Almbachklamm and Ettenberg from the Kugelmühle

The walk starts from the free car park at the Kugelmühle near Marktschellenberg, the last working stone-ball mill in Germany. The gorge path, built by army pioneers in a single month in 1894, climbs beside the Almbach for nearly 3 km on 29 bridges and walkways, up 320 steps and through one tunnel only 1.6 m high, to the Theresienklause, a dam once used to float timber down the gorge. The line then comes back down the upper gorge, climbs out to the pilgrimage church of Ettenberg at 833 m, and drops by a steep path of hairpins to the mill.

It is 7 km with 415 m of ascent; allow about 3 hours. The grade is Moderate: all of it is on narrow mountain paths, with many steps.

The gorge is open from mid-April to early November, in 2026 from 17 April to 9 November, and costs €9 (children €6). It is wet even in dry weather, and after heavy rain it can be closed for days. Outside the season the gorge is shut and the walk cannot be done.

The Mesnerwirt inn stands beside the church at Ettenberg, at the high point of the walk. Buses between Berchtesgaden and Salzburg stop at the Kugelmühle.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.