Lechweg · Stage 1
Not confirmed open on set dates: Out of season, from early October to mid-June: snow can lie between the Formarinsee and Warth, bus 707 to the start does not run and the lodgings in Lech and Warth are closed. The official site recommends the spring variant from Steeg until the whole trail opens (18 June in 2026). Source, read 26 September 2026
The start is the Formarinsee bus stop at 1,793 m. Bus 707 runs up from Lech in summer: in 2026 from 18 June to 4 October, eight times a day, €26 for the day including the toll road, bought on the bus, at the Dorfhus or online. The Freiburger Hütte stands above the lake.
Best season: Mid-June to early October; the lower valley from mid-May. The official site gives mid or late June to early or mid October for the whole trail; before that, snow can lie between the Formarinsee and Warth. In 2026 the whole trail opened on 18 June, and bus 707 to the start ran from 18 June to 4 October. From mid-May the spring variant walks the lower valley from Steeg to Füssen. The 2027 dates are not published yet. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 26 September 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Trailhead · 1,793 m
The start, by the Zugertal Formarinsee bus stop. Most walkers sleep in Lech and take bus 707 up: in 2026 it ran from 18 June to 4 October, eight times a day, €26 for the day including the toll road.
Freiburger Hütte · Staffed mountain hut · 1918 m
Season 2026: until 20 September 2026
Stage end · overnight
Town
Lech has the most beds on the route and the bus to the Formarinsee start.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 131 places to stay within about 600 m (read 26 September 2026). TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Make it your trip
Every night is in a village: guest houses, hotels and a few campsites (wild camping is not allowed). July and August are busy in every village, and some villages have few beds, so book ahead. A luggage service carries bags between villages.
The whole Lechweg in the official classic 7 days, from the source of the Lech to the Lechfall.
Plan this journeyThe official relaxed variant in 8 days, with shorter days in the valley.
Plan this journeyThe lower valley in 5 days, walkable from mid-May when snow still lies higher up.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (1,443 m) and high point (1,870 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (1,443 m) and the highest point (1,870 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor |
| High point, day / night | 0°/-8° | 0°/-9° | 2°/-6° | 6°/-2° | 10°/3° | 14°/6° | 15°/7° | 15°/7° | 11°/4° | 9°/2° | 4°/-3° | 1°/-6° |
| Low point, day / night | 1°/-7° | 2°/-7° | 5°/-4° | 9°/0° | 13°/4° | 17°/8° | 19°/9° | 19°/9° | 15°/6° | 12°/3° | 6°/-1° | 3°/-5° |
| Rain, mm | 107 | 96 | 110 | 96 | 149 | 158 | 172 | 172 | 136 | 109 | 111 | 120 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | – | – | – | – | – | Frost | Possible | Likely |
| Daylight | 8 h 53 | 10 h 15 | 11 h 49 | 13 h 33 | 15 h 02 | 15 h 54 | 15 h 35 | 14 h 18 | 12 h 39 | 10 h 58 | 9 h 24 | 8 h 31 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
July and August are high season in every village, and the lodgings in Lech and Warth open only for the summer. Forchach, Weißenbach, Wängle and Pflach have few beds: book those nights first, or take the bus to the next village.
Lechweg: hostsThe Lechweg shuttle carries bags from one night's village to the next, delivered by 18:00: in 2026 €13 a bag for each day's move when booked two days ahead, up to 20 kg; early and late in the season the price is on request.
Lechweg: luggage transportSections 5 (Holzgau to Bach) and 14 (Wängle to Pflach) are demanding footpaths. The Holzgau suspension bridge is 200 m long and over 100 m high; the original way up the Höhenbachtal avoids it. No section needs climbing or fixed ropes.
Lechweg: section 5Do not start a section when thunderstorms are forecast; the buses along the valley can shorten a day. Mountain rescue in Austria is 140; the European emergency number is 112.
Lechweg: hiking adviceGetting there
Travel around Formarinsee to Lech.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Bus 707 runs from Lech to the Formarinsee in summer, about 30 minutes: in 2026 from 18 June to 4 October, eight a day from 08:18, €26 for the day including the toll road. Private cars may use the toll road only before 08:00 or after 16:30 going up, and before 09:00 or after 15:30 coming down, and not at all on Wednesdays.
Gemeinde Lech: local busBus 110 runs the length of the valley from Reutte through Stanzach, Elbigenalp, Holzgau and Steeg to Warth, and in summer on to Lech. Any village is a place to start, finish or skip a section.
Lechweg: bus connectionsFüssen has trains to Munich via Buchloe; Reutte is on the line from Kempten to Garmisch. From Füssen back to Lech takes about 3 hours by bus with a change at Reutte; the last useful bus leaves Füssen about 14:00.
Lechweg: getting thereTake your trip with you
Prepare each section while you have a connection; the valley has phone signal in the villages.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
lechweg.com gives about 125 km in 15 sections, from the Formarinsee in Vorarlberg to the Lechfall in Füssen, and signs the trail in both directions; downstream is the usual way and about 1,000 m less climbing. The line here is the Lechweg relation on OpenStreetMap (planet of 21 September 2026), 124.4 km, cut at the section-end villages. Where a village centre sits away from the official section end, a section here is a little longer or shorter and its neighbour makes up the difference; the official times are shown only where the lengths agree.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 26 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Lechweg: the official siteMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation