Hiking tour Starting from Hirschwang an der Rax, valley station Rax cable car
Rax huts round tour from the Berggasthof, via the Ottohaus and to the Neue Seehut. Return to the starting point via the Preinerwand cross.
Rax huts round tour from the Berggasthof, via the Ottohaus and to the Neue Seehut. Return to the starting point via the Preinerwand cross.
The ascent is via the Rax Areal Ropeway, Austria’s oldest passenger suspension cable car, which began operating as early as 1926. After getting off at the Raxalm-Berggasthof summit station, you’ll reach the Ottohaus, which features a 4,000-square-meter alpine garden with about 200 alpine plants typical of the region. The next stop, the Neue Seehütte, owes its name to a small lake that, however, dried up shortly after World War I. Without having to tackle any major challenges, you can “hop” from hut to hut on the Rax. This variation of the popular Rax hiking trail is also suitable for families due to its shorter distance. However, you should be in decent physical shape!
Your hikes in the Vienna Alps should be a completely beautiful and safe experience. Please therefore note the following:
Preparation
Make sure when choosing the route that it matches your mountain experience and your fitness. Inform yourself in advance about the weather report. Weather in the mountains can change surprisingly quickly. Therefore, always start equipped accordingly (e.g. rain protection).
Check whether the huts and snack stations you want to visit along the way are open. Inform someone about the choice of route and your planned return before you set off.
In fog and strong wind, tours on the high plateau are not recommended!
Always take suitable maps with you. Wear sturdy shoes adapted to the route, take sun and rain protection as well as water and a snack. Take your mobile phone and save the mountain rescue emergency number: 140
The starting point is the Rax cable car. It takes us in a few minutes to the mountain station at an altitude of 1547 m. From the mountain station of the cable car, we follow the red marking to the Gatterlkreuz and further to the Ottohaus. It takes about 45 minutes to reach the first hut on this route, overcoming 100 meters of altitude. Then it goes leisurely along the lake path to the New Seehütte, located in a hollow. The way back leads past the Preiner Wand cross and above the well-known climbing paradise Preiner Wand through dwarf pine along the ridge path to the Ottohaus. Anyone who wants to add a summit can climb the Jakobskogel (1737m) located next to the Ottohaus. Then from the Ottohaus as usual back to the mountain station.
Parking spaces are available at the valley station of the Rax cable car.
A2 to junction Seebenstein - S6 to Gloggnitz - B27 to Hirschwang an der Rax, valley station Rax cable car (at the edge of Hirschwang)
Arrival:
Take the Southern Railway to Payerbach-Reichenau. Between Payerbach-Reichenau station and the valley station of the Rax cable car, buses (line 341) run regularly or book the Semmering-Rax demand bus to the starting point.
Stop: 12 Rax cable car
Departure:
Take the regional bus 342 back to Payerbach-Reichenau station or the Semmering-Rax demand bus.
Stop: 132 Preiner Gscheid
Find more information and timetables at fahrplan.oebb.at and anachb.vor.at
Collect feelings of happiness - Collect hiking badges: Collect the "hut hopping" hiking badge during your hike from hut to hut.
More hikeable variants:
Hut hopping on the Raxalpe - variant 1
Hut hopping on the Raxalpe - variant 1b
Hut hopping on the Raxalpe - variant 1c
Hut hopping on the Raxalpe - variant 3
Bases:
Rax cable car mountain inn, +43/2666/52450
Ottohaus, +43/2666/52402
New Seehütte, +43/676/7488719
More info:
Vienna Alps in Lower Austria, www.wieneralpen.at, +43 / 2622 / 78960
Tourism office Reichenau, www.reichenau.at, +43 / 2666 / 52865
Raxalpe, , +43 / 2666 / 52497
Letzte Änderung: 3 Aug 2026
