Heimgarten 1.780m is located at the northern end of the alps with no higher mountain further to the north. This provides a spectecular panorama to the north with all the lakes of southern Bavaria. On bright days even Munich (about 70km away) is cleary visible. Additionally to a nice view to the north the summit is a perfect viewpoint for Karwendel and Wetterstein mountains as well as Ammergau Alps. But this is still not enough. From the summit the Walchensee and Kochelsee lakes complete the splendid and perfect panorama.

Because of the panorama and its easily reachable trailheads the mountain is very popular and crowded on sunny days in summer and winter. Another reason for the crowds is the near cablecar up to Herzogstand which saves you about 800m of altitude difference. From Herzogstand you have a nice and easy ridge route to Heimgarten which is said to be one of the most beautiful ridge tours of the alps. But since the cablecar goes up Herzogstand, the summit of Heimgarten is not as crowded as Herzogstand.

During the winter months the mountain is a bit more lonely since the cablecar isn' t operating. But this doesn' t mean you' re alone there. Ski touring Heimgarten is also very common. As I visited the mountain in winter I met several people at the summit talking about how often they visited it (some summited very often!).

Summing it all up Heimgarten is a perfect viewpoint and worth a visit. To enjoy the mountain a bit mor lonely I recommend to ascent from Ohlstadt since this route is more unknown but beautiful and the views along the trail are exiting.

Routes

• From Ohlstadt
  Follow trail #441 up to to summit. Additionally you may visit Käser Alm via trail #443. Both trails join close to the summit. Another variation is trail #442 leading along Buchrain and Rauheck (I guess that one is pretty lonely).
• From Eschenlohe
  You need to pick one of the trails to Hirschauhut. From there follow trail #404 up to Ohlstädter Alm and from there further up to the summit.
• From Walchensee
  Simple follow trail H5 from the village up to the summit.
• East ridge from Herzogstand
  This easy and secured ridge from Herzogstand to Heimgarten is said to be one of the most beautiful ridge tours of the alps. The trail follows the ridge starting at the summit of Herzogstand. There is a chairlift up to Herzogstand or follow the trail starting at Walchensee. Combinded with the route from Walchensee up to Heimgarten this ridge offers a splendid traverse.

German description 

Photo: Thomas Siegler