Bike Paradise

24.4 km | 02:09 h | 550 hm

Difficult gravel tour. Very good fitness required. Mainly paved paths. No special technical skills required.

The tour to Hintersee is ideal for your first ride on a gravel bike, covering around 24 kilometres and around 550 metres in altitude, with only some sections on gravel.

From the cosy centre of Mittersill, you start directly into the Hohe Tauern National Park. After leaving the town centre, you cross the stream and briefly follow a side road along the Felbertauernstraße, which connects Salzburg with East Tyrol.

Over the next few kilometres, you change sides several times and finally reach the Wolfram mine. From here, the valley becomes increasingly narrow and imposing, and the view of the impressive mountain world at the head of the valley opens up before you.

Past idyllic alpine pastures and grazing cows and horses, you steadily gain metres in altitude in an impressive alpine setting.

The final ascent takes you past the picturesquely situated Meilinger Alm, which is ideal for a refreshment stop. Shortly afterwards you reach the quiet Hintersee.

Its clear water, fed by streams and waterfalls from the surrounding mountains, invites you to take a refreshing break. After an enjoyable break – for example at the Gamsblick snack station – you finally start the return journey on the same route to Mittersill.

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53.5 km | 05:49 h | 1,620 metres in altitude

Difficult gravel tour. Very good fitness required. Mainly paved paths. No special technical skills required.

The key data – around 1,600 metres in altitude and over 50 kilometres – make it clear what awaits you on this tour: it’s uphill – and a lot of it. However, you will also be offered a lot in return: impressive gravel tracks through a beautiful high forest, an upland moor at Pass Thurn and, last but not least, the impressive panorama from the Resterhöhe.

For this tour, we recommend starting early and allowing plenty of time. Even though there are refreshment stops along the route, it is worth taking extra food and drink with you.

The starting point is the town square in Mittersill. From here, you first follow the Felberbach stream before crossing the Salzach and the main road. Shortly afterwards, the first long climb begins with around 600 metres of elevation gain. This leads you in sections along a mountain road and well-maintained gravel paths past farms and small hamlets through an impressive Alpine cultural landscape. The first views of the peaks of the Hohe Tauern can already be seen here.

After this ascent, the route runs along a gravelled mountain path with gentle ups and downs to Pass Thurn, which connects Pinzgau with Tyrol. A short stretch on the road takes you further before you change back onto a forest road that takes you up to the Resterhöhe.

The final ascent demands commitment once again: some steeper passages await you at an altitude of around 600 metres. Once you reach the top, however, you will be rewarded several times over – with an impressive panoramic view of the Kitzbühel Alps and refreshment stops for a well-earned rest.

The subsequent descent takes you down several hairpin bends into the Mühlbachtal valley. After the first steeper sections, the route becomes increasingly smoother. Once you arrive in the valley, you have the opportunity to take a short break by the water before you cover the last few kilometres in a relaxed manner.

The cycle path along the Salzach and quiet side roads finally take you back to Mittersill.

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36.8 km | 03:50 | 920 metres altitude

Difficult gravel tour. Very good fitness required. Mainly paved paths. No special skills required.

The Hollersbachtal is a beautiful valley in the Hohe Tauern National Park. The tour into the valley is an absolute dream tour for gravel bikers, as significantly more than half of the route leads over perfect gravel paths. As in the other Tauern valleys, you can also look forward to cosy refreshment stops and spectacular landscapes, where the power of the water in particular offers great spectacles.

From Mittersill, head west along the Salzach and follow the Hollersbach from its confluence with the Salzach into the valley. Immediately after Reitlehen, the tour shows its teeth with short, steep ramps. You ride past the Hollersbach reservoir, the surface now turns to gravel and shortly afterwards, ramps with a gradient of well over ten per cent await you again. Only then does the road become flatter and you can devote more time to the alpine landscape.

After about half of the ascent, you will reach the Senningerbräualm, where you should take a break either immediately or on the way back. The products on offer here are home-grown and you can taste it. Either way, the climb becomes more serious again after the alpine pasture and rises to an average of ten per cent. Towards the end, just before the material cable car of the Neue Fürther Hütte, you have to mobilise your strength once again for the last ramp and then you’ve made it! The scenery at the end of the valley with several waterfalls cascading down from the steep slopes of the Tauern peaks and the endless descent ahead are the reward for your efforts.

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