Bike Riding Beetle Bean Tour to the Apple Country - Touren-Impression #1 | © Steiermark Tourismus/Gery Wolf Bike Riding Beetle Bean Tour to the Apple Country - Touren-Impression #1 | © Steiermark Tourismus/Gery Wolf

Beetle Bean Tour to the Apple Country

Open
Eine abwechslungsreiche Rundtour mit Abschnitten durch das größte Apfelanbaugebiet Europas, über die Oststeirische Römerweinstraße und durch die Stadt Gleisdorf. 
Starting from St. Ruprecht an der Raab, numerous circular tours have been established around the Raabtalradweg, which leads from the Almenland to the Thermenland in south-eastern Styria, and which are an ideal complement to a relaxing active holiday in eastern Styria. The numerous wine taverns and apple farms along the tour invite you to a cosy stopover. The circular tour is made up of the merging of several cycle paths. Orientation is good and clearly laid out - simply follow the route numbers listed in the following route description.

This circular tour is of course also suitable for e-bikes.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness
Experience
Scenery

Best season

January
February
March
November
December

The tour in numbers

challenging
Level of difficulty
67,1 km
Route
6:00 h
Time
849 hm
Uphill
849 hm
Downhill
492 m
Highest point
325 m
Lowest point

Map & downloads

More information

The market town of St.Ruprecht is located in Eastern Styria and is very easy to reach via the A2 motorway from Vienna (approx. 2 hours) and Graz (approx. 30 minutes).                                   
  • Arrival from Vienna and from Graz: On the A2 from Vienna and from Graz, take motorway exit 161 / Gleisdorf West in the direction of B54/B64. Follow the B65 / Gleisdorf federal road until you reach the B54 / Wechselbundesstraße. At the roundabout take the second exit to the B64 / Rechberg-Bundesstraße. After about 6 km turn left to St. Ruprecht an der Raab.

