Vienna Outdoors. A Guide For Outdoor Activities Around Vienna

Vienna is one of the most prominent destinations in the city travel business in Europe. Most tourists are attracted by the imperial heritage of Vienna’s position as the primate city of the old Austro-Hungarian Hapsburg empire. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that. However, Vienna’s history and its built manifestations is just one side of Vienna. What makes Vienna unique among many large European cities is also the quality and quantity of outdoor sports possibilities. Yes, there is more about Vienna than the old inner city, the famous Viennese cafeterias (Kaffeehäuser) and the archtetypical Heurigen.

I’m continuosly researching new possibilities and adding information to this page. So, check here again from time to time!

Outdoor adventures around Vienna are to be found for virtually all tastes and for all annual seasons. Here is a selection of possibilities arranged by activity:

Summer Outdoor Activities

Wakeboarding: Wakeboarding (as well as classic waterskiing) is possible at the Donauinsel with a cable lift facility.

Rock Climbing: Rock climbing has a long tradition in Vienna and the number of sport climbing enthusiasts has been even more increasing during the last years. Several climbing gyms are to be found in the very inner city (e.g. ÖTK Kletterhalle Bäckerstrasse) but the largest sport climbing gym of Vienna (over 2200 square meters of climbing area plus outdoor bouldering on real rocks) is to be found on the other side of the Danube some 30 minutes away from the city centre. A special attraction for urban climbers is the outdoor climbing area Kletterzentrum Flakturm Esterhazypark, a huge anti-aircraft platform of WW2 vintage, just near the Mariahilferstrasse (Viennas largest shopping street). The newest attraction is the climbing tower at Pier 9 just beside the Zaha Hadid House at the Donaukanal in the 9th district. This climing tower has a total height of 21m and offers various climbing options in an urban environment.

The possibilities for outdoor climbing around Vienna are virtually endless. Viennas largest crag (about 1 hour car ride from the city) is the Peilstein (780m) in the Viennese woods (Wienerwald) which boasts as many as 800 routes of different difficulty (up to IX UIIA). Apart from the Peilstein there are a lot more smaller crags dispersed all over the southern hills of the Vienna woods. Some of them (e.g. Mödling and Baden) are to be reached with public transport fairly easy. All of these crags (as are all the climbing areas in the Alps around Vienna) are limestone.

Those who want to enjoy a diversion from climbing in limestone can go to the Wachau, a lovely river landscape between Melk and Krems (railway station) which offers hundreds of routes in Gneis. North of the Wachau are the hills of the Waldviertel which does have some (smaller) crags and good bouldering in Granit. The Hohe Wand, a huge rocky wall just above the low plains of Wiener Neustadt (40 km to the South of Vienna), offers plenty of multi-pitch routes (difficulty up to VIII). This area is exposed to the South-East so climbing is sometimes possible even in Winter. Almost all of the routes in the above mentioned area are fully equipped (protection mainly with bolts).

A more alpine climbing environment is to be found in the Rax-Schneeberg area, the true playground of every Viennese rock climber with more alpine ambitions. The Höllenthal, a deep canyon-like valley separating the Rax massif from the Schneeberg, is the meeting point of hundreds of climbing enthusiasts each weekend. Another hot spot for rock climbers are the Preinerwände on the other side of the Rax massif. The possibilities become endless for those who are ready to travel even farther. The Hochschwab and the Gesäuse area in Styria are feasible for weekend trips and offer some of the best limestone climbing of Austria.

Mountain Biking: Some hundred kilometres of routes are marked and reserved exclusively for mountain biking in the hills of the ‘Wienerwald’ (Vienna woods). Most of these routes are fairly easy (paved paths) but some single tracks are to be found as well. This network of routes is connected with a wider network of mountain biking routes going as far as to the Styrian Alps. Some of these long distance routes are specifically markes (i.e. Vienna-Semmering, Vienna-Mariazell). The Semmering resort offers a special mountain bike park with various downhill routes (freeride, family run etc.). Ascent is possible with the cable car to the Hirschenkogel (1000-1350m).

Kayaking: The Danube and its accompanying rivers offer plenty of opportunities for Kayaking. Especially the Kamp (to the North of the Danube) flows through a very pleasant landscape relatively unspoiled by human civilisation. Wild water kayaking is possible in the Höllenthal (Schwarza). The real center for wild water sports is located the Wildwasserzentrum Wildalpen (Salza) to the North of the mighty mountain massif of the Hochschwab (2277m) near the border between Styria and Lower Austria.

