This is how you spend a promising hiking weekend in Montafon

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A lively valley culture and real mountain adventures – that’s what nature-loving guests can expect in the Montafon. The 39-kilometre-long Vorarlberg valley shares many a scenic summit ascent with neighbouring Switzerland. With three different mountain ranges – the Verwall, the Silvretta and the Rätikon – the Montafon also scores with a variety of landscapes that is unique for this compact area.

What would you like to do now? A sporty hut tour or would you prefer a leisurely panoramic hike followed by a stop at a hut? We tested both options at the beginning of July and show you here – regardless of what you decide – how you can experience an all-round perfect hiking weekend in the Montafon.

Hike through the four Montafon adventure areas

The Verwall, the Silvretta, the Rätikon and the valley make up the so-called “Alpine Mosaic Montafon“. Four experience spaces with different geological origins and special unique selling points. The “valley” habitat with the river Ill connects all four adventure areas with each other. If you prefer untouched, Nordic-looking natural landscapes, you will find what you are looking for in Verwall. It’s high up in the Silvretta. At 3,312 m, this is also where the highest mountain in Vorarlberg is located – the Piz Buin. And the Rätikon amazes you with its combination of imposing rock formations and blooming alpine meadows.

With this variety of landscapes, it is self-explanatory that the right hiking trail can be found here for almost every taste, physical condition and form of the day. When planning our weekend, we were also inspired by the Alpine Mosaic Montafon and hiked through a total of three of the four adventure rooms.

Day 1: on the Montafon hut circuit to the Tilisuna hut

The start of our Montafon hiking weekend almost fell into the rain. However, the view of the rain radar motivates us to start hiking earlier than planned, despite the cloudy sky. The motto: It’s better to start before noon than wait for the afternoon. According to the rain radar, we still have a time window of a good two hours to cover at least part of the approximately four-hour ascent from Gargellen over the Sarotla Pass to the Tilisuna hut dry. The mountain hiking trail leads steadily uphill from Gargellen, first through the wooded slopes and open alpine pastures to the Obere Röbialpe. From here it gets wilder and more scenic.

At the beginning of July, the cirque that stretches up to the Sarotla peaks is covered by a sea of alpine roses. Even in this gloomy weather, it was a dreamlike backdrop. Shortly before we make the short bow over to Switzerland at the Sarotla Pass, the rain sets in. Well. We were prepared for this. The “spit” is short-lived. And even if the mountain peaks remain cloudy, we can cover the remaining route, which now follows the route of the Schijenfluh circumnavigation and brings us back to Austria via the Plasseggen Pass, with dry feet.

The highlights of this first day of hiking? The fact that we were alone in the wide field during the entire four-hour climb. The weather was certainly not entirely innocent of this. It is not overcrowded here “in the back”, but even on nice days. It is also a nice feeling to finally get out of your wet shoes after such a climb in the hut.

Day 2: Hiking with a view of the most beautiful peaks of the Rätikon

The hut warden was also pleased that a few other weatherproof people made it into the hut in addition to us. The other guests climbed either from the Lindauer Hütte or from the Partnunsee.

The next morning, the reason why we decided to carry out the tour despite the mixed weather the day before becomes apparent: A magnificent sunrise at the Tilisuna hut! The hut, which belongs to the Vorarlberg Alpine Club, offers a magnificent view of Lake Tilisuna and the peaks of the Verwall on the opposite side of the valley. Simply gorgeous!

From the Tilisuna Hut to the Lindau Hut

The ascent from Gargellen to the Tilisuna hut is part of the Montafon hut circuit, which leads from hut to hut in a total of 13 stages over the three mountain ranges around the valley. While some of the hut guests are tackling the ascent to the Sulzfluh this morning, we follow another stage of the Montafon hut circuit over the Schwarzhornsattel to the Lindauerhütte.

At the Schwarzhornsattel, an impressive view opens up towards Sulzfluh, Drusenfluh and Schesaplana. Since the steep descent over the Bilkengrat includes some sloping sections, it is advisable to take short, deliberate breaks here and there to enjoy the view. A special highlight is the view of the striking Three Towers – one of the landmarks of the Rätikon – which sweetens the ascent to the Lindauer Hütte following the descent.

