The Famous Nordkette Cable Car Hike (Seegrube)
Innsbruck is famous for being one of the adventure cities of Austria. People visit for the outdoor activities including rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing, mountain biking, and hiking. We had a short trip to Innsbruck and did the Nordkette cable car hike, a day hike that follows the cable car up to Seegrube.
Many people choose to ride the cable car to the top, but perhaps you may consider hiking up instead. It’s a beautiful hike and it’s free!
If you’d like to skip to the FAQ summary, click here.
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Nordkette cable car hike quick summary
Distance (return):
4.5km (~2.8miles) if you start from Hungerburg or 16km (9.9miles) if you start from Hotting.
Total Elevation Gain:
1016m from Hungerburg, 129m from Hotting.
Duration:
3.5-4 hours including breaks from Hungerburg. 5-6 hours including breaks from Hotting.
Difficulty:
Moderate.
Where to start the Nordkette cable car hike
The official trailhead begins in Hungerburg which is about 4km from Innsbruck old town (the centre of Innsbruck).
If you are staying near the old town, the easiest way to get to Hungerburg is via the funicular. However, you also have the option to take a bus or walk.
As we were staying in Hotting (across the bridge from Innsbruck old town) we decided to walk to the trailhead.
You can purchase tickets for the funicular here.
Once you are at Hungerburg, the trailhead is marked with signs for Seegrube. You can’t miss it as it’s very well signed.
You’ll then begin up an incline of gravel steps and hike past a children’s playground before entering the forest.
The experience hiking on the Nordkette cable car hike
As you continue hiking up the trail you will find that there are multiple pathway options. We chose to stay on the main hiking trail through the forest, but you do have the choice to hike along the main road which is essentially a never-ending series of switchbacks (on the way down we walked along the main road for half the journey).
The path along the main road is less challenging (and forgiving on the knees) and has a more gradual incline. The main hiking trail also has sections of switchbacks, but there are moments of steep elevation gain as you are walking directly under the cable car for majority of the hike.
As you continue higher up, the view of the cablecar becomes clearer as you emerge out of the forest.
The Seilbahnsteig
After completing the forest section, the trail opens up to a steep open field that turns into the steepest steps in Innsbruck – the Seilbahnsteig.
if you google “Nordkette Cable Car Hike” or “Nordkette trail” you will always find a photo of these soul-crushing steps. These are the infamous wide steps as you approach the iconic winding path to Seegrube.
I can’t remember how many there were, but they go on for a good distance. By the time you reach the top of the stairs, you can really feel the burn in the quads and glutes.
Despite being an absolute pain, other hikers have kindly left encouraging messages on the stairs to help you laugh your way to the top.
The wide steps of the Silbahnsteig
How can you not laugh at this!
The final push to Seegrube
The final stretch to Seegrube is a series of iconic switchbacks on a wide gravel road. Many cyclists also ride up to Seegrube and here you will see them pushing to the top.
At the very top of this road is the Seegrube restaurant where you can stop for food and drinks. It is also where the cable car from Hungerburg finishes so you will find that it can get very busy during the early afternoon.
If you don’t want to eat at the restaurant, you can bring a picnic with you on the hike as there are many benches and open spaces to sit and enjoy the views from the top. Don’t forget to bring a jacket though because it can be very windy.
Optional hike to Hafelekar and Hafelekarspitze
There is an option to continue hiking to Hafelekar and Hafelekarspitze from Seegrube if you feel up for an extra challenge.
From Seegrube it is another 1.5km and approx. 1 hour uphill hike to reach Hafelekar, known as the “Top of Innsbruck”, which gives you panoramic views of the city and mountains facing Karwendel Nature Park. If you want to see Hafelekar but don’t want to hike, there is another cable car from Seegrube that you can take to save your legs from the extra walking.
Hafelekarspitze is the actual summit of the mountain. From Hafelekar to Hafelekarspitze it is about 500m which should take approximately 10-15 minutes to climb up the rocky path.
Unfortunately we were unable to do this when we visited as the weather was turning sour, so we did the smart thing and went back down to town.
Tips for doing the Nordkette cable car hike
As with all day hikes, make sure that you pack appropriately and are prepared for any weather changes. When you get to Seegrube, the weather can be quite windy, so having a jacket or windbreaker will be useful.
I would recommend wearing hiking shoes or trail runners for the hike as there are some areas where the ground is uneven. If you didn’t have a pair of hiking footwear, you definitely could do this hike in a pair of regular runners/trainers. The trail itself is not technical and you don’t have to constantly focus on where you place your feet.
The same applies to hiking poles. We found them to be very useful during the hike, especially when going up the big stairs and when navigating the forest section. Although similar to hiking footwear, they definitely aren’t necessary.
There are no toilets available on the hike until you reach Seegrube, so keep that in mind.
FAQ Summary: Nordkette cable car hike
Nordkette Cable Car hike Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed the Nordkette cable car trail and the amazing views from the top of Seegrube. If we were to do it again, we would have taken the bus or funicular from town to Hungerburg to shorten the hike as it went from being 4.5km long to 16km since we walked from town to Hungerburg.
The weather at the time we did the hike was also less than ideal, so we missed out on the opportunity to hike up to Hafelekar – the actual “top of Innsbruck”.
If you have any questions about the hike, feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
Read more posts of our hikes here.
