This easy walk connects Lido on Lake Kaltern with St. Josef am See and Klughammer. The sunny route to St. Josef is fairly short and leads to a small church built around 1700. The path to Klughammer winds its way through picturesque vineyards and apple orchards.

Reachability

From Bolzano, take the Mendelstraße towards Kaltern/Weinstraße. After passing through the village of Kaltern, follow the sign for Kalterer See/Lido, where you can park in the large visitor car park (five reserved spaces for people with disabilities, public bus stop).

Description

From the car park at Lido (218 m), we follow the signpost towards St. Josef am See and walk past a campsite on the left. This relatively short stretch leads out to the small church of St. Josef am See (227 m), one of the oldest churches in South Tyrol dedicated to this saint. The path runs fairly straight, is tarmac-surfaced throughout and is lit in the evenings. Passing through picturesque vineyards, we follow this section of the path, which features numerous information boards about the Wine Route, and finally reach the church and its small cemetery after passing the Residence Roland. Opposite here is also a bus stop for route 130, which connects Überetsch with Bolzano. The return to the Lido follows the same route. Here you will find not only Kaltern’s accessible swimming pool with its adjoining lido, but also an information point, several cafés and a kiosk.

We now follow the signpost towards Klughammer and turn onto the wide footpath with a firm earth surface. Passing the Pizzeria Geier restaurant, the lovely walk takes us through vineyards and apple orchards, with a view of the ruins of Leuchtenburg Castle (575 m), which towers high above Lake Kaltern. The castle, situated on the Mitterberg, was built around 1250 by the Lords of Rottenburg. At a junction, we turn right and cross a small wooden bridge. After a few hundred metres, we finally reach a section of tarmac road with a gentle incline, which leads us uphill to another junction. Here we turn right again and follow a tarmac footpath to the Seehotel Ambach (217 m), which lies amidst greenery on the shores of Lake Kaltern. The return journey follows the same route.