When you think about Vienna, the first things that come to mind are classical music, Wiener Schnitzel, old pompous buildings from another period and lots of cafés and cakes… Well, maybe it is time to add mountainbiking to that list.
My name is Helene, I was born and raised on the outskirts of Vienna, and have spent most of my life here, in between traveling the world to race world cups.
And I can tell you we have a lot of good riding spots in and around Vienna. The hills of the Wienerwald have the perfect elevation for nice enduro loops and natural flowy single trails, as well as jump sessions on the jump lines. You can find every style of riding here. It’s my pleasure to guide you through „my perfect week“ in this little Eldorado, the Wienerwald.
You can reach the Wienerwald easily by plane, car or train, but to get to the riding spots it’s best to have a car. If you mainly want to bike I would choose an accommodation outside of Vienna. Because driving in Vienna, like in any big city, can become very hectic and there is hardly any free parking there. There is plenty of choice of places to stay, I would recommend trying to find somewhere in the South-West of Vienna.
If you want to visit THE CITY CENTER it’s best just to get a day train ticket.
RIDING Day 1: The ANNINGER – my home spot
The hill called Anninger, is located south of Vienna in the federal state of Niederösterreich. It’s a wonderful place and one of my favorite riding spots. The tracks are natural here, you will find rocks, roots, loam, technical and steep sections.
The smell and look of the dark umbrella pine trees, the limestone soil and the rock formations make you feel like you are in the Mediterranean area.
A good start for your ride is the parking place “An der goldenen Stiege” in Mödling. There you will normally meet other bikers so you can easily ask to join their ride. It starts with an easy uphill pedal to the Krauste Linde restaurant then it gets a little bit steeper to the top. At the top, you find the start of the Kientaltrail, also known as the Canadian trail.
As soon as you drop in, the speed starts to pick up. The top section is flowy and fast, the trail cuts the slope with flat turns and off-camber traverses, I try not to touch the brakes to maintain speed and grip.
You will quickly reach a fire road, cross it and the trail keeps going straight.
A few hundred meters later comes a short but painfully steep uphill. It is possible to pedal up it but hardly worth it, I normally just push up. Unless you’re on an e-bike of course.
From there, it is like a whole new trail, rough, rooty, and rocky. It starts with two nice jumps, into a steep turn section with multiple line choices, and almost infinite combinations of “inside to outside” lines. It feels like a downhill race track.
Coming to the end of the trail is probably the most intimidating feature of the whole hill. You have to thread the needle between two sharp rocks to get into a double drop on which breaking is only permitted with a fingertip, hardly enough to control your speed, let alone to stop. When you think you have made it through safely, you are only halfway out, as the double drop sends you straight into a steep and very rough run out. Hold tight and brace for the berm at the bottom.
After a few more turns, you are out onto the fire road, and spinning your legs up towards the Husarentempel. The first part of the climb is steep but mellows out quickly and becomes more of an up-and-down transfer to the Husarentempel.
The view over Vienna is stunning from up there, and it’s my favorite place to get lost in time.
Don’t get too lost though, because the return to reality can be a tough one. Indeed, the Husarentempel trail is a black-graded trail, and you need to be well awake to tackle the upper part made almost exclusively of rock, with the odd root garden here and there.
If the middle part of the trail is smoother, the rough theme comes back for the last part with more roots and even more rocks. For advanced riders, try to stay on the high line. Good luck.
There is a second option for less experienced riders, as a redgraded trail avoids the hardest parts of the Husarentempel trail, while sharing the smoother parts.
If you have some energy left in the tank, and want to ride a bonus trail, head back up the fire road until you reach the Krauste Linde Restaurant. Here you can stop for a drink or some food, before going into the Anninger trail, a Blue graded trail, where flow is the name of the game.
A great way to wind down from your first ride in Vienna.
RIDING Day 2 : Wexl Trails
From Vienna it’s about an hour drive away and I don’t exaggerate when I say it’s probably every mountain biker’s dream spot. It has everything. The Mountain can be separated into two parts, first, the bike park.
The bike park is located on the lower part of the mountain, there is a big carpark, a restaurant, a motor skills park, a bikeshop and a tow lift that covers an unimpressive 200 meters of elevation. Don’t be fooled by the relatively small mountain, the trails are built in a very efficient way, to minimise breaking, and maximise length. Really making the most of what the hill has to offer. You can choose to ride between 8 different trails, including an uphill flowtrail, and a beginner/kids area with 4 short beginner trails.
