The Plose and the Villnöss pastures: South Tyrol’s biking Eldorado!

E-bike specialists, mountain bike fanatics and die-hard racing bikers listen up!

“You all belong together,” namely here at the Halslhütte. Yes, you heard right. For the e-bikers and mountain bikers among you, we have the very best routes. And they lead from the Plose hikers’ paradise and family mountain via Gabler/Pfannspitz to...

“You all belong together,” namely here at the Halslhütte. Yes, you heard right. For the e-bikers and mountain bikers among you, we have the very best routes. And they lead from the Plose hikers’ paradise and family mountain via Gabler/Pfannspitz to the Würzjoch pass, then on to Untermoi and into the Gadertal Valley, the Kronplatz and Alta Badia. Plenty of charging points are available along the route. Apart from that, here at the Halslhütte we have an e-bike charger and a great workshop with all the must-haves for bikers.

“Pure Dolomites Enjoyment”-themed racing bike rides in South Tyrol are our calling card. Big races such as the famous Giro d’Italia have been held on this route in the past. Those who want to can jump on their bikes in the venerable diocesan town of Brixen (550 m above sea level) and ride straight up to the Halslhütte (1,899 above sea level): a total of 25 km of tremendous riding fun in a breathtaking landscape! Their constant companion on the road: the mighty mountain summits of the Dolomite giants Furchetta, Sass Rigais, Tullen, Plose, Peitlerkofel and so on, which, in wonderful mountain summer weather, rise steeply up into the cloudless sky.

Villnöss trail

This tour climbs steeply from Brixen on tarmacked roads, past St. Andrä via Afers and finally heading in the direction of Würzjoch Pass. Turn left in Valazza and ascend to Park Hotel Plose. From here, continue along a gravel road to Schatzer Lodge (no signed cycle path from here onwards). Just before Enzian Lodge (no longer open), turn right onto a fast trail which is moderately difficult in places, down to Halslhütte Lodge (1860m altitude). Now continue out of the valley. Along the Rodelbach stream you will pass Fistil Boden parking area. Turn left here and continue uphill along the tarmacked road. When you reach marker no. 11, continue downhill in the direction of St. Peter and past the Joch farms to Jochkreuz. The steep descent begins here. The tour leads along path no. 5, later no. 7 and no. 7A to Albeins and back to the starting point in Brixen.

In and out the valley

In and out the valley

Start in the centre of St. Peter, drive past Kabis Restaurant and uphill along road no. 30 to St. Jakob. From here, follow the moderately steep road up to Moarhof snack bar (1320m altitude), and continue on to Jochkreuz (1370m altitude), where path no. 5 begins. Continue along no. 5a the descent into Albeins, proceed in the direction of Teis until you reach Bärenwarte (lit. bear observation point; 1250m altitude), turn left onto forest trail no. 7 across Stierwiese meadow to the fork (1090m altitude), turn left and continue on towards the valley to Teis (960m altitude) to the playing field and onto path no. 9 to Albeins (610m altitude). At the primary school, cross Aferer stream and follow the path no. 10 upstream, past Schmidthof farm (1230m altitude) until you reach Hintersäge (1500m altitude). From here, ascend briefly to the junction with the Dolomites road, continue uphill for approx. 1km until the bridge over Aferer stream, then proceed uphill along forest trail no. 10 until you reach Halslhütte Lodge (1860m altitude, highest point of the tour). From here, return to the bridge over Aferer stream, turn right onto the Aferer valley side until you reach the Coll district, passing Rieferhof farm (1490m altitude) until you reach the main Würzjoch road. Then descend back to the starting point in St. Peter.

Circular tour of the passes around Villnöss

Start in the centre of St. Peter, drive past Kabis Restaurant and continue uphill along Kreuzweg path no. 30 to St. Jakob (1290m altitude). From here, take the moderately steep road up to Moarhof (1320m altitude) and on to Jochkreuz (1370m...

Start in the centre of St. Peter, drive past Kabis Restaurant and continue uphill along Kreuzweg path no. 30 to St. Jakob (1290m altitude). From here, take the moderately steep road up to Moarhof (1320m altitude) and on to Jochkreuz (1370m altitude). When you reach the barrier, follow the forest track on the Aferer valley side eastwards until you reach a distinctive timber stockyard (1490m altitude). Here you will have to push your bike across to the long meadow. Now cross over to the Villnöss valley side and descend steeply to the Tschaufis farms (1340m altitude). Descend approx. 100m to the tarmacked road and turn left onto Sunnseiten Weg path in the direction of St. Peter. Pass the Runggatschhof farms and continue on to Vikolerbild chapel. From here, proceed approx. 1km along the road to Würzjoch Pass, then turn left until you reach Rieferhof Farm (1480m altitude) onto path 5a in the direction of St. Georgen. Cross over here to the shady Aferer valley side. Follow the forest track to the junction with the Dolomites road. Continue for approx. 2km, ascending roughly 100m to the highest point of the tour, the Russian Cross (1700m altitude). Here you could make a slight detour to Halslhütte Lodge (2.5km from the Russian Cross, at an altitude of 1860m). Descend down into the valley, and bear left after approx. 2km onto forest track no. 11/11A (1500m altitude). Follow this steep, bumpy track down into St. Magdalena (note: fork at wooden bridge at 1230m altitude). Now keep left. Cross Villnöss stream in the valley and turn right onto the main road, past the Puez-Geisler visitor centre car park. Follow the main road for a short while towards the end of the valley. Directly after Bruggmüllerhof Farm, bear right, ascending gently up to Würzjoch road. From here, return to the starting point in St. Peter.

Brixen-Villnöss-Russis Brigde-Afers

Start in Brixen at the Aquarena car park. Proceed southwards (right) along the Eisacktal cycle path. At Km9 after the signpost to Klammwirt. From here, continue approx. 500m straight ahead along the cycle path, then turn on to Brenner state road, backtracking for approx. 300m before turning right towards Villnöss. At Km 19, turn left towards Würzjoch Pass, turning right again after 500m, still in the direction of Würzjoch. At the fork in the road after 28kms keep right and continue for approx. 2.5kms until you reach Halslhütte Lodge. Backtrack to the fork in the road and turn right towards Afers/St. Andrä/Brixen. At Km50 in Milland after the bridge (Mozartallee) turn right again onto Eisacktal cycle path and return to the starting point.