Not every holiday day has to be the same for both of you. There's that one morning when one of you wakes up and something inside wants to go up - to a summit, over a ridge, to where the view opens wide. And there's the other, who on the same morning knows: my day is at the lake today. Both are right. And the beauty of Feld am See is that both are possible in the same place, without one having to persuade the other.
The Nock Mountains are a hiking area with a character of their own. No sheer rock faces, no via ferratas that turn your stomach, but soft, rounded mountains with long alpine ridges and wide views. That makes them more accessible than the high Alps - you don't have to be a mountaineer to get up here. In this article we show the range: from the flat loop for the relaxed part to the summit tour for the day when one of you wants to go high. And we describe the solution for couples, because it works so well here. The exact routes with walking times and elevation are bundled in a separate guide; in the text we stick to the big picture.
Lake loop and flat paths for the relaxed part
Before heading up, it's worth looking down - at the paths by the lake and in the valley that require no effort at all. The loop around Lake Brennsee is a lovely stretch on foot too: flat, along the water, easy to walk at a leisurely pace. You need no hiking boots and no plan, just a desire to move and an open eye for the lake, which looks different at every turn.
If you want to widen the radius a little, you'll find gentle paths in the valley and towards the neighbouring lakes that have hardly any climbing and still give you the feeling of being out and about. The area between Lake Brennsee and Lake Afritz is made for it: quiet, green, without any notable gradient. These are the paths for the day after a big tour, when the legs want a break but the head doesn't want to sit in the room. Or for the afternoon, when you were already active in the morning and want to let the day wind down slowly.
These flat paths are no consolation prize. For many they're the real reason to stay by the lake: you can set off at any time without planning anything and be back in minutes. That's the kind of relaxed exercise that makes a holiday restful - and it's just as much a part of being active as the summit.
Three summit and half-day tours in the Nock Mountains
For the day when you want to go higher, the Nock Mountains hold several options. Three of them stand for what the region can do - they differ above all in length and in what awaits at the top.
The first is the half-day tour with a manageable climb, roughly a few hundred metres of elevation. You set off in the morning, work your way through forest and across alpine meadows to a first height, have the wide view across the lake and the surrounding mountains from there - and are back down by lunchtime. That's the tour for everyone who wants the summit feeling without planning the whole day for it. The afternoon leaves time for the lake, for the terrace, for nothing at all.
The second is the proper summit tour, a day trip with considerably more climbing and a longer walking time. Here you go up one of the characteristic Nock summits, with the long, steady ascent that defines these mountains and the panoramic view at the top that repays the effort. This tour needs preparation: sturdy shoes, enough to drink, an early start and an eye on the weather. Anyone who does it has, in the evening, that special tired pride that only comes after a big mountain.
The third is the alpine-pasture hike, where the goal is less the summit than the way. It leads across several alpine pastures, with the chance to stop for refreshment along the way, and its length adapts easily - you can turn back earlier or carry on, depending on mood and form on the day. That's the more sociable, more leisurely variant of a mountain day, ideal if you want to enjoy the altitude without torturing yourself.
What all three have in common: in the Nock Mountains they're laid out so that you don't have to climb exposed rock. The terrain is demanding enough to achieve something and mild enough to enjoy it. Which of the three suits you is decided less by ability than by how much of the day you'd like to spend on the mountain.
Start with the summer cable car, walk back
There's a way to get up high without walking the whole ascent yourself - and it's particularly worthwhile for hiking. There's a summer cable car in the region that comfortably takes you up to altitude so you start at the top, where a normal tour would only arrive after hours. From the mountain station, paths lead across the heights, and at the end you walk back down to the valley or take the cable car again.
That noticeably changes the hiking day. If you start with the cable car, you save the climbing of the ascent and have the energy for the beautiful part up top: the alpine ridges, the views, walking at altitude without being exhausted beforehand. For anyone whose knees complain going uphill - or who simply wants more of the top and less of the forest - that's the elegant solution. You can arrange the day so that the strenuous part is left to the cable car and the beautiful part to you.