Each trail has a purpose and fits a specific need, and all of them are of the highest quality, which is the key to the success of this place. Every trail is built with progression in mind. A perfect mix of confidence-inspiring trails suitable for riders trying to progress but which are also fun to ride and for more advanced riders.
Go there on a sunny weekend and you will see what I mean. The place is packed with riders from all horizons and ages, and although it can get busy, the quick rotation of the lift keeps the wait short and the spirit high.
The Flowtrail is at the forefront of that progressive and accessible concept, with many smooth berms, small tabletops and rollers to give every rider the ability to cut their teeth while maintaining the fun factor of these trails as skills increase for more advanced riders.
From there, the natural transition will be towards the Singletrail trail. A trail that takes the recipe of the Flowtrail, while throwing roots and rocks into the mix.
When I am there you will mostly find me lapping all day long on the Jumpline or the DH track. These trails are really good and they’re the two most advanced trails in the park. However, despite being advanced trails, they stay very accessible to intermediate riders looking for progression.
The jump line is a mix of tables, hips, step-ups and step-downs, linked together by the biggest smoothest berms ever. Some of the jumps are really big, but built in a very safe and precise way, very predictable. It’s almost surprising how easy they are to ride compared to how big they are. Oh and don’t expect to find breaking bumps here, the trail is built to minimise breaking and the trail crew does an amazing job at keeping the trails in perfect condition.
The downhill line is the newest addition to the park and it is the shortest trail there as it goes almost straight down the hill. It isn’t too steep but is off-camber and very rooty almost the whole way, making it very challenging in the wet.
These are the trails you can ride directly from the top of the lift, but it is worth noting that some of the trails start from higher up on the hill, you can reach them by following the upper part of the uphill flowtrail. Up there, you will also find a little lake. Amazing to refresh on a warm summer day, before going into more laps.
RIDING Day 3 : Hochwechsel
As I said earlier, the bike park is only part of the fun Wexl has to offer. The hill is much bigger and offers tours with incredible views over the surrounding mountains. And on top of that, there is the Wu Trail, a fun flowy trail at the top of the Hochwechsel. Although this tour is doable with a regular mountainbike, I would recommend doing it on an e-bike. If you have your own one, perfect! If not, don’t worry, head to the bike shop at the bottom of the bikepark and grab yourself one of their rentals for the day. The crew in the shop is very friendly and always happy to help!
Time to head up the hill toward the Hochwechsel and the Wu trail. The climb takes some time, but is much more enjoyable in turbo mode, remember to enjoy the views on the way up.
This tour is about 35 km long, with 1100 meters of elevation, yes, that’s why I recommended the e-bike.
To break up the climb, we stopped for lunch at the Steyersberger Schwaig, great food, great mood.
While we were enjoying our Schnitzel and Käsespatzle, we watched a short downpour out the window. Did I mention that the mountain takes its name, “Wechsel ”(which means “Changing”) from the very inconsistent weather, changing very quickly, going from sunny to cloudy to rainy in less time than I need to write this.
Don’t get too caught up on the weather forecast, but as always on a tour, be prepared. We finished our meal as the rain stopped and the sun started peaking through the clouds. Time to get going.
Reaching the top of the Hochwechsel, at 1743 meters, the clouds closed in again and a very thin rain started to fall as we dropped into the Wu trail. Very quickly, as the speed picked up and we started finding flow, the rain stopped again and we ended up having a dry and somewhat sunny afternoon.
It has been very dry this spring, and this rain really helped make the trail conditions perfect. Crossing natural sections, berms and some nice jumps, we ended up 250 meters lower, in the sunshine, with big smiles on our faces, ready to head back to the bike park for a quick few evening laps on the e-bikes.
REST DAY: Vienna
What better way to take a break in your riding week, than going for a day out in one the most beautiful cities in Europe. My favorite way to explore the city is of course by bike! You can rent a bike reasonably cheaply at one of the many pickup/drop-off stations the city has to offer. This is great because you can drop off the bike anytime and anywhere if you want to go into a café or just walk around, and can pick one up again later if needed.
I like to follow the “Ring Strasse”, a street built in the 19th century, that circles around the “Inner Stadt”, the historical center of Vienna. From the Ring Strasse, you can easily pick your way between the historic Gardens, Palaces and Churches.
