Circular hike from Knittelfeld to Großlobming

At the main square in Knittelfeld (1), 643 m, we take our bearings from the town pharmacy and the nearby church, which we walk past to reach Esperantostraße. We keep right and walk in the direction of Großlobming. Continue along Stubalpenstraße out of town, past the Apfelberg fire station, until we cross the Mur bridge. Immediately afterwards we see Gasthaus Hoffelner (2), 626 m, on the right-hand side (parking area) and our further route on the left, namely a gravel road. Passing the dog school grounds, the route remains flat for a short distance until the gravel road leads steadily uphill through the forest. From time to time we come to comfortable resting places with panorama boards and beautiful views. Once we have reached the top of the hill, we come directly to the Thalberghof (3), 03 m, a well-known excursion inn in the Murtal region. Immediately after the Thalberghof, we turn right at the crossroads and walk along the road, which climbs a little. We pass under the high-voltage power line, pass a rest area with a panorama board and immediately see the yellow signpost to the left in the direction of Naturfreundehaus Steinplan. From here, the ascent begins, which is somewhat steeper in places. Along forest roads and meadow paths we reach the farm vlg. Sattelbauer (4), 922 m, where the hiking trail leads directly between the house and the farm. Here we keep to the right and follow the access road slightly downhill until we see the signs for the cycle route on the left. From now on, the hiking trail continues on the cycle path, so we walk slightly up and down along the forest road through the forest until we follow the directional arrow of the cycle path uphill to the left. Shortly afterwards, we come to a crossroads with a pasture, where we keep right and continue for approx. 1 km on an almost flat path to the Murtalblick bench (5)860 m above sea level. The view of the Judenburg-Knittelfeld basin and the surrounding mountain regions of the Wölzer and Seckauer Tauern is magnificent. From the bench, we walk back a few meters and then turn left along the well-marked path downhill on gravel or asphalt roads. Almost in the valley, at a crossroads (6), 660 m, we see the yellow directional arrow on the right-hand side. We branch off to the left and walk along the edge of the forest until we reach the populated area of Großlobming (7), 641 m. Passing the church, we head towards the Mur and reach the Murinsel campsite. Continue over the narrow Mur motorway bridge and shortly afterwards, at a large gravel area, continue right along the left bank of the Mur. A beautiful path leads through the floodplain and to the mouth of the Ingering (8), 628 m. Continue over the wooden bridge and along the gravel road until you reach the asphalt road and keep to the right. After a short time we reach the junction we already know, keep left and walk back to the center or to Knittelfeld train station.

A few tips for correct and fair behavior in the forest: (Source: www.bundesforste.at - 6/2021)

• Hikers should avoid visits to the forest about 1.5 hours before sunrise and after sunset, as wildlife is especially active during this time.
• Plastic bottles, handkerchiefs, cigarette butts & Co have no place in the forest! Please make sure that you do not leave any trash in the forest.
• Camping and making fire - is strictly forbidden in the forest!
• In principle, each person is allowed to collect 2 kg of mushrooms and berries per day for personal use in the forest. It is only forbidden if the forest owner expressly forbids it.

Alpine emergency call:

Mountain rescue emergency number: 140

EU emergency number: 112

Weather service: www.zamg.ac.at 

Direct link mountain weather Styria: https://www.zamg.ac.at/cms/de/wetter/produkte-und-services/bergwetter/steiermark 

•  Backpack with rain cover
• Telescopic / hiking poles
• Mountain / hiking boots
• Gloves: waterproof and warming
• Headgear / sunglasses
• Outerwear: Onion layer system, T-shirt, sweater, jacket and winter jacket with hood
• Hiking pants
• Seat pad
• Drinking bottle / thermos flask (on cooler days a warming drink is pleasant)
• Snack
• First aid kit with blister plaster and tick tongs

Other important equipment

• Route descriptionDetailed
• plan of the hike
• Hiking map: For overview a map in scale 1 : 50 000 of the respective region
• GPS device
• cell phone

A cozy stop at one of the inns in Großlobming.

Knittelfeld train station is easy to reach by train and bus.

General information about public transportation in the region: www.verbundlinie.at 

Murtal Taxi, Tel.: +43 660 1018101, 8740 Zeltweg, www.murtal-taxi.at 

Refreshment stop on the way:

Thalberghof, Tel.: +43 3512 82370, Mitterbach 67, 8720 Rachau,  www.thalberghof.at 

Refreshment stop in Großlobming:

Gasthof Wulz, Tel.: +43 3512 829830, Hauptstraße 2, 8734 Großlobming

Gasthaus Rüf-Peterwirt, Tel.: +43 3512 83193, Hauptstraße 12, 8734 Lobmingtal, www.gasthaus-ruef.at 

Cafe im Schablhof, Tel.: +43 664 99707944, Kirchengasse 1, 8734 Großlobming,  www.cafeimschablhof.at 

Cafe & Kegelbahn Glatz, Tel.: +43 3512 82870, Weißkirchnerstraße 7, 8743 Großlobming

G'Schlössl Murtal, Tel.: +43 3512 46904, Murhof 1, 8734 Lobmingtal,  www.gschloessl-murtal.at 

Gasthaus Murstüberl, Tel.: +43 664 3045045, Mursiedlung 24, 8734 Großlobming,  www.camping-murinsel.at 

Freytag & Berndt (2017): Seetaler Alpen, Seckauer Alpen, Judenburg, Knittelfeld. WK 212 Wander-, Rad-, Freizeitkarte; 1 : 50 000 C. and M. Hlatky, (2017): Murtal - Around Spielberg - Seetal Alps and Seckau Alps. Kral publishing house, p. 160