Weinebene Straße - Barofen

Access to starting point:
A) Through one of the border crossings with Austria (Korensko sedlo, Karawanks Tunnel, Ljubelj mountain pass, Jezerski vrh mountain pass, Pavličev vrh mountain pass), we drive into Austria, and then we continue driving on the highway towards Graz. On the mentioned highway we drive to the settlement Volšperk / Wolfsberg, where we leave the highway, and when we get to the old or regional road we continue driving in the direction of the settlement St. Gertraud. In the settlement St. Gertraud, we notice signs for the Weinebene alpine pass, which direct us to the right onto an ascending asphalt road. On the mentioned road, we drive approximately 13.5 km, or until a right turn, where a forest road branches off to the left, and near the yellow hiking signposts, there is a parking lot for a few cars.
B) Over the border crossing Holmec or Vič we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards the settlement Volšperk / Wolfsberg. From Volšperk we continue on a regional road in the direction of the settlement St. Gertraud. In the settlement St. Gertraud we notice signs for the Weinebene alpine pass, which point us to the right on an ascending asphalt road. On the mentioned road, we drive approximately 13.5 km, or until a right turn, where a forest road branches off to the left, and near the yellow hiking signposts, there is a parking lot for a few cars.
C) First, we drive to Maribor, and then we continue driving on the highway towards the border crossing Šentilj and further on the Austrian highway towards Graz. We leave the mentioned highway at the exit for the settlement Lipnica / Leibnitz. When we leave the highway at the roundabout, we continue in the direction of the settlement Lipnica / Leibnitz and further we drive south from the village Gralla, which is today already some kind of peripheral part of Lipnica. Further, the road leads us past the industrial or commercial zone, and at the roundabout by the store Hofer we continue "straight" on the second exit in the direction of the settlement Lonč / Deutschlandsberg. Further, we drive on the main road for some time, and after the village Graschach we turn right in the direction of the settlement Lonč / Deutschlandsberg. In a roundabout right next to the settlement Lonč / Deutschlandsberg, we continue "straight" in the direction of the Weinebene alpine pass. From here, the road begins to ascend more steeply, and we follow it to the mentioned pass, which we reach after approximately 20 km of driving from the start of the settlement Lonč. From the pass, we continue driving forward and begin descending, descending for approximately 4.5 km, when from a left turn we drive right onto a smaller parking lot, where we also notice the Bärofen hiking signposts.

Route description:
From the starting point, we head onto a side road where we parked, marked with signs for Wildbachsattel, Bärofen, and Weinebene, and begin moderately ascending along it. A little further, the road flattens, then moderately ascends again, leading us near the hunting cottage Jagdhaus Straßerhalt, where there is a crossing. Here we turn right (left Jagdhaus Straßerhalt, 1 minute) and after a few dozen steps reach a marked crossing, where we join the path from the Weinebene pass.
Here we turn left (right Weinebene) and continue on the marked path, which, a little further at a cross, is joined by the path from the starting point at the inn Gasthof Pfeifferstocker or the inn Weberwirt. We follow the signs for Wildbachsattel and Bärofen, continuing along the macadam road, which mostly runs through the forest, with a shorter section crossing a scenic slope, offering a beautiful view of the highest peaks in the Labotniške Alps and the nearby partly forested Bärofen. A little further, at a smaller crossroad, we go slightly right and start ascending. From here, we continue on the road for a short time and reach the next crossing, where a path branches off to the right towards the saddle Wildbachsattel and Wolfstein. We continue on the road, which higher up leads past a trough, a small cottage, and a cross, and eventually brings us out of the forest, where it gradually turns slightly to the left. We leave the road before the nearby transmitter and continue right, following the blazes, though no visible footpath is present at first. The footpath soon becomes more distinct and leads us through a vast pasture to a marked crossing, where we go right (straight to Gasthaus Langhans). Next follows a moderate ascent through a sparse forest; when we join the path starting at Hebalm, we go left, and after a short, steep ascent, we reach the summit with a cross.
Starting point - Jagdhaus Straßerhalt 0:15, Jagdhaus Straßerhalt - Bärofen 1:25.
The description and pictures refer to the conditions in February 2025.

Along the route: Jagdhaus Straßerhalt (1522m)

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