Silvretta loop via the Arlberg (substitute for the closed high alpine road)

The Silvretta High Alpine Road has been closed on the Vorarlberg side between Partenen and the Vermunt reservoir since the rockfalls and mudslides of summer 2024; the operator illwerke vkw is planning protective dams and road realignments, construction will run from 2027 to 2029, and reopening is scheduled for summer 2030. The Bielerhöhe nevertheless remains reachable – on foot from Partenen via the Vermunt cable car and tunnel bus (20 June–4 Oct 2026) or by car from Tyrol: since 4 June 2026 the road from Galtür to the Vermunt reservoir has been open, and no toll is charged there while the Vorarlberg side is closed. That makes for this grand loop: from St. Gallenkirch to Bludenz, through the Klostertal over the Arlberg pass (1,793 m; alternatively the toll tunnel) to St. Anton, down to Landeck and through the Paznaun via Ischgl to Galtür (1,584 m), and finally up the two Tyrolean hairpins to the Bielerhöhe (2,032 m).

At the top lies the Silvretta reservoir, dammed between 1938 and 1951, with Piz Buin and its glaciers behind; the lake circuit measures 6.3 km, though currently only the western shore is open, with refreshments at the Berggasthof Piz Buin (mid-June to end of September 2026) or the Silvretta-Haus (4 June–11 Oct 2026). About 220 km and a full day; stops in St. Anton and at the Alpinarium in Galtür, which commemorates the 1999 avalanche disaster, are worthwhile. You return the same way over the Arlberg – the loop cannot be closed by car via Partenen.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026 · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)