On the smuggler’s path

Those who not only want to enjoy beautiful nature impressions while hiking in the Allgäu, but also want to feel a touch of adventure, can discover the 10.4 km long hiking tour “Auf Schmugglerpfaden”.

At the city of Füssen, one walks on old smuggler paths along the German-Austrian border, which were often used to smuggle tobacco, alcohol and other goods within the framework of the EU before the opening of the border. The hiking tour is of medium difficulty and combines wonderful nature impressions. Adults and children with a little bit of fitness can easily master this hike. Starting point of the hiking tour is the outdoor swimming pool in the Füssen district of Weißensee. The first part of this hike follows the shores of Lake Weissensee, which owes its shape to the Ice Age and the Lech glacier and is enchanted by its turquoise-green water. Nature lovers and romantics will find many secluded spots on the water.

On the southern shore of Lake Weißensee, a narrow path branches off, leading up a slope surrounded by woods to Lake Alatsee. It is a legendary and beautiful mountain lake. Some swear it’s a place of power. After walking along the shore of the lake, you come to a path that leads to the “Zwei-Seen-Blick” vantage point and the Hahnenkopfweg. The “Zwei-Seen-Blick” offers a fantastic view of the Weissensee and Alatsee lakes and the surrounding mountains. After a while on the Hahnenkopfweg you come to a path on the right side, which leads over the Ländescharte to Austria. Here this hiking tour becomes really exciting and partly also demanding, because the passage of the Ländescharte is secured by a rope at one point. Once you have mastered this passage, you will reach the Ländeweg on the Tyrolean side. Here were once the storage and binding places of the raftsmen on the banks of the Vils and Lech rivers. From the Ländeweg you have great views of the green-blue shimmering waters of the Lech. On the Ländeweg keep left and continue towards Lechfall and Füssen. After a while you will see on the left side
the “Schmugglerweg”, a narrow forest path leading up to the Schwärzerweg.

If it rained before, numerous black alpine salamanders can be admired here. The area used to be home to smugglers with black-painted faces and backpacks containing tobacco, alcohol and more. Between the Faulenbach Valley and the Tyrolean Vilstal they crept through the landscape in the hope of remaining undiscovered by attentive customs officers. From Schwärzerweg you continue in the direction of Bad Faulenbach and via Faulenbachgässchen you finally reach Theresienbrücke am Lech.