Here too we deliberately give no operating times or fares - they change, and you'll find them out more reliably on the day anyway. What matters is: the cable car exists, it takes you up high, and it turns a hard tour into a pleasurable day. We'll gladly tell you on site how best to combine it.
When one hikes and one stays at the lake: the solution for couples
Now to the real point that makes Feld am See so well suited to couples. Rarely do both want the same thing at the same time. On a given day one is drawn to the mountain, the other knows that their day is at the water. On many holidays this turns into a small conflict - one gives in, one is half-hearted about it. Here nobody has to.
While one sets off early, takes the cable car or walks the ascent and only comes back in the afternoon, the other stays at Lake Brennsee. Swimming, a book, a flat round along the shore, perhaps a stand-up paddleboard, a long coffee on the terrace with a view of the water. No joint programme item both have to attend, and nobody giving something up for the other. Each has their day as they need it - and the beauty is the evening when you come together again and tell each other about it: one about the summit, the other about the silence at the lake. Both have something to report, both are content.
For that to work, the lake below has to be just as much a destination as the mountain above. That's exactly what Lake Brennsee offers: whoever stays doesn't sit around waiting but has their own programme right outside the door. And because mountain and lake are so close together, the distances are short - you spend the day apart without really being far from each other. Incidentally, the quiet part can also be done as a pair with a dog: the flat paths by the water are good for a relaxed round with your four-legged friend while the other is up high.
Refreshment stops and alpine huts along the way
Hiking in the Nock Mountains includes stopping for refreshment. Up on the heights and along the paths lie alpine huts where you rest, eat a snack, drink something and sit until you feel like walking on. That's often the moment you remember most strongly: the break at the top, with a view, after the climb, when effort turns into contentment.
We deliberately spare ourselves specific names with opening hours here - alpine huts have their own seasons and rest days, and an outdated note disappoints more up on the mountain than it helps. But you can remember two things: along the usual tours there are places to stop, so you don't have to carry everything yourself. And it's worth asking briefly before a longer tour what's open that day. That's exactly what we're here for - a tip at the breakfast table about which hut on your route is currently open is one of the small things a small house does better than a big one.
And for the days on which you'd rather walk straight through, the opposite applies: pack something and take a break wherever you like. The best resting place is sometimes not a hut but a rock in the sun with a view across the Nock Mountains.
Best time, equipment, weather
A few sober notes to finish, because they decide a good hiking day. The hiking season in the Nock Mountains runs roughly from late spring into autumn - the high tours are most reliable from early summer to early autumn, when the paths are snow-free and the huts are open. Autumn has its own appeal: clear air, long views, coloured slopes. The flat paths by the lake can be walked almost all year round anyway.
For equipment, the usual applies for medium mountains: sturdy shoes with grip for the summit tours, one more layer in the rucksack because it's cooler and windier up top than below, enough to drink, sun and rain protection. You don't need high-alpine equipment, but you should take the mountains seriously - the weather changes faster at altitude than in the valley.
Which brings us to the weather: plan the big tours for the stable days and save the flat paths and the lake for the uncertain ones. That's the real luxury when mountain and water lie so close together - you arrange the day by the sky, not the other way round. If the morning looks good, you go up. If the clouds hang low, you stay down by the lake, and the day is still a fine one. Which tour suits a given day is something we'll gladly discuss with you when you're here.
How hiking, cycling, water sports and winter fit together from the house - you'll find it gathered on our overview page Active holidays on Lake Brennsee. And if, on the day one of you wants to go up the mountain, the other would rather get on the bike, the article The most beautiful bike tours from Feld am See will help - the region supports both, often on the same morning.
The Strandhotel Burgstaller sits right on Lake Brennsee, with its own kitchen and the lakeside terrace as the shared meeting point in the evening, however different the two of you spent your day. With around two dozen rooms and adult guests only, it stays quiet enough for the summit-seeker and the lake-lover to both find peace in the evening.
If you'd like to know whether your preferred dates are free, the best thing is to check availability directly - or write and tell us what you have in mind. We'll tell you which tours from here suit you, and which of you gets the mountain and which the lake.