Kids playing by the Glacier Mill Field
© © Schedl

Visible from afar, under free-standing linden trees, a wooden footbridge leads over a strange-looking rock formation - the Glacier Mill Field in Reit im Winkl. The rocks at the Wimmerkreuz are also known as the Glacier Garden.

Many know this place with the picnic table, the wayside cross, the grazing cows in summer, the cross-country skiers in winter, the wide view to the west to the Unterberghorn and the Kaiser mountain. But who knows the background to these gray stones?

The glacial mills at Wimmerkreuz were formed during the last ice age, the Würm ice age, about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

The area of today's Reit im Winkl was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice, the Achen glacier. The movement of the glaciers ground underlying rocks smooth and rounded them. "Grindstones" (rubble and gravel) and meltwater from the glaciers formed spiral-shaped cavities in the ice, the glacier mills. The grindstones also contributed to the continuation of the glacial mills in the rock (also called "barrows") lying beneath the ice.

The smoothly polished rocks and the glacier mills in the rock are still visible today and are known as the Glacier Mill Field in Reit im Winkl.

Traces of the Würm Ice Age can be found throughout the Alps. Glaciers gave the typical landscape of Upper Bavaria its present form with mountains, valleys and the flat Alpine foreland with numerous lakes.

Our tip: sit for a while on one of the benches, close your eyes, and travel back in your mind to the Ice Age!

 

From the Tourist Information you can reach the Glacier Mill Field (on foot or by bicyle) in a few minutes (car park Frühlingsstraße).

From the tour directory

These tours pass the Glacier Mill Field

Little Valley Loop

easy (hiking tour)
A leisurely stroll for the whole family, can also be done with a stroller (balance bike).
  • 4.7 km
  • 59 Hm
  • 01:20 h
Learn more

Premium trail "Kaiserblick" - valley | 6.4 km

easy (Winter hiking) Closed / not groomed
A hike with a beautiful view of the Tyrolean Kaiser Mountains, which gave the Premium Trail its name.
  • 6.4 km
  • 52 Hm
  • 02:00 h
Learn more

Blindau loop

easy (hiking tour)
A leisurely stroll for the whole family through Reit im Winkl and its districts.
  • 6.5 km
  • 99 Hm
  • 02:00 h
Learn more

Walk in the footsteps of Maria Hellwig

easy (hiking tour)
Varied walk for young and old. Possible with a pram or a balance bike.
  • 2.9 km
  • 29 Hm
  • 01:00 h
Learn more

Entfelden Loop

easy (hiking tour)
A leisurely tour for the whole family with tranquil places.
  • 4.5 km
  • 96 Hm
  • 01:30 h
Learn more

No 2 cross country trail "Sonnen" classic + skating | 3.4 km

easy (Cross-country skiing) not groomed
Classic/Skating • An easy cross-country trail with gentle inclines and few descents.
  • 3.8 km
  • 17 Hm
  • 00:45 h
Learn more
Wimmerkreuz

Natural sights

Alphorn players
©© Markus Schmuck

Barefoot park

Between via ferrata, water lily pond and Kriegerkapelle chapel

Learn more
Winklmoos-Alm von oben
©© erlebe.bayern - Dietmar Denger

Winklmoos-Alm

Maybe the most famous alpine pasture in Germany

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Dark Sky Park Winklmoos-Alm - Church and Milky Way
©© Sebastian Voltmer

Dark Sky Park Winklmoos-Alm

1st Dark Sky Park in the Alps - in Reit im Winkl / Winklmoos-Alm

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St. Anna's Chapel on the Hemmersuppenalm
©© Stockklauser

Hemmersuppen-Alm

Unspoilt nature, between Hindenburghütte and Fellhorn

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View to Lake Weitsee from the Dürrfeldkreuz
©© Kern

Three Lakes Area

Meet lakes Weitsee, Mittersee and Lödensee, the most beautiful lakes in the Chiemgau region

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On the Winklmoos-Alm
©© Stockklauser

Alpine pastures

The most beautiful alpine pastures and how to get there

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Steinplatte summit cross
©© Bergbahn Steinplatte Winklmoos-Alm

Summits and summit crosses

The most beautiful mountains all around Reit im Winkl

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Lake Taubensee
©© Stefanie Raab

Lake Taubensee

Hike to a lonely mountain lake close to Reit im Winkl

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Three countries point at Scheibelberg mountain
©© Florian Weindl

Three-countries-point at Scheibelberg

Where Bavaria meets Tyrol and Salzburg

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Hiking trail through the Klausenbach gorge
©© Markus Schmuck

Klausenbach-Gorge

Hiking, abseiling, in awe with a wild river and mountain area

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Hausbach waterfall
©© Stefanie Dehler

Hausbach Waterfall

Hiking trail, via ferrata, photo spot

Learn more
Entrance to Reit im Winkl
© © Kern

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