Thanks to the early start of the hike, we reach the Lindauer Hütte before its inviting terrace fills up for lunch. The hut can be reached via various hiking trails as well as from the valley by bike, making it a very popular destination. Rightly so, in our opinion! The hospitality is very sympathetic and the Kaiserschmarrn tastes delicious!

Stopover in the valley

While the Montafon hut circuit leads at this point via the Schweizertor via Lünersee to the Totalphütte, we follow the high-altitude trail over the Latschätzer Alpe to the Golmerbahn mountain station. This is a family-friendly route that follows the valley flanks with a few meters of altitude and scores with beautiful panoramic views. What you can do at the tour destination – the Golm adventure mountain – I have described in detail in this blog post.

We now take the gondola lift and then take the bus from the intermediate station Latschau down to Schruns. The villages of Schruns-Tschagguns are the central starting points for all surrounding hiking areas. There is also a wide range of accommodation available. Since autumn 2021, the offer has been supplemented by a young, casual hostel – the St. Josefsheim.

This is located in a listed, renovated building on the edge of the village center of Schruns within walking distance of the train station and in the immediate vicinity of the Hochjochbahn, which will take us to the Verwall the next day. In addition to multi-bed rooms, the hostel also offers double rooms with integrated shower/WC. In terms of style/comfort, the accommodation is comparable to the modern Swiss Youth Hostels. We were also impressed by the restaurant integrated into the building with an open kitchen and a cozy beer garden – perfect for ending a summer’s day.

Day 3: an enjoyable detour to the Verwall

The next morning, the Hochjochbahn takes us back to the airy heights of the Montafon. At the Kappellalpe we change to the chairlift and take the gondola up to the Sennigrat at 2,289 metres above sea level. From here it is only a few minutes walk until the Wormser Hütte appears in front of us. Here we follow a tip that was given to us on Friday: Be sure to try the apple strudel – the best far and wide. In fact, this one is juicy, sweet – in short: irresistibly good!

The Wormser Hütte is nestled in an impressive mountain scenery in the western foothills of the Verwall Group. There are various via ferratas around the hut. Ideal for those who like it a little more adventurous. We don’t challenge our nerves today and instead follow the Seetalweg back to the Kappellalpe. An entertaining two-hour hike that is definitely not stingy with magnificent views.

We round off our hiking weekend in the Montafon with a stop at the Alpe Vorderkapell. If you like, you can also try the “Sura Kees”, a regional speciality, depending on availability.

For three days we hiked over hill and dale and every now and then we stopped enthusiastically and called out to each other: Look, how beautiful is this view?! And so it’s not surprising that we use the journey home to Zurich to make plans again. The only question remains: Which of the many great hiking trails should we explore next time?

Tips for your hiking weekend in the Montafon

• From Zurich to Schruns, the journey takes 2:14 h with the fastest train connections via Bludenz. From Schruns there are bus connections to Gargellen in the direction of Gargellen, which are coordinated with the train connections.
• The following links will take you to the detailed tour descriptions for the first day of hiking (Gargellen – Tilisunahütte) and the second day of hiking (Tilisunahütte – Lindauer Hütte). You can find further information about the Golm – Lindauer Hütte high-altitude trail here.
• A detour to Montafon can be easily combined with a stopover in the pretty historic town of Bludenz.
• The Tilisuna hut is expected to be open until the first half of October. An overnight stay in a shared room costs 29 euros (for those who are not AV members). Half board costs 36 euros (or 34.50 euros for the vegetarian main course).
• At the Hotel St. Josefsheim an overnight stay in a double room costs from 62.40 euros per night.
• The Golmbahn is in operation daily during the summer season until 16 October.
• The Hochjoch cable car is in operation until 1 November (but limited to weekends from 22 October). The Sennigrat cable car will be open daily until 9 October (note that there is a lunch break between 11:45 am and 1:00 pm). An overview of the opening hours of all cable cars in the Silvretta Montafon can be found here.