Gorges: If the summer temperatures in the city become unbearable hikinge through some of the shadowy gorges near Vienna may be a welcomed cooling. Some gorges relatively close to Vienna are for example the Hagenbachklamm (very close to Vienna and easily reached by train!), the Johannesbachklamm and the Miraklamm. The Steinwandklamm and the Weichtalklamm offer some more challenging hiking terrain equipped with ladders etc. (the latter in a really amazing alpine environment at the foot of the Schneeberg massif).

Canyoning: Canyoning is quite a new outdoor activity in the Vienna region but the number of active sportlers grows with each year. The area around the Ötscher offers some possibility especially in late spring when the melting snow supplies enough water. Additional canyoning routes are to be found near the alpine massifs in Styria (e.g. Krampen gully near the Veitschalpe).

Sailing and Wind surfing: Sailing as well as wind surfing is possible even within the Vienna borders at the Alte Donau (there are even sail schools with the possibility of renting boats). But of course this area allows only for a somewhat limited sailing experience. The best sailing (and windsurfing) area near Vienna is the Neusiedl Lake, about 1 h with car East of Vienna. This is a fairly large, but relatively shallow lake just at the border between Austria and Hungary. The plain landscape usually guarantees constant winds with the occasionally quite nasty storms in between. Complete sailing opportunities (schools, renting etc.) are offered in all towns and villages along the lake (e.g. Neusiedl/See, Mörbisch, Pottendorf).

Para Gliding: A perfect starting point for para gliding (reachable by car using the toll road) is the plateau of the Hohe Wand which towers some 500m above the plain area west of Wiener Neustadt. Usually the thermic is very good due to the temperature differences and the heating of the rocky limestone by the sun.

Winter Outdoor Activities

Skiing / Ski mountaineering: This blog is (almost) all about skiing and ski mountaineering around Vienna. So look around in the navigation bar above or search the blog posts and you will find enough information on skiing near Vienna.

Snow Shoeing: The snowy hills around Vienna are a paradise for snow shoer especially for beginners. Snow shoeing has been gained increasing popularity in the Vienna region during the last years so there are plenty of tracked “runs” to be found. Virtually all of the mountains in the South-West of Vienna are feasable for snow shoeing. Due to the subalpine character of these mountains most routes are easy and are relatively safe except after really hard storms. Of all the higher massifs around Vienna the Raxalpe is a special gem for snow shoeing since the cable car from Hirschwang offers a fast and easy access to the alpine meadows of the high plains (1500m and higher) which are perfectly suited to be discovered by snow shoes.

Cross country skiing: In some winters (though these winters tend to be quite rare lately) cross country skiing is even possible at the Donauinsel right in the vicinity of the inner city. Snow sure cross country skiing is to be found in the area around the Gscheid-Lahnsattel (near the Göller) where plenty of tracked cross country routes are prepared (Nordic Centre St. Aegyd-Gscheid). A second region ideally for cross country skiing is the Semmering. Here some tracks are prepared regularily between Steinhaus/Semmering and Spital/Semmering. The best possibility of this region is the so called Panoramaloipe which connects the Semmering with the Wechsel and goes over some dozen kilometers. Due to the altitude (above 1000m) this track is exceptionally snow sure. There are various variants and entry/exit points.

Ice climbing: The possibilities for ice climbing around Vienna were discovered in the mid and late 1980s. Since then new ice climbing routes have been opened up each year. Today, ice falls with routes at every difficulty levels are to be found in the Vienna region (at least when it is cold enough over longer time periods). The best areas for ice climbing are in the Ötscher region (Vordere and Hintere Tormäuer). Here dozens of ice falls are to be found within a relatively small area. However, almost all mountain regions around Vienna offers some decent ice climbing. Usually the approaches are relatively short and quite a lot of ice falls are relatively safe from avalanches. My personal favorite is an ice fall near the Niederalpl pass where the parking slot is just beneath the ice fall.

Winter Climbing: The classic route for winter climbing near Vienna is the Rauher Kamm at the Ötscher. The Rauher Kamm is formed by the Eastern ridge which is an easy scrambling route in summer but an earnest approach during winter due to icy rocks and overhanging cornices. If you want to up the ante you can choose the North face of the Ötscher (about 500m rock climbing, difficulty around IV+). The Schneeberg massif offers some additional winter climbing possibilities. Virtual all the summer routes over the various ridges (e.g. Novembergrat, Herminensteig) are good training grounds for winter climbing. If the snow is safe and hard enough some of the steeper gullies may be interesting for training ice (firn) face climbing (around 100-300m vertical up to about 50 degrees).