Route planner

  • We start at the Peace Grotto on the main square, the central starting point of all cycle paths in St. Ruprecht an der Raab. We cycle between the church and the fire station to the Weizbach stream, which we cross. Immediately after the bridge, we turn left and cycle over another small bridge into Weizbachgasse.
  • Follow this to the right and leave the village and, after crossing the main road through a subway, you reach Arndorf on the R11 Raabtalradweg. Passing the area of the Lieb timber construction company, we leisurely cycle along the cycle path that leads through the fields to the small, beautifully situated settlement of Neudorf.
  • Here we continue to follow the R11 signs and branch off slightly diagonally to the left to reach Unterfladnitz, where a "right-left combination" awaits us. At the end of Unterfladnitz we come to a junction where we keep to the right.
  • From here we continue straight on - leaving the R11 Raabtalradweg, which branches off to the left towards Weiz - slightly uphill through the beautiful Mühlwald forest on the WZ1 Kulmblick Tour towards Etzersdorf.
  • Just before Etzersdorf, a relaxing descent into the middle of the small village awaits us. In Etzersdorf we keep to the right and after a "left-right combination" we continue along the WZ1 over a short climb uphill to the Wetzlberg.
  • At the junction we change to the WZ16 Apfel-Tour cycle path, which takes us past beautifully landscaped apple orchards to the apple village of Puch bei Weiz, the centre of the Styrian Apple Road, where the Apple Road Festival is celebrated every year in late spring.
  • The beautifully designed village also invites you to take a first leisurely rest before we first head uphill along the WZ16 to the Unterharl district and soon after downhill to the Feistritz River with its beautiful gorge.
  • Here we meet the R8 Feistritztalradweg, one of the great river cycle paths in Styria and our constant companion for the next few kilometres. We keep going downstream and leisurely cycle through the Feistritz gorge with its truly charming natural wonders. It can happen that a fire salamander crosses our path: we have to watch out and just marvel at nature!
  • At the end of the gorge, Lake Stubenberg welcomes us. A good third of the tour is now done: we could probably treat ourselves to a break like that, couldn't we! Our bodies will thank us for a jump into the cooling water before we continue on our tour through the Garden of Austria, as Eastern Styria is often called.
  • We leave Lake Stubenberg on the R8 Feistritztal cycle path and the next highlight of the tour awaits us: the Herberstein Animal World, with the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna surely the most beautiful zoo in Austria. It probably doesn't need to be mentioned that it's worth a visit. And like Schönbrunn in Vienna, Herberstein also has a beautiful castle in the immediate vicinity that provides an insight into cultural history.
  • After the Herberstein Animal World, we cycle along the R8 downhill (attention: sharp hairpin bends!) via St. Johann bei Herberstein and Kaibing to Kroisbach an der Feistritz, where we leave the R8 Feistritztalradweg in the village and turn right onto the WZ2 Hügelland Tour.
  • In Gersdorf an der Feistritz we keep left further along the WZ2, which takes us uphill to beautifully landscaped vineyards with magnificent views of south-eastern Styria. After a few short stops to enjoy the view, we reach Prebensdorf.
  • In the centre of the village we leave the WZ2 and turn left onto the WZ3 Hartwald-Tour. The WZ3 now takes us uphill into the middle of the vineyards of the East Styrian Roman Wine Route. If you haven't forgotten your camera, you should definitely take extra time for this section, because the views and vistas are enchanting.
  • In the village of Nitscha we change from WZ3 to WZ4, which takes us directly into the centre of Gleisdorf with the charming main square and the worth seeing town parish church.
  • At the main square we now keep to the right and change to the R11 Raabtalradweg, which will be our companion from now on as at the beginning of the tour. We cycle the last few kilometres through the villages of Albersdorf and Wollsdorf and soon catch sight of the striking tower of the Ruprecht Baroque Church.
  • The last few metres take us through the village with its small settlements and beautifully maintained family homes until we finally reach our starting point again. And if you haven't jumped into the Stubenbergsee on the bike tour, you've earned a cool down in the open-air swimming pool in St. Ruprecht now at the latest.
Timetables and travel information can be found at Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) or at Verkehrsauskunft Verbundlinie.

For local transportation, we recommend the SAM-Sammeltaxi Oststeiermark, which also takes bicycles if booked in advance.

There are several parking spaces available on the main square in St. Ruprecht. Alternatively, about 150 m away, past the Hotel Locker & Legere and the Marktheurigen Strobl, there are numerous parking spaces at the large park in the middle of St. Ruprecht an der Raab.
 

Information about the region, places to stop and stay overnight, excursion destinations, etc., can be found here

Eastern Styria Tourist Board

St. Ruprecht an der Raab office

Lower main road 27

8181 St. Ruprecht an der Raab

Tel. +43 664 2353414

www.oststeiermark.com

Current weather

Modern trekking bikes and bicycles can be rented here:

  • Garten-Hotel Ochensberger
    Lower main street 181
    8181 St.Ruprecht an der Raab
    +43 3178 5132
    www.ochensberger.at

E-bikes or pedelecs (bicycles with an electric motor to help you pedal) are available for hire at the Gartenhotel Ochensberger.

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Puch bei Weiz (432m)

Morning
sunny
7°C
5%
10 km/h
Noon
sunny
14°C
5%
20 km/h
Night
cloudy
10°C
50%
10 km/h
Partly sunny in the morning, gradually becoming cloudy in the afternoon.
Morning
very sunny
6°C
0%
5 km/h
Noon
slightly cloudy
17°C
0%
20 km/h
Night
slightly cloudy
15°C
0%
15 km/h
The day starts sunny, but will be partly cloudy in the afternoon.
30.03.2024
sunny
8°C 23°C
31.03.2024
sunny
9°C 22°C
01.04.2024
slightly cloudy
8°C 21°C
GenussCard Steiermark | © Thermen- und Vulkanland Steiermark, Harald Eisenberger

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