Kaunertal Glacier Road by Motorcycle: 29 Hairpins to 2,750m, plus the Piller Höhe

The Kaunertal Glacier Road is one of the highest roads in the Alps you can ride, and one of the least crowded. It is a dead end, built to reach a hydroelectric reservoir and a glacier ski area, so there is no through traffic: just riders, cyclists and day visitors heading for the top. From the toll station at Feichten it climbs about 26 kilometres and roughly 1,500 metres through 29 hairpins, past the Gepatsch reservoir and the small Weißsee lake, to the foot of the Kaunertal glacier at about 2,750 metres.

Ridden up and back, with the Piller Höhe and the Pitztal added on, it makes a loop of around 150 kilometres from Landeck: a half-day if you are quick, a full day if you stop at the lakes and the glacier.

Planning the ride

The Kaunertal opens off the upper Inn valley at Prutz, about 15 kilometres south of Landeck. Landeck, Prutz, Imst and the Kaunertal villages (Kauns, Kaunerberg, Feichten) are all good bases. Riders staying in the Ötztal or on the Timmelsjoch route can reach it in about an hour. Plan to be at the toll station by mid-morning so you are at the top before the afternoon cloud builds.

The route, section by section

Landeck to Prutz and up the Kaunertal to Feichten (about 35km). From Landeck ride south up the Inn valley on the B180 toward the Reschen pass, and turn off at Prutz into the Kaunertal. The valley road climbs gently past Kauns and the scattered farms of Kaunerberg to Feichten, the main village, with the river below you and the peaks closing in. It is a pleasant, easy road with a few tighter sections.

Feichten to the Gepatsch reservoir (about 13km). Just beyond Feichten is the toll station. Above it the road climbs through forest and then reaches the Gepatsch reservoir, a long turquoise lake held back by a big rock-fill dam. The road runs along the eastern shore for several kilometres, mostly flat and easy, with the glaciers of the Weißseespitze ahead. There are pull-ins for photos along the lake.

The hairpins to the Weißsee and the glacier (about 13km). Beyond the head of the reservoir the real climb starts. The road leaves the tree line and switches back up the open mountainside in a long chain of numbered hairpins, each with a sign telling you which one you are on. The surface is generally good and the road is wide enough for two cars, but it is steep in places and exposed, with big drops on the outside of some bends. The Weißsee, a small lake near the top, makes a good stop. The road ends at the glacier station at about 2,750 metres, with a car park, a restaurant and views up to the ice. In summer a lift runs to the Karlesjoch on the Italian border for a view over the main ridge.

Back down to Feichten and Kauns (about 35km). Ride back down the way you came. The descent is often better than the climb, as you see the hairpins below you and the reservoir laid out in the valley. Take it gently on the steep sections; brakes get hot and the inside of the hairpins is steep.

Over the Piller Höhe to the Pitztal (about 20km). Near the mouth of the valley, above Kauns, a narrow road climbs east over the Piller Höhe at about 1,558 metres. The climb is short and steep with a few hairpins, and the road then runs along a high shelf of meadow and forest with long views back over the Inn valley. Near the top is the Gacher Blick viewpoint. On the far side the road drops to Wenns at the mouth of the Pitztal.

The Pitztal and back to Landeck (about 35km). From Wenns ride down to Imst in the Inn valley, then west back to Landeck. With time to spare, ride up the Pitztal itself, another long, dead-end valley that ends at a glacier ski area, and back.

Tolls, hours and closures

The Kaunertal Glacier Road is a toll road, with a motorcycle rate. It has daily opening hours and is closed overnight; check the times and the current toll with the Kaunertal glacier operator or the Tiroler Oberland tourist office before you plan an early or late run. The road can close at short notice after storms and mudslides, sometimes for days at a time, so check its status with the Land Tirol road information service or the operator on the morning you ride. The Piller Höhe road is free.

If you add the Hahntennjoch or the Lechtal to the trip, Tyrol bans motorcycles with a stationary noise figure above 95 dB(A), as given on the registration papers, on a list of roads in the Reutte district during the summer season. Check your papers and the Land Tirol page on the motorcycle ban before you go.

When to go

The glacier road is usually open from late spring to late autumn, depending on snow, and it serves a ski area, so the lower part may be open when the top is not. July to September is the dependable window for riding. Even in high summer it can be near freezing at the top, and the weather changes fast; pack a warm layer and waterproofs. Morning is best: clouds often build on the glacier from midday.

The roads

There is no fuel above Feichten. Fill up in Prutz, Landeck or Imst. Watch for gravel and water running across the road on the upper hairpins, especially after rain or on hot afternoons when the snow melts. Marmots and the odd sheep wander onto the road above the tree line. Cyclists climb the road in large numbers on summer weekends.

Where to stay

Landeck, Prutz and the Kaunertal villages put you closest; Imst and the Pitztal suit riders combining the loop with the Hahntennjoch and the Lechtal. See our biker hotels in Tyrol. From Landeck it is a short ride west to the Arlberg, Flexen and Hochtannberg passes, south over the Reschen to the Stelvio, and east to the Ötztal and the Timmelsjoch.