Riding your mountain bike up to grassy, green summits with beautiful panoramic views, around bathing lakes, their water pure enough to drink and shimmering in the warm sun, exploring inside the mountain caverns with a head torch – in Carinthia, enthusiastic mountain bikers can find a variety of routes in the midst of an unspoilt natural landscape.
All of this has been available in Carinthia, or more specifically on the Petzen, since 2015 with the 12-kilometre ‘Flow Country’ Trail, the longest in the world. The single trail on the southern face of the Petzen certainly sets cyclists’ pulses racing. In summer 2019 another new Flow Country Trail record will be broken: in Bad Kleinkirchheim an even longer trail will be opened.
All in all, there are 3.000 kilometres of possibilities to mountain bike through whole Carinthia.
Mountain bikers in the Nockberge Mountains around Bad Kleinkirchheim and Lake Millstätter See can enjoy lush alpine meadows and the gentle hills of the mountain landscape on the well-signposted network of routes that covers hundreds of kilometres. Whether it’s challenging mountain routes or relaxed cycling through quaint villages and vibrant forests, memorable moments are guaranteed no matter what. The continued expansion of the single trail departure points has met with the great approval of the cyclists; some departure points offer climbs of up to 1,100 metres.
The ‘Nock Five’ package is for summiteers. With this package, you can cycle to the five most beautiful summits of the Nockberge Mountains in just four days with a trained mountain bike guide. The Franz Klammer Tour is just as exciting; it offers cycling along the route of the famous FIS downhill run. On the Panorama Tour around Lake Millstätter See, cyclists get to enjoy incomparable panoramic views of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
Mountain bikers enjoy excellent support at the Nockbike Training Centre at the Krainer Sports School: Along with the classic cycle hire, mountain bike tours are offered daily for two performance groups; you can also enjoy professional riding technique training or take a slow-paced familiarisation tour to get acquainted with the area. www.nockbike.at
In summer 2019 one of the longest Flow Country Trails will be opened in Bad Kleinkirchheim. From the mountain station of the Kaiserburgbahn at about 1.800m above sea level you can ride your bike downhill for about 13 kilometres until you reach the village of Bad Kleinkirchheim in the valley.
The Transalp Alpe-Adria tours are another highlight for mountain bikers. Professional tour guides accompany groups of two performance levels on attractive bike routes heading south from Bad Kleinkirchheim to the sea. These tours are only available with a guide because they lead through sensitive areas such as the Nockberge Biosphere Park and the Tagliamento riverbed.
The longest mountain biking route in Europe was completed on the Petzen. None other than Diddie Schneider himself, one of the best mountain bike trail designers in the world, created this masterpiece. The trail isn’t just for pros, however; it is also ideal for beginners, since you don’t need any special technical skills to ride it. You can pack up your bike and easily make your way to the start of the trail on the mountain railway.
On the way down to the valley, cyclists can really test their skills: The trail offers metre upon metre of jumps, twists and turns, with fun waiting at every curve. There are also sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding lake valleys of Southern Carinthia, which are an inviting excuse to pause for a moment and enjoy them.
An excellent training course with a pump track and a training ground for children have also been constructed at the mountain’s valley station so that novices can test their skills in advance. The trail is also being expanded with new routes. www.petzen.net
All in all, 44 different tours at various levels of difficulty are on offer in the Gailtal and Carnic Alps. The best way to become acquainted with the variety of the Alpe-Adria region is on a trans-border tour into Italy, which will enable you to discover the culture and cuisine of two countries along attractive trails.
At Nassfeld you can find seven trails with a length between 1.1 and 5 kilometres. In autumn 2018 a new trail was openend directly in Tröpolach.
In the Lake Weissensee nature park you will find a delightful combination of cycling, bathing and swimming in the heart of the beautiful Gailtal Alps. Lake Weissensee lies at the highest elevation of any bathing lake in the Alps, and the landscape around the lake is unique, and the ideal setting for mountain bikers. The tour of the Naggler Alm is a pleasure. Gentle paths through verdant forests and green meadows lead up to the Alm, where you are spoilt with delicious cuisine. The products here are 100% organic and come from the farmers of the region, and you can enjoy your meal on the sun terrace. Right next to the alpine chalet, a three-kilometre-long mountain bike technique training course that simulates the obstacles of the landscape is available for mountain bikers to hone their skills. Since 2018 a spectacular ‘flow trail’ of about 3.5 km from the Naggler Alm to Lake Weissensee is available for downhill lovers.
https://www.weissensee.com/sommer/mountainbike-urlaub-oesterreich.html
Faaker See
The ‘Three-Country Tour’ is a beautiful one-day tour, and is a part of the new Alpe-Adria cycle path. It leads from the banks of the turquoise Lake Faaker See to the Jepcasattel and across the border to Slovenia. An attractive downhill section gets cyclists’ hearts racing before they reach Kranjska Gora.
The trail also takes in some of the famous World Cup skiing circuit. The going is easy to Planica and then on to Tarvisio in Italy, where cyclists are well-advised to plan a stop and take a rest at the Fusine Lakes (Laghi di Fusine). The Three-Country Tour is a unique mountain biking experience in the distinctive Alpe-Adria region.
Stollenbiken
Have you ever ridden a mountain bike through an abandoned mine shaft? You can in Southern Carinthia. Equipped with a head torch and a helmet, you explore the seven-kilometre shaft. Massive rock formations and passages up to thirty metres high, in which lead and zinc were mined long ago, await visitors to the mountain. Incidentally, you will also ride over the border of Carinthia. This is because the entrance to the shaft is located in Slovenia, making it an adventure without borders for the whole family. www.stollenbiken.at
Ascending the mountain to the nearby Karavankas is worthwhile. It is certainly something of a climb up to the high-level tours of the Klagenfurt and Koschuta chalets, but you will be rewarded with breath-taking scenery atop the lofty mountain range and also enjoy regional culinary delicacies.
