Bike Riding R 16 Salzatal bike path - Touren-Impression #1 | © Tourismusverband Wildalpen Bike Riding R 16 Salzatal bike path - Touren-Impression #1 | © Tourismusverband Wildalpen

R 16 Salzatal bike path

The R 16 runs directly on federal and state roads (B 20, B 24) without its own cycle lane and largely runs along the Salza, untypically upstream (can also be cycled in reverse).
The bike path along the emerald green Salza River is a great outdoor destination especially for pleasure cyclists because of its rather sloping route throughout. On the north side of the Hochschwab massif, the road leads from Mariazell via Wildalpen to the Gesäuse.

The Salza is generally considered one of the most beautiful whitewater rivers in the Eastern Alps, as it leads through romantic gorges and offers crystal clear water. A unique feature of the Salza Valley is certainly its - in contrast to other river valleys - extremely sparse population and the impressive landscape (Hochschwabnordseite).The Salza River used to be a means of timber transport for rafting and is now popular for hearty rafting tours.

Mariazell with its basilica is an ideal starting point for the tour, known as a place of spirituality and a spiritual and cultural center.In Gußwerk you turn right and reach Weichselboden, where you arrive at the northern Hochschwab massif. You pass by a reservoir with its huge Precenyklause, a barrier wall where in the past a lot of wood was drifted.

Past the Kläfferquelle to Wildalpen in the Styrian Salzatal. Wildalpen is the catchment and source area of the Second Vienna High Spring Water Pipeline. A visit to the HochQuellenWasser museum in Wildalpen is very rewarding. You can cycle past the parish and pilgrimage church Wildalpen / Barbarakirche. There is also a good bike connection possibility in Wildalpen!

Via Fachwerk you ride to Palfau, where you turn left to Gams near Hieflau. The GeoPfad Gams shows all that is best experienced here in nature.You can also plan a visit to the Kraushöhle a natural monument and Austria's only gypsum crystal cave,We are now in the Gesäuse National Park a realm of water, forest and rock. The Gesaeuse is a natural paradise with rich floodplain forests, alpine pastures, steep mountain flanks and is therefore also an Eldorado for mountaineers and climbers. Between Palfau and Gams, in the municipality of Landl, wonderful views of the mighty Buchstein massif appear again and again. The end point of the tour would be in Mooslandl the recreation village with leisure park and bathing lake arrive. Who still has desire and love, drives still further to Großreifling where there is the 1st Austrian Forestry Museum Silvanum to visit or extends the bike tour in the Gesäuse National Park.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness

Best season

January
February
March
April
November
December

The tour in numbers

medium
Level of difficulty
67,8 km
Route
4:30 h
Time
707 hm
Uphill
1054 hm
Downhill
874 m
Highest point

Map & downloads

More information

From Vienna via Semmering - Mürzzuschlag - Neuberg an der Mürz - Mariazell

From Graz via Frohnleiten - Bruck an der Mur - Kapfenberg - Aflenzer Becken - Mariazell

Mariazell - Gußwerk - Greith - Weichselboden - Gschöder - Wildalpen - Fachwerk - Palfau - Gams bei Hieflau - Mooslandl, Landl.

The R 16 runs directly on federal and state roads (B 20, B 24) without its own cycle lane and largely runs along the Salza, untypically upstream (can also be cycled in reverse).

The tour is not signposted, but it is easy to find your way around since you always use the main road.The R 16 is also passable in reverse and an ideal complement if you want to come from the Enns-bike path R 7 to Mariazell.

TIP or alternative for the route Wildalpen - Gams (BUT ONLY for mountain bikes or e-bikes, because there are about 650 hm to overcome). The part from Wildalpen to Gams can be bypassed by the new MTB route "Torsattel"! The route leads on forest roads mostly uphill to the Torsattel. From here it goes over beautiful alpine pastures between rugged rocks constantly downhill, until we come after about 18 km in the Krautgraben on a country road. We follow this on asphalt always out of the valley along the Gamsbach the beautiful Nothklamm to Gams.

https://www.steiermark.com/de/Gesaeuse/Urlaub-planen/Tourenportal/Torsattel-Wildalpen-Gams_tour_3090040

On warm summer days there are numerous motorcyclists along this route.

Good bike connection possibility in Wildalpen bike path LI 3 via Hopfgarten and Hühnermauer to Rothwald via Fachwerk to Wildalpen and Hinterwildalpen.

Timetable on the Internet: ÖBB www.oebb.at 

or Verbundlinie Steiermark www.busbahnbim.at

TV Gesäuse - Infobüro Salza

 +43 3636 341

infosalza@gesaeuse.at   www.gesaeuse.at

TV Hochsteiermark - Infobüro Mariazell

+43 3882 2366

tourismus@hochsteiermark.at   www.hochsteiermark.at

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Landl (522m)

Morning
weather.icon.04
9°C
30%
0 km/h
Noon
sunny
13°C
30%
10 km/h
Night
very sunny
8°C
20%
5 km/h
Early clouds will gradually clear to leave the region with a dry and sunny day.
Morning
sunny
5°C
0%
5 km/h
Noon
slightly cloudy
13°C
0%
10 km/h
Night
slightly cloudy
9°C
0%
5 km/h
Dry and partly sunny throughout the day, with cloudy periods from time to time.
13.10.2024
cloudy
6°C 14°C
14.10.2024
sunny
6°C 16°C
15.10.2024
slightly cloudy
6°C 17°C

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