St. Corona am Wechsel - Hochwechsel

Access to starting point:
Leave the A2 motorway Graz / Vienna at the Aspang Markt exit and follow the road to the mentioned place. When we arrive in the town, follow the signs for the Mariensee settlement and at the end of the town go straight towards St. Corona am Wechsel. Further on, we begin to ascend more steeply, but we follow the road to the center of the St. Corona am Wechsel settlement, where we park at one of the parking lots.

Path description:
From the parking lot, walk to the church of St. Corona, then turn left onto a side road marked with signs for Hochwechsel, Kampsteiner Schwaig, Herrgottschnitzerhütte and numerous other signs. Initially, ascend past a few houses, at a small cross turn right and continue following the signs for Hochwechsel. The path then crosses the ski slope and summer toboggan run, after which it forks.
Slightly to the left from the road, a path branches off leading past the Orthof inn, we follow the path markings along the forest road and continue along the road, from which a path soon branches right towards the Odenhof guesthouse.
Continue further along the forest road, which ascends moderately; higher up, at several junctions, follow the signs for Kampsteiner Schwaig.
Higher up, leave the road for a cart track, where the path passes the "starting stone" Antrittsstein (St. Wolfgangs Fußabdruck), after which we soon leave the forest. From here, a short ascent through the forest follows, then the forest ends and we quickly reach the Kampsteiner Schwaig hut across the meadow section.
Bypass the hut on the left side and follow the signs for Hochwechsel; the path ahead first gently ascends through the meadow surrounded by sparse forest. When the path re-enters the forest, bypass the Frauenalpe summit on the right and begin descending westwards. Lower down, the descent stops, and upon resuming the ascent, reach the junction at the Schwarzer Herrgot cross, from where continue left towards Feistritzer Schwaig (straight to Arabichl).
Approximately 15 minutes of gentle ascent to the left follows, and the cart track leads to the Feistritzer Schwaig alpine hut.
Bypass the buildings on the right side and continue walking along the easy cart track, from which another path soon branches right towards the Arabichl summit; we continue straight and enter the forest. A few minutes further, after a short easy descent, reach a gravel road, along which we ascend, with the path running along the upper edge of the forest. Follow the path traversing the slopes to the left in a gentle ascent to the junction at the Dreiländereck saddle, from where head left towards the Hochwechsel summit and Mönichkirchen settlement (here, a path joins from the right over the Arabichl summit, which is somewhat longer than ours, and also a path starting from the Feistritzsattel pass), and begin a traversing ascent; this path leads us after a few minutes to an unmarked junction, where continue along the lower left path with the markings (the right path leads to the Schöberlriegel and Umschussriegel summits, and it is also possible to continue to Hochwechsel). The path ahead levels out and crosses the aforementioned two summits without major elevation changes. When the forest thins, a beautiful view of Hochwechsel opens up; the path then leads to the saddle between Umschussriegel and Hochwechsel, where continue slightly left. Here, first gently, then moderately ascend along the indistinct and broad, mostly northern ridge of the Hochwechsel summit. Higher up, the trail splits into several smaller paths; follow the markings and, with ever better views, reach the panoramic summit, next to which is the Wetterkoglerhaus hut.
Starting point - Kampsteiner Schwaig 1:45, Kampsteiner Schwaig - Schwarzer Herrgot 0:45, Schwarzer Herrgot - Feistritzer Schwaig 0:15, Feistritzer Schwaig - Hochwechsel 1:55.
Description and photos refer to the conditions in September 2023 and November 2025.

On the way: Kampsteiner Schwaig (1400m), Schwarzer Herrgot (1403m), Feistritzer Schwaig (1438m), Dreiländereck (1561m)