How to Visit Partnach Gorge (Partnachklamm) in the Winter at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Updated May 11, 2025 || Original Post February 15, 2019

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On our first overnight weekend getaway from our home village, we were itching to travel and find the gems Germany is known for.  Since arriving in Germany a few months earlier, we wanted a place that offered skiing and snow in February.  New to Europe, we wanted to keep it safe by staying in Germany before we venture out of the country. 

We chose Garmisch-Paternkirchen in the Bavaria region of Germany as our first long weekend getaway; and our first stop, Partnach Gorge. There was so much hype and recommendations from many others about Partnach Gorge that we had to check it out!  I had to Pinterest and Google the location.  My jaw dropped as soon as I saw photos online, and I knew immediately this had to be on our list of things to do while in Garmisch.

About Partnach Gorge

Situated one hour south of Munich is the idyllic German ski resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where you’ll find a natural monument (yes, it became this in 1912) of the STUNNING (emphasized) Partnach Gorge, aka Partnachklamm in Germany.

The Partnach River that runs through the gorge carved a 262 ft deep crevasse into pure rock. This resulted in one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the Bavarian region of Germany. The incredible gorge is about 2,305 feet/800 meters in length, with its walls rising to 263 feet/ 80 meters.

Its impressive beauty with the Partnach waters running alongside the gorge, and water falling from the rocks, creating cascading waterfalls, makes it one of the most top-visited locations in the Alpine region of Germany.

At one point, many years ago, it’s been said that people who have tried to visit the gorge have risked their lives. But, not to worry, there are safe pathways for visitors to walk along to enjoy the gorge.

How to Get There

There are several ways to get to this gorge, either by walking, driving (which we did), or take the local bus from central Garmisch or Partenkirchen (BUS line #1 or #2) to the Olympic Ski Stadium (Olympia Skistadion) in Garmisch-Partenkirschen.

If driving to the gorge, there’s parking next to the Olympic SkiStadion. You will have to pay to park there via a parking meter nearby. At the time of our visit (in 2019), we paid around €2,50 for parking, parking should be no more than €5. Update 2025: price on this site indicates parking is about €5/day per car.

You can find more information for how to get there, at this SITE.

Good to Know

Restrooms

There is a WC (Water Closet aka Restrooms) located at the parking lot by the Olympic Ski Stadium. There is a small fee (€1) to use the bathroom, but for reference, there are bathrooms there.

Tip: I suggest now is a good time to use this bathroom because there will not be any rest areas after this, to my knowledge.

Looking for fun things to do near Garmisch? Find some ideas here:

Olympic Ski Stadion

Upon arrival to the parking area, be sure to check out the Olympic Ski Stadium, where the Winter Olympics in 1936 was held. The Ski Stadium is very impressive to look at, especially with all the snow (there was a good 4 inches of snow on the ground at the time of our visit). There was no fee to enter the Ski Stadium (at the time of our visit in February 2019). There is an informational booth right before you enter the stadium, where I grabbed a few free brochures of Garmisch.

Interesting Fact: There’s some history to this ski stadium. This is where Hitler watched the Olympics from the covered balcony of the Olympiahaus.

How to get to the Gorge from the Olympic Ski Stadium

To get to the gorge entrance, you must walk or take a nice horse-drawn carriage ride up that starts from the Olympic Ski Stadium to the entrance (for a fee). Therefore, driving up to the gorge isn’t really an option. It is an easy 25-minute walk, or 2 km, to the gorge entrance. You’ll be able to signs along the way to direct where you need to go.

We opted to walk the trail to the gorge entrance. Not only was it a fairly easy walk, it was beautiful and scenic, the views were breathtaking. Additionally, add in the horse-drawn carriages riding past us, it was almost like being in an idyllic dreamland.

Tip: If visiting the gorge during winter time with snow, watch your step as you’re walking the trail. There were a few slippery, black ice on some parts of the trail, muddy areas along the way, and a few horse droppings here and there.

At the end of the trail, you’ll come upon the ticket entrance for the gorge where you’ll pay for your ticket. I’ll post the ticket prices further down this blog post.

Hiking the Gorge

The Partnach Gorge is the starting location for several hiking trails. I’ll post more on that below. For now, let’s take the well known route through the gorge. From the ticket office, we headed to the start of the gorge, past the steel gate leading to the gorge’s caves.

Immediately, as we entered, the temperature became cool and misty. As we went in further, ahh ahh ahh (angelic voices), we were met with views of the majestic icicles hanging from the rocks of the caverns. It’s hard to describe, and pictures do not do it justice, but it was one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen! I have never seen anything like it, a natural wonder for sure!

Along the trail, the visibility is extremely dark in certain spots, we used our phone flashlights to help guide us through the dark. Additionally, be prepared for it to be even more cold and wet inside the gorge with the icicles, the walls along the gorge were very icy and wet. I also recommend wearing good grip shoes as the trail can be slippery from the ice and wet.

It will take a good amount of time hiking through the gorge.  We took our time taking photos along the way, though we let people behind us pass us by.  There are several photo-op locations; though the lighting isn’t great, I didn’t care; I took as many photos as possible!  That’s what Lightroom is for, right? 

