Mutterberger See Hike

Menno found this hike on a website that we use a lot for tour planning called Bergfex. On the day we did the hike, the temperates were forecasted to be about 30°C so we decided that a short hike at a higher altitude would be the best option. He had read somewhere that the hike to the Mutterberger See lake was around 2.5 hours and around 650 vertical meters. Since the hike was above 2000 m altitude, we thought this would be a great option for a very hot day.

About This Hike

There are two ways to do this hike. You can either hike over the ridge and down from the Dresdenerhütte or you can hike up from the car park at the bottom station of the Gamsgarten gondola at the Stubai Glacier. We chose to hike up from the bottom rather than taking the lift up to the middle station and hiking over the ridge.

After around 30 minutes of uphill, we reached a bridge across a river. And on the bridge was a sign stating that it was 2.5 hours to the lake from here. So where Menno had got the idea that the whole round trip hike was 2.5 hours, I have no idea. After a short discussion about whether to carry on, since we hadn’t planned for a 5 hour hike and didn’t have a lot of water or suncream with us, we decided to continue anyway.

It did take us about 2.5 hours to reach the lake, and for most of the way, it was fairly steep uphill. Thankfully the whole area was filled with waterfalls, lakes and streams, and being at a fairly high altitude, the temperatures were actually quite bearable. In fact, we even put our fleece jackets on at the lake as the air was much cooler.

After a short break at the lake and some pictures, we continued on the trail signed to the Dresdener Hütte but as the small path reached the main gravel road, we took the route back down the mountain and came across quite a lot of marmots. Unfortunately, most of them were pretty camera shy but they were all super cute!

Full Photo Gallery

What To Pack For The Hike

This day hike doesn’t require a whole lot of technical gear. Just the basics for a hike in the mountains:

• Hiking boots
• Small backpack
• Softshell or lightweight fleece
• Rain jacket
• Sunglasses & sunscreen
• Water & snacks
• Mobile phone
• Trekking poles (optional)
  

Getting to the Stubai Valley

This hike is at the very end of the Stubai valley, which is a 45 minute drive from Innsbruck via the A13 motorway. Alternatively, you could choose to stay in the town of Neustift in Stubaital which is a great base for lots of hikes in the summer, or the perfect base for a ski holiday in the winter.