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Motorcycle Adventure Touring in GrossglocknerAT
Austria's highest peak and the High Alpine Road beneath it, 36 hairpins to 2,504 meters and the motorcycling pilgrimage of the Eastern Alps.
Why here
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is the ride every Alpine motorcyclist owes themselves: 48 kilometers of engineered perfection climbing through 36 numbered hairpins to the Edelweissspitze at 2,571 meters, with Austria's highest peak and the Pasterze glacier filling the horizon. Built in the 1930s as a scenic road first and a route second, it rewards riding rather than transit, and it anchors a wider Eastern Alps network, the Nockalm road, Felbertauern and the Dolomites within a day's loop, that guided operators thread into week-long tours. Edelweiss Bike Travel, the world's benchmark motorcycle tour operator, runs its Alps programs from its Tirol base with the Glockner as a signature stage, handling bikes, routes and hotels for riders flying in.
Best months
The road opens roughly May to early November and closes overnight even in season; June to September is the reliable window, with early summer offering snow walls beside the tarmac. Weather changes fast above 2,000 meters and fog can erase the views, so build a spare day around the crossing. The road tolls per motorcycle and fills with traffic on fine August weekends; early morning starts get the hairpins clear. Guided tour season mirrors the road's opening.
Getting there & around
Salzburg airport is about 90 minutes from the northern tollgate at Fusch; Munich around two and a half hours. Riders flying in can rent through tour operators, with Edelweiss running rentals and guided departures from its base in Tirol. Base in Zell am See or Heiligenblut on the southern side. The toll ticket covers same-day re-crossings, and the Edelweissspitze detour is the mandatory summit of the ride. Pack full waterproofs regardless of forecast.
Skill levels: intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (1)
Edelweiss Bike Travel
OutfitterThe world's best-known motorcycle tour operator, based in Mieming in Tirol and running guided Alps tours since 1980, with the Grossglockner High Alpine Road as a signature stage of its Grand Alps and Ultimate Alps itineraries. Tours include bike rental, tour guides, luggage transport and hotels, from long weekends to two-week crossings, for riders arriving by air with just a helmet bag.