Austrian town Schladming was our second destination target on our vacation trip. After few days in Swiss Bike Kingdom we went to the one of the most famous austrian bike parks. Local trails are well known for downhill fans – there were few UCI World Cup rounds. Riders fought for points in this place six times, but the last time was in 2009.
The town of Schladming
Schladming town is located at altitude of 745m above sea level and it’s a small town in federal state of Styria with just under 7000 inhibitants. In the old days it was a mining town, but today it’s one of the most important ski resorts in the country. In the summer season the main attraction are Bike Park Schladming & Reiteralm Trails.
Bike Park Schladming
Bike Park Schladming was closed in 2019 season due to full rebuild of the lift & trails. Our expecations were high and we were curious what we can find there on our first visit. The first good impression was the infrastructure on the main lift station where you can find three parking lots, bike service, bike school & shops – everything that every riders needs.
We go to the top of the Planai mountain via gondola which goes to 1904m above sea level. Middle station is located almost in the middle of the mountain and perfectly divides bike park for two parts.
Trails
According to official informations there’s 12 trails in Bike Park Schladming. In practice it’s not so colorful as we use only upper part of the bike park. Why? Lower part is much steeper and there’s located only two trails – black Worldcup Downhill & red Downtown Line which has additional options like black Jack Lumber Trail or blue Fairy Trail. Trails in lower part are not so well maintained, so we used them only while going back to the car. These trails has a lot of potential, but they need a good rebuild (& some love).
Upper part of Bike Park Schladming is a different story. We can see that last year’s rebuild was done only here. The most popular trail are newest addition 99 Jumpline, but there’s also long Flowline or downhill trails like Pro & Rookie Downhill. We can also find here special beginner area, but it’s located far away from the top station.
Justyna on Pro Downhill trail.
Uphill Flow Trail – almost 7km of uphill flow trail which was built mainly for e-bikers. Altitude difference is almost 480m from the middle to the top station. You can do it also on traditional bike, but there’s a lift nearby, hello!
Flowline – 7.7km of blue flow trail and descent of 483m. It’s almost perfect flow trail with a lot of pumps, berms & jumps. Perfect for first run of the day or for the beginners.
Rookie Downhill – red downhill trail with a lenght of just over 3 kilometers and descent of 483m. Name of this trail explains everything. It’s perfect for beginners or semi-advanced riders which wants to try downhill riding. There’s a lot of berms & some jumps with steeper sections, but you won’t find any harder obstacles like roots or rock gardens.
Pro Downhill – 2.2km of black downhill trail with descent of 471m. It’s more advanced than Rookie Downhill & you’ll find some harder obstacles like doubles or narrow steep section in the ravine, where we can find everything what downhill tigers like the most!
99 Jumpline – black trail for jumpers – 3.2km length & 247m descent. You’ll find there 99 jumps, but a lot of them are rather exaggerated. The trail is well made, there’s a lot of interesting obstacles, but sometimes you’re losing the flow & you need to pedal to maintain the speed. Anyway, a lot of fun & airtime guaranteed!
Monster Jumpline – black trail which is a branch of the 99 Jumpline. It’s only 585m long, but you’ll find here the biggest jumps on the mountain (up to 12m).
Kessler Line – red trail from the middle station down to the valley. Almost 2km of flow trail with a lot of berms & jumps. Descent is around 250m and it goes directly to the Downtown Line.
Fairy Trail – only 1km long alternative for the Kessler Line. Natural & forgotten trail which need some love & berms.
Jack Lumber Trail – black trail which is almost 355m of roots. It goes next to the Kessler Line & is rideable almost only in dry weather.
Worldcup Downhill – 2.6km length & 576m of descent. Black downhill trail well known from UCI World Cup. On this trail Sam Hill won in 2009 on the last round of Downhill World Cup held in Schladming. The whole trail is in old style, high speed & jumps in upper part and steep & technical with a lot of roots in lower sections.
Downtown Line – almost 1.8km extension of Kessler Line which goes right to the lower station. It’s a red trail on the steepest part of the mountain, so you’ll find a lot of tight & slow switchbacks.
Reiteralm Trails
While being at Schladming we couldn’t miss Reiteralm Trails which are located in the nearby Pichl town. The altitude difference is around 740m and the highest point of Reiteralm is on 1740m above sea level. There’s a free shuttle bus between Bike Park Schladming & Reiteralm Trails and tickets are valid on both lifts.
The trails on Reiteralm are mostly for the beginners. You’ll find only red & blue trails here which are perfect to learn some new skills. Right next to the top station there’s a small beginners area.
Just like in Bike Park Schladming, also here we can feel there’s two parts. Upper part of the trails we have some options to ride, but on the lower part… the markings definitely must be improved. So much that we lost the trail few times and we didn’t know if we have to go forward on asphalt road or go back and look for the trail somewhere in the forest.
Useful informations
- Route from Warsaw to Schladming is around 1000km, which means 11-12h drive. Remember to buy vignettes for Czech Republic & Austria.
- There’s a three parking lots nearby main lift station. You’ll be guided to right parking place, depends on occupancy & your bike rack. Parking is free, so it’s worth to leave car there after riding while going to the Schladming center (there you must pay 1€ for 1h stay).
- Schladming town is really small and you can walk it around in maybe 30 minutes.
- Before going to Schladming, you need to check opening hours & days. Bike Park lift is open daily from 9am to 5pm, but before the season starts it’s closed on wednesdays. Reiteralm Trails are open mainly on the weekends, but in main season is operated daily.
- Prices of food in restaturants are not costly & you can eat a full dinner for 15-20€. If you want to cook something yourself, there’s a supermarket next to the lift station.
- Daily ticket for the bike park costs 39€ and is valid on Bike Park Schladming & Reiteralm Trails. There’s also 2-day passes (79€) & 3-days (105.50€). Discounts are available for Sommercard owners and for those who like to sleep there’s a ticket valid from 12.00 (29.50€).
- GraVity Card is also accepted in Bike Park Schladming.
About Bike Park Schladming
Oficjalna strona: schladming-dachstein.at/bike
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