Niederalpl Ort - Graf-Meran-Haus (via Sohlenalm)

Access to starting point:
From the border crossing Šentilj we continue driving on the highway towards Gradec / Graz and forward towards Linz and Salzburg. We soon leave Highway A9 and continue driving slightly to the right towards Vienna/Wien, proceeding on Highway S35. From this highway, we then merge onto Highway S6, still following the signs for Vienna. We leave the highway at exit Mürzzuschlag-West, then follow the road to the town center, from where we follow the signs for Neuberg an der Mürz and Mürzsteg, and then continue straight towards the settlement and the Niederalpl mountain pass. In the settlement Niederalpl we pass the bus stop; on the other side of the settlement the road turns left. A short distance further the road begins to curve right and becomes steeper; here we turn left at the yellow hiking signs and 50 m ahead park at the gravel parking lot.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we return to the asphalt road and continue the ascent along it to a marked junction a few minutes away, where we leave the asphalt road by turning slightly left onto a macadam road with signs for Hohe Veitsch and Sohlenalm. The path ahead leads for some time along a gently sloping road beside the stream Niederalplbach, and while walking along the road we also cross the stream Bärenbach. Next we traverse a larger grassy area, then the signs for Sohlenalm direct us left onto a cart track; after just a few dozen steps we turn slightly right onto an overgrown footpath that continues along the right tributary of the stream Niederalplbach. This is followed by a section of walking through the forest where the path is clearer; higher up, after crossing a forest road, the path gradually becomes increasingly overgrown and in places harder to follow. Higher still, we cross the forest road two more times and continue along the quite overgrown path up to an elevation of approximately 1300 m. Here the path first returns into the forest, then after crossing a grazing fence twice we leave the forest and ascend across the grassy part of the mountain pasture to a shepherd hut situated roughly in the middle of the pasture.
At the hut we step onto the road and follow the signs for the mountain hut Meranhaus and the summit of Hohe Veitsch. The road initially leads diagonally across the southwestern part of the mountain pasture, then enters the forest, where shortly after a livestock watering trough we turn slightly left onto a marked footpath. A few minutes further on we leave the forest and reach a grassy area where the path switches from the northwestern slopes to the southwestern slopes. At the end of the grassy section we reach another macadam road, which we follow until it visibly starts descending. Here we turn slightly left onto a footpath that traverses a panoramic slope above the road, then continues mostly in a gentle ascent on a longer traverse below both peaks of the Wildkamm ridge.
Later we also pass a spring; after the spring the path slowly begins to curve left and brings us below the saddle that connects the Wildkamm ridge with the summit of Hohe Veitsch. Here, with beautiful views, we begin a steep ascent; above some natural “gates” the path temporarily flattens. This is followed by a few more minutes of steep climbing until we join the path that comes up through the Rodel valley.
We continue the ascent at first still through dwarf pines, then over a grassy slope which brings us to a marked junction.
We continue straight ahead towards Meranhaus (right leads to the summit Hohe Veitsch and then on to Meranhaus over the summit). We still climb to the next junction a few minutes away, after which the path levels out and we continue straight towards Meranhaus (left to Seebodenhütte, right to the summit Hohe Veitsch).
This is followed by a short diagonal descent with beautiful views over the Hohe Veitsch plateau; lower down we cross another path.
Here too we continue straight. A little further on we briefly ascend again before descending towards Meranhaus which is now only a few minutes away.
Starting point - Sohlenalm 1:15, Sohlenalm - Meranhaus 2:30.
Description and pictures refer to the conditions in August 2025.

On the way: Sohlenalm (1352m)