The summit of the Hirschberg and the Tegernsee
The Hirschberg (1,670 m) is a mountain in the Bavarian Prealps (Bayerische Voralpen) overlooking the Tegernsee. It was the destination of my first
day trip to the Alps from Munich. The weather forecast promised a sunny Sunday with a risk of thunderstorms. And, well it turned out to have been right. However, through some carefully planned and completely incidental perfect timing we managed to get out dry.
Now that I live in Munich, I’ve decided to go hiking in the Alps as much as possible. The beauty of living in Munich is that you can go on day trips in the Alps. The Hirschberg, which came highly recommended by a guidebook I bought, was my first day trip destination.
We packed our bags early in the morning and set off for the train station. There, equipped with a Bayernticket, we hopped on the 9.10 to Tegernsee and then continued by bus to Kreuth. By 11 am we were walking up hill through a forest.
The trail was well marked even if a little bit boring. The forest didn’t seem to change much. After 90 minutes, we finally walked out on to the Rauheckalm. From here it was another 40 minutes to the summit. The view from the summit, particularly down to Tegernsee is impressive. Our view was unfortunately slightly impaired by the light clouds that started gathering and a distant hue obscuring the farther mountains.
A view from the Hirschberg
After a quick snack and a few summit photos, we headed back via the Hirschberghaus. By the time we sat down with our pea soup on the Hirschberghaus terrace some 20 minutes later, it was overcast and we could feel the occasional raindrop landing on us. Still we had enough time to enjoy the view and finish our soups before the big splashes started landing. When the storm really arrived, we were already hiding inside. We watched two waves of strong rain and
hail coming across the Hirschberg to batter the hut. Yet at 3, when we needed to get going, the sun was out again.
Hirschberghaus: watching the sun come back
The descent was quick and smooth, first on a path then on a forest gravel road. After just over an hour, we were in Scharling. In theory we arrived just in time for our 16:11 bus, but the bus was early. We even had the pleasure of seeing it drive through the village as we were putting behind the last few downhill meters. When we arrived at the bus stop, the heavens opened up again. We weren’t completely out of luck though. We hid in a nearby stable and got a lift to the train station from another hiking couple. Come 7 pm we were back home in our flat.
Trip summary
Start: Kreuth Rathaus
End: Scharling, Hirschbergstr.
Ascent/ descent: 900 m/ 910 m
Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Travel from Munich: Train to Tegernsee, then bus to Kreuth. 1 hour 40 minutes
Related posts:
Have you been on the Hirschberg? How was your trip?
the marmot post 
Thanks for posting this. I’m visiting Munich alone and am looking for an uncomplicated day trip by public transport to the Alps for an easy hike and refreshments. To be clear, you took the bus from Tegernsee to the Rathaus stop in Kreuth. How did you find the trailhead for Hirschberg?
Hi Doug!
Unfortunately I don’t remember the start of the hike in detail anymore, but I don’t remember it having been difficult to find. There were signs at the start (not necessarily at the bus stop though). If you ask people will point you in the right direction and there will probably be more hikers getting off the bus with you anyway. Enjoy the hike! marketa
Thank you for your post. I recently moved to Munich. I hike a lot and before moving I had to find nearby places to hike. Your blog was the first one I came across. I went on this trail this weekend and it was beautiful. A very good hike. Looking forward to hiking the other trails on your blog. Keep hiking and writing.
Hi Jayesh! Thanks for reading the marmot post! Glad to hear that you liked the Hirschberg hike. It is a good one. Keep hiking and reading the marmot post! 😉 m.