A spacious family chalet in Piesendorf near Zell am See, slopes, mountains, lifts and village life on the doorstep, and the whole valley to come home to after the last run.
A spacious family chalet in Piesendorf near Zell am See, slopes, mountains, lifts and village life on the doorstep, and the whole valley to come home to after the last run.
There are two quite different sports going on here under one name. One is bike-park riding: armour on, lift ticket, lap the same trails until your hands give out. The other is alpine touring: a two-hour climb on a gravel road to a hut, and a descent you have genuinely earned. This valley is one of the few places set up properly for both.
Leogang and Saalbach-Hinterglemm sit over the ridge to the north and between them hold some of the most-ridden trails in the Alps — World Cup downhill tracks, long flow lines, jump trails and progressively graded beginner runs. Both are lift-served, both rent everything including full-face helmets and body armour, and both are close enough that you can ride a full day and be back for dinner.
Austria is stricter than most countries about where bikes may go: not every forest track or hiking path is legally open to riding, and the network of officially released mountain bike routes is what you should be following. Stick to signed bike routes, give way to walkers, close gates behind you on grazing land, and treat the marked hiking paths as off limits unless a sign says otherwise.
Two sports, one valley: lap the park all morning, earn a hut descent in the afternoon.
Piesendorf
Piesendorf
Kaprun
Kaprun
No — and this matters here. In Austria forest roads and paths are not automatically open to bikes; riding is permitted on routes that have been officially released for it. The signed mountain bike network is extensive, so this is rarely a limitation in practice, but marked hiking paths should be treated as closed to bikes unless signage says otherwise.
Leogang and Saalbach-Hinterglemm are both north over the ridge, reached through Zell am See and Saalfelden — comfortably under an hour by car from the valley floor. They operate on their own summer season dates and lift schedules, so check before setting off, especially early and late in the season.
Several of the region’s cable cars carry bikes through the summer, including options at Zell am See and Kaprun as well as the park lifts over the ridge. Which lifts run, on which dates, and what a bike ticket costs all change season to season — the operators publish current details, and it is worth checking the day before rather than the morning of.
Not at all. Rental shops in Zell am See, Kaprun and at the bike parks carry trail, enduro and downhill bikes, e-MTBs, and the protective gear to go with them. Downhill bikes and full-face helmets are usually rented at the park itself rather than in the valley.
Yes, if you pick the right terrain. The parks grade their trails and both have genuine beginner flow lines plus coaching and guided sessions. Away from the parks, the gravel alm roads are the friendly option: the climb is hard work but the descent is wide and uncomplicated, which is a much gentler introduction than technical singletrack.
The weather — afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer and exposed ridges are no place to be caught in one. Also lift operating dates, trail closures for forestry work, and whether the route crosses grazing land. Carry a repair kit and enough water for the climb; the huts are reliable for food but they are not close together.
A ten-person chalet in Piesendorf, with room for the bikes and the gear.