RIDING Day 4: Trail AREA WIEN NORD
As the name suggests this trail area is in the north of Vienna. You can park in “Weidlingbach” at the end of the Dornbach Trail. The parking spot is marked on Trailforks. From there you can go either side of the valley to find good trails. Let’s start with the southern side. That way you will find the Wurzel Trail 2.0. The old Wurzel Trail, an earlier mixed trail, has now become for hikers only and the Wurzel Trail 2.0 was built next to it for mountain bikes.
To reach the start the best way is to pedal up the “Dornbachgraben” and the “Roan” connection road to the top of the trail. With only 3 km and 200 meters of elevation, we quickly made it to the start of the trail. It drops into the woods with some nice turns and some root gardens, nothing too tricky but a very nice windy natural singletrail that uses the terrain to perfection to provide rollers and turns. It feels like a rollercoaster!
You can go back to the car for a quick snack before heading up the northern side of the valley. Here you will find another two trails, named Fun Line and Flow Line. Both these trails are much more man-made than the Wurzel Trail, with berms, jumps and rollers to spice up the ride. Again the relatively low elevation makes for an easy climb, perfect for lapping the trails, and getting faster and faster every run. I suggest starting with the Flow Line to get into the rhythm, then building up to the Fun line where you will find more jumps, and faster turns.
RIDING Day 5: Trail center Hohewand Wiese
This spot is also located in the North of Vienna, the small hill is home to a summer sledge track, no less than ten super fun mountainbike trails, and even a small lift. If you go there outside of the summer season, the lift is open for bikers. It will take you about halfway up the hill. From there, you can choose to lap the lower part of the park, or pedal to the top following the super smooth uphill line to get to the longest downhill runs.
Unfortunately, during the summer season, the lift is only for summer sledging, which will mean getting up the hill on your own power, or like us, with electrically assisted bikes.
The uphill flowline is amazing on the e-bikes, the gradient is perfect to race up, some of the turns are banked and you can have fun railing them. At the top, you will find a nice chill area with benches and tables made out of pallets. The perfect spot for a drink or a chat in the shade.
From the top, you have multiple choices on what to ride. From blue-graded flow lines to steep, off-camber downhill lines, and of course jump lines. If you know me a little bit, you will know that my preference normally goes towards airtime.
Today is no different and we drop into the Kenda Line, a flowy upper part with some intermediate size jumps that quickly goes into the Kenda Airline. This is when it becomes serious, big tables with some steep takeoffs and landings, step-downs, and shark fins. The challenge is to keep the rhythm with the jumps and turns being tight together. You don’t have much time to put a pedal in if you are feeling a bit too slow so consistency and precision are key here. The feeling of getting it right and linking it all together is exhilarating and as the sun is going down, we can’t stop ourselves from going up again for another run.
Practical infos
- How to get there: Vienna is a big city, with an international airport, train and bus stations.
- Where to stay: Southwest or Northwest. Not in the center if your main goal is to mountainbike.
- Which bikes to take: We used our trail/enduro bikes and enduro e-bikes. You don’t need both, you can do everything with either of those.
- How long to stay: A week is perfect for 5 days of riding, and 1 or 2 rest/tourist days.
- Best time to come: All year round, late Spring, Summer, or early Autumn for the best riding condition and bike park openings.
- Where to find information: All these spots are on Trailforks, they also have official websites with all the information you need.
Useful links and websites:
- wienerwald.info/mountainbiken
- wexltrails.at
- trailforks.com/region/trailarea-wien-nord
- hohewandwiese.com
Tips
- Mödling
- Food on Top: Krauste Linde
- Food in Town: Zen/ Pasta/ Ofenbarung/ Pino/ Phoenix / Haus der Biere/ Mautswirtshaus
- Not bike related: Seegrotte
- Bikeshop: Wienerwald Biker
- Wexl trails
- Food at the bikepark: Wexl Lounge
- Food on the mountain: Steyersberger Schwaig
- Bikeshop: Wexl Bikeshop
- Trail Area Vienna North
- No bikeshops or restaurant, take some spare parts with you, for food and drink there are supermarkets nearby.
- Trail Center Hohewandwiese
- At the foot of the lift you will find a good restaurant and a bikeshop.
- Vienna City
- Lokale: Das Loft www.dasloftwien.at
- die Weinschenke in der Franzensgasse www.weinschenkewien.com
- Gmoakeller www.gmoakeller.at
- der ganze Naschmarkt
- Bikeshop: www.Ciclopia.at
- Suspension: www.suspensionlab.at
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Text & story: Helene Fruhwirth
Photos: Alex Chapignac