Walking in Austria - 100 Walks and Multi-day Treks

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

A variety of maps cover much of Austria, the best being those published by the ÖAV/DAV under the heading Alpenvereinskarten. Accurate and beautifully drawn, they have a robust quality missing on some of the commercial maps available, and are usually published at a scale of 1:25,000. However, the amount of detail included at this scale is perhaps more than most routes in this guide require. Sheets at a scale of 1:50,000 are available from Kompass, Freytag & Berndt, and Mayr, with some districts treated to 1:30,000, 1:35,000 and 1:40,000 scale. 

Kompass Wanderkarte sheets have huts, hotels, and paths (with numbers) clearly marked in red for ease of identification. Be warned that some of the older maps were produced on poor-quality paper which tears easily, especially on the folds, and you may find that a single sheet will not last a full week. More recently-published sheets are slightly more weatherproof. A slim booklet (in German) accompanies these maps, with local information and brief walk suggestions.

Freytag & Berndt produce sheets of a similar quality to those of Kompass, this time with huts being ringed. The accompanying booklets are perhaps less useful than those of Kompass, although the latest ones include GPS information.

Mayr maps are produced in Innsbruck and, once more, are of similar quality to F&B and Kompass sheets. The paper tears easily and wears quickly at the folds, but the associated booklets give rather more detail with their walk suggestions than those of Kompass. 

Specific sheets recommended for routes in this guide are outlined at the head of each walk description, but please note that in some instances names on maps do not match those that appear on local signposts. And the altitude measurements shown on some sheets may be at variance with those quoted on maps produced by different publishers.