Forestwards by bike

The area between Eschelmoos and Röthelmoos is made for biking. The route leads over well-paved, wide forest roads that wind through seemingly endless woodland. Anyone taking the tour from Brand as a loop, will need strong calves. But getting off is no disgrace – and e-bikes definitely not. And once you reach the high plateau of Eschelmoos, every drop of sweat is as good as forgotten.

It is a beautiful, secluded alpine pasture area between Hochgern and Hochfelln. Somewhat tucked away, at the back on the edge of the forest lies a rustic, small alpine dairy, the Hinteralm. You can get sweet “Rohrnudeln”, "Almnussen" and a fine hearty snack here. Young cattle graze in the meadows, it couldn’t be more idyllic, ideally you’d love to stay. But the tour continues. Over to Röthelmoos, more downhill than uphill and always through the quiet mountain forest.

The Röthelmoosalmen comprise the largest alpine pasture area in Ruhpolding. Framed by the Gurnwandkopf and Hörndlwand they lie at an altitude of around 800 metres. A large area is taken up by the upland moor with its winding streams. Seven farmers have grazing rights up here and bring their cattle to the alpine pasture during the summer months; this is called “bestoßen” in German. The higher built alpine huts are typical for Röthelmoos. They have a particularly large room in which “Groamat” was still stored until the 1960s, which are the hayfield crops from late summer. These fodder reserves enabled the cattle to stay on the mountain pasture until well into autumn, sometimes even until winter.

At the Langerbauer and Dandl Alm, bikers and hikers are treated to delicacies and cheese and butter made in-house. You can really dig in, because from now on it’s all downhill, back down to Brand and along the Urschlauer Ache back to Ruhpolding. A short stop at the vantage point after the lock is recommended, the deep view into the gorge and the crystal- clear mountain stream is impressive.

Mountain biking and cycling options are endless in and around Ruhpolding. The offer is so varied, that everyone finds their favourite route. Easy cycling tours, combined cycling and hiking tours, more or less demanding descents. In Chiemgau there is now even the first continuously signposted mountain bike network in the Bavarian Alps. The total route length is around 750 kilometres. 600 of them are on Bavarian soil, about 150 on Austrian soil. The tours are mostly on forest roads to alpine pastures with great views, which can of course also be used on foot.