summer in Österreich

A snowHead

Family of 4 kids aged 6 and 8. I'm in to MTB in a big way, so a bike park essential. For the family we'd want stuff to do also.
Has anyone else holiday'd in the summer in österreich?

A snowHead

Saalbach. Pretty extensive bike park and loads of other stuff to do as well. Totally recommend the high-wire park if the kids are big enough to do it.

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I would have made a huge shout for Wagrain, but since the new Flying Mozart lift was built they are rebuilding the bike park and not scheduled to be open until the end of Summer '22. Maybe next year, but apart from the Bike Park Snow Space has pretty much everything you're looking for. Our apartments are 200m from the Wagrain Wasserwelt which is free with visitors cards and perfect for your kids.
https://www.wasserwelt.at/de
https://www.snow-space.com/de/sommer/abenteuerberg/bikepark-wagrain (for '23)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Also if you were going to combine some time in Saalbach with another area for mountain biking in Austria, which would it be?

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After all it is free

Saalbach/ Hinterglemm. The high wire park with tramps and airbag tower at the end of the valley is great.

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Good pirate pool in Saalbach too.

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@Kramer, I wouldn't to be honest
I'd get a couple of hour to ride my bike then family activities.

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Leogang would be my choice if I were going with pals but my marriage would suffer if I went missing all day on my DH rig while she entertained the kids.

You know it makes sense.

We often stay in either Prutz or Tossens which are in the valley below Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis. There is a huge mountain biking scene there and so many family activities/parks in the mountains. So your tourist tax gives you free use of the buses, outside swimming pool (with slide) and entry to the swimming lake also with slide. Also possible to do a day trip up to the glacier not to ski but amazing scenery and kids trail to keep them amused on the drive up.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

The whole of SkiWelt is great in summer. Loads of things for kids to do.

A snowHead

Zell for the lake, a multitude of other activities and only a stone’s throw away from the MTB’ing at Leogang.

A snowHead

Have a good read into Saalbach before committing.

We went about 7 years ago I think as the first alpine family mtb holiday. We had a great time fir a week but objectively speaking the MTB was pretty poo-poo.
I was sooooo looking forward to the 500km of red, blue, black marked XC biking routes. We searched for a bit and eventually i got into an argument with some bloke who insisted the fireroad that the constant stream of ski infrastructure cement lorries were driving up and down was indeed the red XC route. I was gobsmacked. Apparently the only difference between the blue, red and black was the length.

There are ( were) 7 downhill runs of varying difficulty, which we did some of again and again and again, but nothing else.

Actually there was one section of nice techie XC on the route over to Leogang, which we loved ...Wurzelweg. but it really only served to emphasise how limited the rest was.

Like I say, it was our first alpine Mtb, we had a great time, and it was dirt cheap. But we've since spent weeks in Finale, Tignes, Val De iser, Meribel, La Plagne etc and all of those places made us realise how bad Saalbach actually was.

( and I say this as a Teutophile who does almost all our skiing in Austria)

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@TheGeneralist, Finale now you're talking my lingo. I much prefer that type of riding to sanitised alpine resorts but I take what I can being a dad

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Salzkammergut - take your pick!

There are awesome family oriented Summer activities. Some excellent mountain biking options, lakes to swim in - many with well managed, tidy beaches, loads of cultural events, salt mine tours, swimming pools including activity parks, smart towns, mountain villages, rodelbahns, lift accessed mountain hiking, and some jaw-dropping scenery etc etc etc.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Salzkammergut is stunning, The Austrian Lake District. Fabulous xc tours, but for lift served downhill trails it would be 90 min drive to Schladming.

The circular route from Cacciatore's Place, taking the Ewige Wand, Lower and the Blaa Alm was gobsmackingly wonderful.

Beautiful lakes, waters ports, beaches....fabulous.

Plus very caring, knowledgeable English speaking hosts.

OK, I am biased.

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@Mother hucker, Saalbach has invested heavily into MTB and the offering is very different to seven years ago, they have put in a number of new trailers up graded existing ones, there's been quite a bit of investment, have a good look at the offering .

For families there is a good area at the end of the valley you can walk among the tree tops, there are a number of zip wires, there is a swimming pool in Saalbach or you can go down to the lake at Zell with waterskiing paddle boarding etc.

You can do a family ride to Maria Alm which is is on mainly on very quite backroads or on dedicated paths, you can cycle all the way down the valley without going on a road.

For Saalbach pick accommodation that gives you the Joker card.

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^^ As above, I think Saalbach’s MTB offering has improved substantially since 7 years ago!

