The summit can be reached via the eponymous Wankbahn, a cable car system that runs during the summer months, or by a network of footpaths that criss-cross the area.

A mountain hut on the summit, the Wank-Haus, provides food and accommodation, and a nearby scientific observatory plays a role in monitoring atmospheric and climatic conditions.

[1] The Wank was originally covered by a forest consisting of a mix of spruce, fir and beech trees.

A process of man-made deforestation that began in the Roman period, when the trees were cut down and the mountain's slopes were grazed by horses, sheep, goats and cattle, resulted in much of the forest being destroyed by the 15th century.

[1] The Wank is linked to Garmisch-Partenkirchen by a cable car system called the Wankbahn, which usually operates between May and September during daylight hours.

[5] The grassy summit of the Wank is topped by a cross, set up in July 1904 by the Werdenfelser Heimat Partenkirchen society.

Nearby is an observatory and the Wank-Haus, also known as the Alois Huber Haus, a mountain hut that provides food and accommodation to visitors.

Since 1972 it has measured a variety of atmospheric and climatic phenomena, including the levels of ozone, nitric oxide, sulphur dioxide and various hydrocarbons in the atmosphere as well as meteorological data such as the levels of temperature, dew point, relative humidity, pressure, wind, global and direct irradiance.

[9] The mountain is a popular destination for enthusiasts of paragliding who take off from the summit plateau to fly south into the Garmisch-Partenkirchen valley or to peaks in the Wettersteingebirge.