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 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 

Parken am Bahnhof

Parkplatz Hoffelner

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