Whether mild or spicy, soft or hard, young or mature – cheese makes life better. What could be more delicious than a tasty cheese sandwich or steaming Kässpätzle to fortify yourself on a hike? With its green mountains, dense forests and idyllic alpine meadows, the Bregenzerwald is the perfect region for the production of high-quality milk. Cheese production has a long tradition in the north of Vorarlberg. Besides wonderful architecture, excellent mountain cheese is the region’s second hobbyhorse.

Architecture and cheese making often go hand in hand in the Bregenzerwald. On the Cheese Trail (and off the trail), you come across wooden inns, alpine dairies or farm shops.

The Bregenzerwald Cheese Trail is an enjoyable three-day hike that leads to numerous panoramic alps and alpine dairies. The route, which is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long in total, runs from the gentle foothills near Sulzberg, to Schönenbach and Au. You often follow remote paths where you’re more likely to meet cows and goats than people.

As well as enjoying quality cheese varieties in every corner of Vorarlberg, you’ll explore exceptional landscapes r. The further south you hike, the more mountainous it gets. The scenery ranges from gentle hills and quiet valleys to mighty peaks that rise more than 2,000 metres (6,560 ft) into the sky.

All you need to walk the Cheese Trail is good stamina. The paths are easy to follow throughout and you spend the nights in Hittisau and Schetteregg’s accommodation. You can reach the starting point Sulzberg by bus – from Bregenz train station, you can change at Fahl or Doren to Sulzberg (vmobil.at/). It’s easier to get there from Oberstaufen train station (Bavaria) with the direct bus line 18 (rba-bus.de/). There’s also a bus stop of the Vogtländischer Verkehrsverbund (VVV) in Au at the end of the hike.

Enjoy the Cheese Trail through the Bregenzerwald!