There are railings to ensure you don’t fall into the gorge and perfect to hang on to during your hike.  For smaller kids, be sure to keep a close eye on them as the gap on the railings is quite big; a hiking or baby carrier would be ideal (be careful with low ceiling thresholds from the rocks, so you’ll have to duck your head).  Also, be mindful, as there are two way traffics coming through from people walking back to the entranceway.

Towards the end of the gorge, the hike does get slightly steep and slippery with the ice in the cave tunnel, but the railings are there for assistance. 

Once you get to the end of the caves, you are rewarded with a stunning view of the river going into the gorge.  Here is the view with the snow in the background.

During my research of this hike, I read there’s a rock formation sculpture viewing area after getting through the gorge, but I think it was underneath all the snow.  Here, my little one is sitting in a rock chair.

From here, there is an option to hike further up to a hotel ForstHaus Graseck a 20-minute hike above the gorge.  We opted to skip this as there was snow everywhere, and we had tennis shoes on that were not quite slip-resistant with the snow.  The plan was to hike to the hotel, eat there, then go back down a funicular for around 3 Euros (2019 price).  Instead, we opted to go back through the Gorge, the way we came in, instead of risk slipping up the hike to the hotel.

All in all, it took us a little over an hour to complete the gorge hike from the entrance and back.  We took more photos on the way back; I wanted to make sure I had enough, lol.  We hiked back to the car, but not before I bought my postcard—a small kiosk on the way back.  

Other Hiking Trails

As promised, there are several options to take when hiking the Partnach Gorge as the gorge is the starting point for many hiking routes.

• The main gorge route we took
• Other hikes include the Ferchenbachtal Valley, the Reintal Valley up to Mount Zugspitze (the highest peak in Germany), and Mounts Eckbauer, Hausberg, and the hiking areas Kreuzeck.
  • You can find more information for those hikes on this site.

Practical Information

Opening Hours

June- September: 0800 – 2000 (8pm)

October-May: 0800- 1800 (6pm)

Last admission: 30 minutes before the gorge closes; short-term closures are sometimes unavoidable for safety reasons! For safety reasons, the gorge is closed outside opening hours! More info, here.

Entrance Fees

Adults: €10

Guests with Valid Guests Cards: €9,50 (Vacationer with the Alpenwelt Karwendel, Zugspitzdorf Grainau, Eschenlohe, Oberau, Farchant oder der Tiroler Zugspitz Arena with a valid guest card)

Locals: €8,50 (Locals from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Farchant, Oberau and Eschenlohe)- proof must be provided

Children 6-17 yo: €5

People with Disabilites: €5 (with ID)

Dogs with leash: €5

Groups of 15 or more: Groups of 15 people (Minimum size applies to either adults or children) or more receive the group price of EUR 9 for adults and EUR 4 for children. The bus driver and the tour guide can visit the gorge free of charge. It is recommended that groups visit the gorge before 10.30 am or after 3.30 pm.

You can also purchase your tickets online, but be sure to have your QR code ready as there is not any cell phone signal at the gorge (tip, take photos of your email and qr code, or simply print out a copy before your visit).

More info, here.

Address

Input Partnachklamm Infostand onto your GPS or Google Maps and it should take you to the stand near the Ski Stadion on the way to the Gorge. For cars, I’d recommend inputting the Tourist Information at the Olympic Skistadion on your GPS, it should take you close to the open air parking lot where we parked. Again, you can find more information for location, here.

Important Things to Know for your Visit

• Suitable for families
• Strollers are not allowed (I recommend a baby hiking pack or carrier for small toddlers and babies)- be careful of low rocks when hiking, so no one hits their heads.
• Wheelchairs are not suitable due to the narrowness of the trail
• Dogs must be on leash
• Guests with the Königscard are allowed to enter the Partnach Gorge for free once a day.

Tips

• Get there early or right before they close to beat the crowd! We arrived alittle after 12p, due to the long drive we had to get there. However, we came during the winter season, so the crowd wasn’t too bad. I’m sure the summertime crowds are even crazier!
• Bring a flashlight (or use your phone’s flashlight). It’s hard to see inside the caves in the dark. You could also bring a headlamp.
• Wear slip resistant shoes, it can get very slippery.
• Wear raincoats or water-resistant jackets, it tends to get wet inside the caves from the icicles dripping water.
  • I do not recommend bringing an umbrella, it could easily get in the way.
• Wear a jacket or light weight jacket in the summer, it’s cool inside the gorge; even colder in the wintertime.
• Bring a baby carrier or hiking carrier for the little ones, but watch for low ceiling thresholds. For small toddlers, keep them close by as there are railings to hold onto during the hike, but the gaps in between the rails are pretty wide.
• Take plenty of photos! It’s so beautiful inside the gorge! We saw a huge glacier of ice from atop fall into the gorge! Luckily no one was hurt.
• Finally, it’s recommended on their website for groups of 15 or more to visit before 10:30 am or after 3:30 pm.

Final Thoughts

You don’t want to miss this!  This Gorge is absolutely stunning; a jaw-dropping location.  It’s such an easy, beautiful hike; it’s a hike like no other I’ve ever done before! 

We have only ever done it in the winter, so I  am interested in returning for a summer/fall hike to see the gorge in its glory without the ice!  It’s that beautiful, that I don’t mind doing a return trip!  Plus, according to this SITE, there’s also a nighttime Torchlight tour you can take, which I am putting on my list!  I hope this helps you plan your trip to Partnach Gorge.  Until next time!  Tschüss!