Base for hiking/sightseeing in Carinthia

1) Heiligenblut is a nice little town, but I'm not sure how good of a base it would be if you want to do anything more than hike and enjoy the Alps. For example, if you wanted to spend a day in Salzburg, it's within driving distance, but the only way to get there is over the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße. True, you couldn't ask for a more scenic route, but quick and effecient it isn't. Except for this road, Heiligenblut is almost a dead-end. If you want to spend the entire time just in the mountains, then stay at one of the hotels along the Hochalpenstraße.

2) Carinthia is probably as good as Tyrol, Salzburgerland, and Vorarlberg for hiking and nature, a little better than Steiermark (the Alps start witteling down as you move further east), and much better than Nieder- and Oberösterreich, Vienna and Burgenland.

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated!

I should mention I'm spending a few days up at Salzburg, then stopping at Hallstatt on the way through to Carinthia. This part of the trip is very much just about getting out and seeing nature. That said, I'd also like to see forests/lakes/etc and on second thought maybe there isn't so much of that in the mountain areas?

One other thing I forgot to ask - if I do stay at a hotel along the high alpine road, I assume I would need a week-long road pass for my car?

I think the Worthersee is very nice. Its in a lower elevation, but its a big lake, and I believe there are nice trails around many parts of it.