A reservoir at the end of the road
The Schlegeis is about as far as you can drive up the Zillertal. Past Mayrhofen, the valley narrows, splits into side glens, and eventually funnels into a single toll road that climbs to a dam wall holding back a long, pale turquoise lake. Behind it, glacier tongues hang off the ridgeline. In front of it, on a clear day, the water throws back a fairly convincing postcard image of the Zillertal Alps.
It is not a headline attraction the way the Nordkette or Swarovski Crystal Worlds are, and this page will not pretend otherwise. There is no visitor centre with interactive exhibits, no cable car, no crowd-pulling single feature. What there is: a dam wall you can walk across, a couple of mountain huts serving simple food, a handful of well-marked trails heading further into the mountains, and a view that is genuinely hard to get anywhere else in Tyrol without a multi-day hike. For the right kind of traveler - someone who likes quiet alpine dead ends more than ticket queues - that is more than enough for half a day.
This page covers the reservoir itself: what it is, what there is to do around it, and the honest caveats about season and access. The drive up from Mayrhofen, the toll road’s specifics, and the villages along the way are covered on the Mayrhofen page rather than repeated here, since that is genuinely where the access information belongs.
What the Schlegeis actually is
The Schlegeis is a hydroelectric reservoir, formed by damming the Zemmbach at the head of one of the Zillertal’s southern side valleys, close to the Italian border and the main ridge of the Zillertal Alps. The dam itself is a large, curved concrete wall - a genuinely impressive piece of engineering to stand on top of - but this page is not going to invent a precise height or construction date for it. Numbers like that circulate in a lot of casual travel writing without much rigor, and getting them wrong is worse than leaving a gap: check the operator’s own signage or website for the dam’s height, capacity and completion year if you want exact figures for a trip plan or a write-up.
What matters more for a visit is the setting. The reservoir sits at roughly 1,800 metres, ringed by peaks and glaciers of the Zillertal Alps, with the Furtschaglspitze and the ice of the Waxeggkees and Schlegeiskees glaciers visible from the dam on a clear day. The water itself has that milky turquoise colour typical of glacier-fed reservoirs, caused by fine rock flour suspended in the meltwater - it is one of the more photogenic bodies of water in Tyrol, and one of the least visited relative to how good it looks in a photo.
There is a small cluster of facilities at the car park by the dam: a couple of Gasthöfe and mountain-hut-style restaurants, public toilets, and the trailheads for several onward hikes. It is not a resort and it does not try to be one.
Getting there
The access road, the Zillertal Schlegeis Alpenstraße, is a private toll road that climbs from the upper Zillertal past Ginzling and Breitlahner to the reservoir car park. It is narrow in places, with switchbacks, and it is not a road to rush. The toll itself, and the detail of driving it from Mayrhofen, are covered on the Mayrhofen destination page rather than here - that is the natural jumping-off point for the drive, and repeating the same directions on two pages would only create room for the two to drift out of sync.
One point worth stating plainly here because it changes whether a trip is even possible: the Schlegeis Alpenstraße is generally understood to close over winter, reopening once snow clearance allows, typically sometime in late spring, and closing again in autumn. This page will not commit to specific calendar dates, because they shift from year to year with snowfall and maintenance schedules. The honest and useful thing to do before planning a visit is to check the road operator’s current opening dates rather than assume a summer-only pattern holds to the day. If you are visiting outside the core June-to-September window, confirm the road is open before you commit a day of your itinerary to it.
There is no public bus service that reaches all the way to the dam on a schedule most visitors would find practical for a day trip; a hire car, a taxi, or an organized tour from Mayrhofen or further down the valley is the realistic way in. If you are relying on public transport for the rest of your Tyrol trip, the Schlegeis is one of the few places in this guide where that plan runs into a real limit - factor that in rather than discovering it at the bus stop.
What to do once you’re there
Walk the dam wall
The simplest thing to do at the Schlegeis, and the one almost every visitor does, is to walk out onto the dam itself. It gives you the clearest view down the length of the reservoir toward the glaciers at its head, and back down the valley the way you came. It takes a matter of minutes and needs no special gear beyond ordinary shoes, which makes it the one part of a Schlegeis visit that works for genuinely anyone who makes it up the access road.
Hike toward the Furtschaglhaus
From the dam, a well-established trail continues along the reservoir’s edge and climbs gradually toward the Furtschaglhaus, a staffed alpine hut with views deep into the glaciated head of the valley. It is a proper mountain walk rather than a stroll - reckon on a few hours round trip, sturdy footwear, and the usual alpine caution about weather turning quickly at this altitude - but it does not require technical climbing skill, and the hut offers a place to eat partway through.
For anyone who enjoyed a shorter walk elsewhere in Tyrol and wants a longer one without via ferrata equipment, this is a reasonable next step. General guidance on reading conditions and timing for hikes like this is covered in the site’s broader seasonal hiking guide, which is worth a look before committing to a full-day route this far from the nearest village.
Shorter loop walks
Beyond the hut route, there are shorter loop options closer to the dam and car park for visitors who want a walk of an hour or so rather than a half-day hike. These stay lower, give good photo stops of the reservoir and surrounding peaks, and are a sensible choice if you are combining the Schlegeis with other stops on the same day and don’t want to burn your whole afternoon on one trail.
Boat trips, in season
Depending on the year and the operator, small boat trips sometimes run on the reservoir itself during the summer season, adding a different angle on the glaciers and cliffs than the dam-wall view alone. Availability and schedule vary enough from year to year that it is worth checking locally on the day rather than building a trip around a boat departure you have not confirmed.
