Halblech between lakes and hiking mountains
Accommodation in Halblech
In Halblech, mountain trails meet lakes and wide valley views. Kenzenhütte is located at an altitude of 1,300 metres in the Ammergebirge Nature Reserve and is a popular excursion destination. There is also a wide selection of hiking trails, the Buchenbergbahn cable car and bodies of water with very different characteristics. This means you can plan your holiday days around whether you would rather hike, enjoy viewpoints or spend time by the water.
Hiking trails between the valley and the mountains
The municipality has 200 kilometres of well-signposted hiking trails: 80 kilometres run through the valley and 120 kilometres through the mountains. Several long-distance hiking trails also pass through Halblech: the Allgäu Hiking Trilogy, the King Ludwig Way, the Lechhöhenweg, the Maximiliansweg and the Via Alpina. The distinction between valley and mountain trails gives you a practical starting point for planning; the figures show the respective lengths of the two areas.
The first stage of the Sky Stormers route, part of the Allgäu Hiking Trilogy, provides a connection to Kenzenhütte. It starts at the Kenzen car park and leads through the Röthenbach Valley, past Bockstallsee and Wankerfleck, to the hut. Wankerfleck is a high-altitude pasture with many ancient maple trees and a view of the striking summit of Geiselstein. Bockstallsee is just before the high-altitude pasture, on the hiking trail through the Lobental Valley to Kenzenhütte. To reach the hut, you can take the hiking bus, ride a mountain bike or walk along an easy trail.
For a circular hike, there is the four-hour Panorama Loop starting at the Kenzen car park in Halblech. It leads via the Mariengrotte to Trauchgau and returns to the starting point via the St. Peter viewpoint. Another suggested hike is the Bachweg trail to Buchenbergalm on Buchenberg: the mountain hut can be reached from there in about an hour, and the view extends across the valley and its numerous lakes.
Lakes, views and nature
The Buchenbergbahn cable car offers another perspective on the landscape. This double chairlift in the Buching district reaches an altitude of 1,142 metres. From there, the view extends across the valley around Forggensee and over eleven other lakes. If you are mainly looking for views on your outing, this offers a different focus from the hiking trails described above.
Bannwaldsee lies at the foot of the Ammergebirge and is almost entirely surrounded by reed belts and wet meadows. Breeding sites for rare bird species are found in this area; the lake and its surroundings are within a nature reserve. Hegratsrieder See, in turn, is a small swimming lake near the district of Greith. The two lakes therefore offer different options for planning your trip: natural surroundings and birdlife at Bannwaldsee, or a small swimming lake near Greith.
In summer, swimming and water sports such as sailing, stand-up paddleboarding, pedal boating and kayaking are possible on Forggensee. In the municipality of Halblech, the lake is near Illasbergsee. Forggensee is usually full again from the beginning of June. If water activities are important to your holiday, you can take this seasonal detail into account when choosing when to travel.
Discover regional highlights
Regional cuisine is also part of an excursion to Kenzenhütte, where local specialities are served. Another distinctive feature of Halblech stems from the history of working with the local stone. Special limestone slabs were quarried here and used to make whetstones. This adds an insight into the traditional use of limestone to the nature and hiking experiences.
Discover more places
Find more places in Westendorf, Pforzen, Stötten Am Auerberg, Eggenthal, Buchloe, Nesselwang, Unterthingau and Oberostendorf.
For the broader travel overview: Ostallgäu.
