Road bike tour: Pillersee round trip
MediumWith 18% off-road, the route seems more like a road bike route than a gravel route. However, if you ride the route, you will realize that it is definitely best suited to a gravel bike.
However, if you have a modern all-road bike, you will of course also be happy.
The main aim of the route is to offer you a scenic route that takes you from St. Johann in Tyrol in the Kitzbühel Alps to Wörgl in the Inntal valley and back.
If you would like to spend a few days in St. Johann or are looking for an overnighter that is suitable for beginners, you can also ride the route as a bikepacking tour!
Back along the Wilder Kaiser mountains
Now that we're halfway there, we head back towards Wörgl.
To do this, we head west over the Großache river out of St. Johann and then take you along small farm roads without much traffic over the Rerobichl.
The name says it all: a Bichl is a small hill that gives us an excellent view from the top!
From here we continue to Going am Wilden Kaiser. We would of course like to recommend a stop there:
The kEISer ice cream factory really impressed us. Locally produced and with a beautiful view of the Kaiser mountains. We will definitely be cycling there again!
Going and Ellmau am Wilden Kaiser are close to each other and we can recommend both for a stopover. There are plenty of restaurants, cafés and accommodation here, as well as genuine Tyrolean flair.
Downhill to the Stampfangerbach stream
By the way, from Ellmau it's downhill! Now that you've been cycling uphill quite constantly, you can now ‘put your feet up’. Unlike the tour around the Wilder Kaiser, however, we don't ride to Egerberg, but turn left before Stockach to head towards Gänsleiten.
A small climb awaits you here, but you'll love it! A beautiful forest road leads us along the Stampfangerbach stream. The shady forest makes it nice and cool and we can hear the stream rushing past us! Why don't you stop and dip your feet in the cold water?
We continue slightly uphill to Pirchmoos, where you will also find supermarkets, restaurants and cafés for a small (or large) snack.
Along the Brixentaler Ache to Wörgl
Now we practically have a descent to Wörgl ahead of us! The whole descent is on small, low-traffic roads and gravel paths, but watch out: We cross the main road in a few small places.
The tarmac soon ends and we ride directly downhill along the Brixentaler Ache river. This is basically how we get to the centre of Wörgl. We turn left in the centre and get back to the train station without any stress.
Gravel tour to Wörgl in the Inn Valley
Why Wörgl? Quite simply because the railway station offers us many connections with which we can travel by bike. On top of that, Wörgl really is located at the foot of the mountains and we can easily get directly back to the Kitzbühel Alps.
As a larger town, Wörgl also offers us hotels, restaurants, cafés and bike shops. In short, everything we could possibly need!
Leaving Wörgl, we first have to head east out of the town and wind our way around the Brixentaler Straße for as long as possible before we have to ride a little way along it.
A larger road, but not the main road. After a few metres, however, we turn off and cycle along the Brixentaler Ache river on a path right next to the railway tracks. It winds its way through the valley of the Ache, steadily and slightly uphill.
We soon reach Hopfgarten im Brixental.
Detour to the Windau Valley
Hopfgarten offers us the opportunity to stock up on supplies, stop off at one of the restaurants or even just have a coffee. The centre is only a few minutes away from the track.
From Hopfgarten we continue towards the Windau Valley. We only make a mini detour, but we can only recommend that you explore the Windau Valley on your bikes! Perhaps on the tour to the Filzenscharte for the very motivated, but also just a fun tour to the Käsealm Straubing.
The Käsealm Straubing is one of our highlights in the region and we are very sure that you will also fall for the specialities on the alpine pasture.
However, in order not to make the tour too long and challenging, we will only take you as far as Unterwindau on this tour before turning off to Westendorf.
We have now conquered the first long ascent. We can now follow the cycle path on a mix of gravel, small tarmac roads and tracks.
This takes us via Brixen im Thale to Kirchberg. Another stop is recommended here. The small, charming town has everything we need!
Refreshment at Schwarzsee lake
It's not far from Kirchberg to the Schwarzsee lake! A special highlight for us in the Kitzbühel Alps.
Here you will find a kiosk on the promenade and, if you can leave your bikes with a lock, a lido too. Jumping into the water is definitely worth it, but the view of the lake and the panorama alone are reason enough to go on a bike tour here.
We don't cycle directly along the beach promenade, but take you round the back via gravel paths.
This way we also bypass Kitzbühel, but the scenery is worth it and you will reach the Römerweg to St. Johann in Tyrol after Kitzbühel. Beware, in Steuerberg we have to cross the main road briefly. Please ride carefully here.
On the Römerweg to St. Johann
Now you can enjoy a cycle path that winds its way through the countryside above the main road. The view of the mountain panorama towards the Kaiser Mountains here is tremendous.
The Römerweg is perfect for our gravel bikes and St. Johann in Tyrol is a paradise for our tired legs! In St. Johann in Tirol we find many hotels, restaurants, cafés, ice cream parlours, bike shops, you get the picture, it's our perfect destination.
There is also a large railway station here. So it is easy to continue your journey here by train.
Other loops for your gravel bike? There is plenty to discover here!
You can also bikepack to St. Johann in Tyrol, spend some time here and ride some of the countless other tours and then ride back to Wörgl.
What a tour! A ride through the Kitzbühel Alps on a gravel bike to the Inn Valley and back. We hope you've acquired a taste for it and will explore the region even further!
