Walking & hiking in Austria

If you like your maps crammed with contour lines, and your meadows carpeted with wildflowers, then a hike in Austria’s alpine landscape is for you. Austria has ample Alps: Some three quarters of Austria is set in the mountains, and two thirds of the country is at least 500m above sea level. It’s safe to say that hill walking isn’t in short supply, but you don’t need legs of steel to enjoy Austria. Not only are there gondolas and chairlifts to assist you on the ascent, but if you’re not incline-inclined, you can always walk around its beautiful lake region in Salzerkammut, or along the beautiful blue Danube instead. In Austria, there’s a walking vacation for everyone.

Hiking in the Austrian Alps is a well-established pastime. Trails are maintained by the Austrian Alpine Club, and in the summer they can get surprisingly busy, so consider going in spring or autumn. The Alps have long been considered Europe’s playground, and for those who only know about their ski seasons, it can be a surprise to see them heavily peopled in summer. It’s not only neighbouring Germans and Italians that stream in to Austria for their August summer vacation, but Austrians themselves. Join them: walking is low-impact on the environment, but it might have a big impact on you. Dwarfed by mountains on all sides, on a hike you can really appreciate the scale and majesty of Austria’s Alps.

Choose your terrain – and the destination will follow. If you want to walk along the Danube, head to the picturesque Wachau valley. In this picturesque place, you’ll probably be doing a point-to-point route walking between eight and 10 miles a day, staying in hotels along the way and having your luggage transported for you. Danube walks are easy to navigate, and are often self-guided. The way back is even easier: simply hop on a boat.

If you want to walk in the Alps, you could base yourself in a mountain hotel and take part in a small group trip, of between six and 20 hikers. You’ll find that there are hundreds of walks on your doorstep, and you won’t need to decamp every day to find your next adventure. Plus, some accommodation comes with hot tubs, so you won’t want to leave. In the Alps you can make big ascents every day of 1,000m each day – but you don’t have to. Tour operators often offer two or more ‘grades’ of walk each day, so you can go easy on your knees for a day.

Some of the most popular walks are in the High Tauern National Park, which straddles East Tyrol and Carinthia. Here, you’ll walk under the immense shadow of Austria’s highest mountain, the 3,798m-high Grossglockner.

Walking trips take place from spring to autumn. You can also do winter walking in the East Tyrol from December, January, February, to the end of March. Depending on the snow, you’ll use a combination of snow shoes and walking boots – with spikes attached if you like.

If you’re walking in the Danube area, walks start as early as March and April. Most walking vacations in the Alps run from May to September, but sometimes the highest routes aren’t snow-free until June. In spring, there will be flowers everywhere – though spring gets to the alpine meadows relatively late and you’ll see beautiful flowers all through summer.

High summer: July and August is really busy. Austria is so lovely, that everyone visits for the summer – especially Austrians. In the school vacations, popular resorts will be busy and bustling.

Autumn is cooler, but the beautiful birch forests of Kawendel national park turn the trails yellow with fallen leaves. It’s very unusual for early autumn to get any snow, but it does happen; the first snow of 2019 came in mid-September in the Hohe Taurn National Park. October and November are off season for walking.

Because of the nature of the hiking, you may not want to do Alpine walking if you suffer from vertigo – instead opt for a Danube walk. Not all paths are well marked up in the hills, but your walking company will provide detailed maps and directions. The weather changes fast in the mountains, so be flexible – if the summit is covered in cloud, there’s no loss doing a lovely lake walk instead. On long distance walks you may well cross into other countries. Austria has open borders, so you won’t even need your passport as you dip into Germany.