus number 9564 to Bad Tölz and alight at Brauneckbahn. The entire journey takes close to 90 minutes. The connection time between the train and the bus at Lenggries is around 5 minutes. While this sounds tight, it is helpful to know that the bus almost always waits for the train to arrive! More information regarding the train and bus schedules can be found here. The departure and arrival stations must be mentioned as ‘München Hbf’ and ‘Brauneckbahn, Lenggries’.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the train initially starts with three bogeys from Munich Central Station. Each bogey splits at some point and heads to a different destination. In order to reach the starting point of the hike, it is important that you are in the coach that goes to Lenggries. In case you are in the wrong coach, you will be given a few minutes to get into the right coach at Holzkirchen.
By Car/Motorbike
If you would rather drive to the starting point of the hike, put this GPS co-ordinates in your navigation device and you are good to go! The co-ordinates correspond to a parking lot of Brauneckbahn close to the starting point of the hike. The drive time from Munich to this location is just under an hour.
Hike to Brauneck
Trailhead : Link
The hiking trail to Brauneck is as follows,
- Brauneckbahn Valley Station (720m) – Brauneck (1555m) – Brauneckbahn Valley Station (720m)
Alternatively, you can even choose to take the cable car up or down!
To summit Brauneck from the valley station of the Brauneckbahn, walk across the car park and head in the direction of path number nine. This will be mentioned on the hiking signs as ‘451/9’. The path initially winds up through the forest and continues up the hill. Despite being an easy hike, the path is quite steep. You may have to stop and catch your breath at multiple spots!
The total ascent takes about three hours with an altitude difference of 850 metres. During the descent it is also possible to take a detour to Stiealm. This mountain hut is less popular than the summit restaurant. Therefore, if you feel like having a bit of peace, Stiealm would be a great addition! Depending on the trail you choose, the entire hike (i.e., the detour to Stiealm included) takes anywhere between six to seven hours.
Best Time to Hike Brauneck
I visited Brauneck in March and I can confirm that the hiking trail to the summit is definitely not maintained during winter. Therefore, I would personally recommend this hike only in the summer months. As the peak is only a mere 1555m, I would also assume that this hike is possible in late spring (May) and early autumn (October). To get a better picture regarding the level of snow in spring, it is better to check out the live webcam located at the mountain station of Brauneckbahn.
However, if the idea is not to hike but rather to simply enjoy a day in the mountains, the cable car is functional all year around (except for a few weeks in spring and fall for its yearly maintenance). It is truly one of the most convenient day trips from Munich!
Things to Know Aboiut Brauneck
- It is possible to fly a drone over the summit of Brauneck and in the immediate areas around it. However, the summit is a very popular spot for paragliders. Therefore, it is important to be on alert for stray paragliders in the area in case you decide to fly the drone here. The image below clearly shows the area around the summit where drones are prohibited.
- As mentioned earlier, due to the Brauneckbahn, on a sunny day, the summit is always crowded. If you are looking for some peace and quiet, I cannot recommend a detour to Stiealm enough! Stiealm is mostly open throughout the year (Summer Ruhetag – Tuesday and Wednesday). It is only closed during the yearly maintenance of Brauneckbahn.
Costs
Transportation
If you are traveling from Munich with a group of friends, I would highly recommend purchasing the Bayern ticket. Bayern Ticket is a day ticket that lets you travel all around Bavaria in regional trains. This Ticket costs 26 EUR for one person and 8 EUR for every additional person (upto 5 people). i.e.,
- If you are traveling alone, you would pay 26 EUR
- If you are traveling with a friend, you would pay 26 + 8 = 34 EUR (for 2 people, 17 EUR per person)
Food
It is a hiking tradition in Germany to dine at mountain huts after summiting. Therefore, for a complete alpine hiking expereince, I would suggest indulging in a hearty meal at either Brauneck Gipfelhaus or Stiealm! Like other mountain huts, a meal with a drink of choice would cost you between 15 to 20 EUR.
In addition, it is always a good idea to carry some snacks to munch on during the hike. I typically get trail mixes, snickers and banana. If you need some insight regarding the kind of snacks to buy, the ‘smart snacks’ section of this blogpost should give you a fair idea! The snack costs for two people from a decent supermarket would be around 10 EUR.
My Brauneck Experience
Every spring, the feeling of rising temperatures evokes a certain sense of adventure in me. The urge to put on my hiking boots and climb up a hill then is very real. But, alas! Every single spring, I also discover how the mountains are still hibernating with avalanches and hidden sheaths of black ice, perfectly camouflaged under fresh snow.
But do I ever learn? No.
My Brauneck hike is an allusion to one such experience. On that particular crisp spring morning, the birds were loudly welcoming a season of change. Not being outdoors on such a day would clearly have been a disservice. So, off I went with my lovely group of equally foolish friends to summit Brauneck.
Ascent
The ascent started uneventfully. However, fifteen minutes into the hike, my old hiking nemesis, aka., Mr. Snow appeared, determined to wreak havoc in our paths. Eventually, the trail transformed to a snowy uphill walk and shortly after, the trail ceased to exist altogether. At this point, we were very much digging our boots into the snow and performing high level acrobatics complete with monkey climbs. The exacts details of our acrobatics are a bit fuzzy in my head but I vividly remember very numb fingers and lots of prayers that I don’t roll down the hill.
Since the trail didn’t exist during winter, our only solution at this point was to crawl our way to a ski slope. ‘Mission Reach Ski Slope’ soon became the next mantra. Once we got to the ski slope, our initial trail was replaced with this very slope. In the end, we traversed 700 m of altitude climbing up a ski slope, apologetically smiling at a brigade of skiers.
…and finally, after what felt like a billion hours of ‘will my toes get a frostbite’, we reached the summit. It is safe to say that I have never been happier to see a functioning cable car as I was at the end of this hike. There was no way in hell my frozen toes could have endured a 3 hour snowy descent.
Moral of the story?! A spring hike is ALWAYS a winter hike in disguise.
Ready, Set, Go!
Although Brauneck is hardly a hidden gem, it is still an exciting escapade from the hustle and bustle of city life. Therefore, if you have a hiking list for this summer, I would propose adding this peak in!
Before you embark on your hiking adventure, I highly recommend skimming through my mountain hiking guide for an unparalleled overview on alpine hiking. Further, all the equipment required to conquer an alpine hike is also discussed in this blog post.
If you are looking for another hiking experience in Germany, I cannot recommend the following hikes enough:
- Schrecksee – The highest mountain lake in the German Alps
- Archenkanzel – Hidden viewpoint over lake Königssee
- Rubihorn – A complete Allgäu Experience with postcard views
- Rotwand – An easy beginner appropriate summit hike
- Kramerspitz – The perfect day hike from Munich
- Jochberg – Quick Beginner Mountain Hike in Kochel
Have any questions about hiking Brauneck? Leave them in the comments below!
Pin for later,
