This lovely family hike leads from Vöran on the Tschögglberg up to the Leadneralm, a cosy spot to stop for a bite to eat with magnificent views across the Salten valley and its vast larch meadows. Thanks to its particularly sunny location, this destination is very popular not only in summer but also in winter, and when there is sufficient snow, it offers the chance for a brisk toboggan ride on the grassy hills above the alpine pasture.

Accessibility

From Bolzano, take the MeBo motorway to Merano Sud and continue initially towards the Passeier Valley, where we turn off onto the bypass to Schenna, heading towards Hafling/Merano 2000. Passing Hafling, we reach Vöran am Tschögglberg after just under 10 minutes’ drive. Without turning into the village, we continue towards Mölten, where we come to a large paid car park at the Grüner Baum inn (bus stop for bus route 225 Merano-Labers-Hafling-Vöran and the Tschögglberg bus).

Description

Starting from the Grüner Baum car park in Vöran, we follow the traffic-calmed alpine road – a continuous 12% gradient on tarmac – towards Leadneralm (trail marker no. 16).

After a short climb through wooded terrain, the route continues on a more even gradient, offering magnificent views of the vast mountain meadows and forests of Salten. The bumpy, gravel footpath runs exactly parallel to the accessible asphalt road. The route now winds evenly through the forest, with occasional seating areas along the way. Passing by vast alpine meadows, picturesque larch forests and a few farm tracks dotted with small mountain huts, we finally reach, after another climb, a well-maintained nature reserve with inviting seating areas. From here, the path climbs at a gradient of 10–12% across a vast meadow slope up to the sunny alpine pasture. The final section through the forest features another steep climb of 15%. We return to our starting point via the same route.