Mountain views from the Jochberg
The Jochberg is a popular mountain for day hikers and is accessible year round – if you don’t mind hiking in snow. Located near Urfeld and only 80.5km south of Munich, it’s popular with both locals and Münchners. You are unlikely to have the summit to yourself, but the views more than compensate for the lack of solitude. Look over one side of the mountain and you have a view of the Kochelsee (Kochel Lake).
View of Kochelsee from the Jochberg
On a clear day you can see the Olympiaturm (Olympic Tower) in Munich to the north, but despite peering into what I thought was a northern direction for some time, no Olympiaturm came into sight. When you get tired of looking at the Kochelsee, or the evading Olympic Tower, simply turn around and look over the other side for a view of the Walchensee, a popular lake for divers searching for rumored treasure and windsurfers.
View of the Walchensee from the Jochberg
While the view of the Walchensee are good from the Jochberg, they’re even better from the nearby peaks of Herzogstand and Heimgarten, favored by Bavarian Royals. We were fortunate enough to have a sunny 15 C day in November so I was soaking in the view for all it was worth. I spent over an hour on the summit thinking about my upcoming vacation plans and wondering if the views from apartments in Barcelona are as good as they are on the Jochberg while conversing in both English and attempted German with my new hiking friends.
Mountain views from the Jochberg
The Jochberg is a nice easy summit that can be completed in ~ 4 hours round trip, and with an elevation gain of 703 m, it gives you a nice workout without feeling like you want to keel over and die. It is reachable via public transport, with the bus stop just steps away from the trail head on Kesselberg Pass Road at the northern end of the Walchensee. I would definitely hike the Jochberg again and recommend it as a great shoulder season hike that’s not too far from Munich and offers great views for relatively minimal effort.