I’ll throw Ötztal into the pot too though. Epic lift-access MTB at Sölden, enduro trails in other areas of the valley, all sorts if water/climbing/etc-sports + pools/slides at Area47, great hiking with glacier views from Obergurgl in particular (I presume Sölden too), probably Europe’s best whitewater rafting on the Ötz, the Aquadome spa, 007 and motorcycle museums, the Ötzi (stone age ‘ice man’ man found on the glacier) Village…

Lots going on. Not sure where you’d be best to base from though… Probably somewhere in Ötz for a bit more sun and village charm. Personally Sölden town itself isn’t my thing.

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@TheGeneralist, they'd both do the milka line. That a family activity we could all partake.

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a bit more on Saalbach from the tourist board website and also why you should go with accommodation with a joker card, unless it at bargain price. This is the link to the trail map https://www.saalbach.com/en/summer/mountain-biking/interactive-trail-map

Over 80 km of the finest lines & trails and up to 9 ultra-modern lifts* on 7 mountains ensure unlimited biking pleasure in the Home of Lässig. Six modern gondolas in Saalbach Hinterglemm, two in Leogang, one in Fieberbrunn bring bikers swiftly and comfortably to the most beautiful mountain peaks and coolest trails. Touring-, Gravel-Bikers and E-bikers will find 400 km mountainbike & gravel bike routes of varying difficulty and on perfect terrain. However, Saalbach Hinterglemm is not only Austria’s largest bike region but also scores points for its legendary trails such as the Hacklberg-Trail and the World Championship trail in the Epic Bike Park Leogang! There are cool events such as the Glemmride Bike Festival 2022 and the World Games of Mountainbiking in Saalbach Hinterglemm making the Home of Lässig a honey pot to all fans of biking.

TIP: JOKER CARD holders can transport their bikes twice a day free of charge on a gondola and take advantage of a 30% discount on bike tickets for unlimited use of all operating gondolas, including bike transport in Saalbach Hinterglemm, in the Epic Bikepark Leogang and in Fieberbrunn.

NB: we don't rent out our apartment in summer Toofy Grin

@radar, we'd want a hotel so yore apartment is safe from my 2 wrecking balls

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

What areas would people recommend for just pleasant mountain walking? Ideally not constantly interrupted by bikes!

A snowHead

Totally agree on the Joker card.
Once you subtracted the cost of the lift pass from out hotel price it cost us minus ~ 9 Euros a night for Dinner, Bed and Breakfast!

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@ecureuil, in Saalbach the mountain trails for bikes are in the main separate to the walking ones, there is an occasional shared section running down the valley from Hinterglemm you do a have mix on the pedestrian/cycle way that goes from Hinterglemm down to Maishofen it wide enough for it not to be an issue.

On Komoot or Outdoor active there are several routes, the tourist board routes can be dowloaded and impaired into either app, we enjoy walking of the Zwolferkogel definitely no bikes on that one, the walk up to the Spielberghaus is good the occasional bike as you get closer to the restaurant , the re are quite a few tranquil ones.

Edit: this the link to the walk I mentioned https://www.saalbach.com/en/tour/panorama-tour-2-summits-1-lake_58183843

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@TheGeneralist, let me help you find it, https://www.saalbach.com/en/summer/mountain-biking

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Yes indeed, I followed that link when you posted it ( or something similar) above. I can see the 80km headline, but when I look at the detail I see 51km. Interested to know what the reality is ( probably that I can't add up!)

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@TheGeneralist, I’ve checked the first link I posted and can’t find any reference to “51 km”

This is the copy from the landing page on the trails map

“ Thanks to the interactive trail map, orientation in the "Home of Lässig" becomes child’s play: You can identify precisely each and every trail. You receive a detailed description, photo gallery of trails, many tips and tricks as well as the appropriate GPS track to download. Have a nice time browsing. Note: For permanently maintained and supervised lines & trails, an open/closed status is provided, for unattended trails this cannot be provided.

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After all it is free

@TheGeneralist, though I was losing it, I think what it is , is that these are suggested routes which gives you 51km, the total number of trails as in pistes is 80km.

I think it’s a bit like the ski circus circuits, if you add those up you possibly won’t come to the total number of skiable KM.

[quote="Kramer"]

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Interested in the comments that Saalbach has made many improvements over the last 7 years.
There’s the top of X-line, some reworked bits on Pro & Blue, Panorama is really good now, bottom of Hackelberg reworked.
I can’t think of anything else though? No big new trails?

Help!!

summer in Österreich

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