What it is not
It is worth being clear about what the Schlegeis is not, because a couple of nearby names get confused with it. The Hintertux glacier, further up a different branch of the Zillertal, is Tyrol’s only glacier ski area that operates through the summer and much of the year - it has its own lift infrastructure, ski school and facilities, and it is covered in its own right elsewhere on this site rather than folded into this page. The Schlegeis is a reservoir with hiking trails and a dam, not a ski area, and there are no lifts up onto its surrounding glaciers.
It is also not a substitute for a full Zillertal or Zillertal-Achensee itinerary on its own. It works best as one stop within a longer day or multi-day loop through the valley - paired with Mayrhofen itself, or with villages further down such as Fügen, Kramsach or Schwaz - rather than as a destination that fills a whole trip by itself.
Combining Schlegeis with the rest of the Zillertal
Because the Schlegeis sits at the very top of a long valley, most visitors reach it as part of a day that also takes in something lower down. Mayrhofen itself is the natural base and the town where most of the valley’s adventure activities are organized from, including paragliding flights that launch from the surrounding slopes.
a tandem paragliding flight over Mayrhofen and the Zillertal is one of the more memorable ways to see the valley from above, and it is bookable as a standalone activity separate from a Schlegeis drive - most operators fly from sites well below the reservoir itself, so treat this as a Mayrhofen-day addition rather than something you do at the dam.
Lower down the valley, canyoning is a signature Zillertal activity in its own right; a canyoning trip through the Blue Lagoon gorge is a popular half-day option if you’re building an adventure-focused day around the drive up and back from Schlegeis. For something faster and shorter, an early-morning zipline flight above Fügen fits neatly into the start of a day before or after a Schlegeis excursion, since Fügen sits on the way in and out of the valley from the Inn valley side.
If the weather turns and the mountains cloud over - a real possibility at this altitude even in summer - Kramsach’s open-air farmstead museum, on the way back toward Innsbruck, offers an indoor-adjacent alternative for the rest of the day, including a family-friendly outdoor escape game set among its historic buildings.
A short, honest comparison
| Schlegeis reservoir | Hintertux glacier | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dam and reservoir, hiking | Year-round glacier ski area |
| Season | Summer only (road closes over winter) | Operates through most of the year |
| Main activity | Walking, dam views, alpine huts | Skiing, snowboarding, glacier lifts |
| Access | Toll road from Mayrhofen | Separate approach further up-valley |
| Facilities | A few Gasthöfe, no lift system | Full ski resort infrastructure |
Practical notes
Bring layers regardless of the season down in Innsbruck: at close to 1,800 metres, even a warm summer day in the Inn valley can feel noticeably cooler and windier at the dam. If you plan any of the longer trails toward the Furtschaglhaus, treat it as a mountain hike rather than a sightseeing stop - proper boots, water, and a check of the weather forecast before you set out. Parking at the reservoir is limited on peak summer days, so arriving earlier in the day rather than mid-afternoon avoids the worst of it.
And because so much of a Schlegeis visit depends on a toll road that is only open part of the year, the single most useful piece of planning advice this page can give is the least glamorous one: confirm the current season and road status before you build a day around it, rather than assuming last year’s dates still apply. For the wider picture on driving conditions, tolls and seasonal rules across Tyrol’s mountain roads, see the driving in Tyrol guide.
Frequently asked questions about the Schlegeis reservoir
Is the Schlegeis reservoir open all year?
No. The access road up from the Zillertal is understood to close for winter and reopen once conditions allow, generally putting a realistic visiting window somewhere between late spring and autumn. Exact dates vary by year, so check current opening dates before planning a trip around it.
How do I get to the Schlegeis from Innsbruck?
By car via the Zillertal, passing through Mayrhofen and then onto the private toll road that climbs to the reservoir. The drive from Innsbruck to Mayrhofen alone typically takes under an hour; the toll road adds further time. Full access details for the drive up from Mayrhofen are covered on the Mayrhofen page.
Is there a fee to reach the Schlegeis?
Yes, the access road is a toll road, so expect a per-vehicle charge in addition to any parking. Toll rates change, so confirm the current price locally or with the road operator rather than relying on an old figure.
Can you ski at the Schlegeis?
No. There is no ski lift infrastructure at the Schlegeis reservoir itself. Glacier skiing in this part of Tyrol is centred on Hintertux, further up a different branch of the Zillertal, which operates as a year-round glacier ski area with its own lift system.
How long should I plan for a visit?
A walk across the dam and a short loop trail can be done in an hour or two. Add a hike toward the Furtschaglhaus and you are looking at closer to half a day. Most visitors combine the Schlegeis with other stops in the lower Zillertal, making it part of a full day trip from Innsbruck or Mayrhofen rather than a destination on its own.
Is the Schlegeis suitable for families with young children?
The dam wall and the shorter, lower loop trails are manageable for most families, though the altitude, occasional wind, and unguarded drops near the water call for normal caution with small children. The longer hut hike is better suited to families with older children used to mountain walking.
What should I bring?
Layers, sturdy footwear if you plan to walk beyond the dam itself, water, and sun protection - the reflected glare off the reservoir and any snow patches can be stronger than it looks. Cash is worth carrying too, since some of the huts and the toll booth may not take cards.
Does the reservoir have official height or construction details I can quote?
This page deliberately avoids stating a precise dam height or construction year, since reliable figures were not confirmed for this guide. If you need exact technical specifications, check the operator’s own site or on-site information boards rather than relying on secondhand travel-blog numbers, which vary from source to source.
