Wandern, © Christoph Kerschbaum/www.ishootpeople.at

Hiking in the Vienna Woods

Discover the most beautiful tours around Vienna.

From the Vienna Basin to the Traisen and Gölsen regions: this is the only location in the world where 1300 square kilometres of nature has been kept intact right next to a city of millions. When you’re hiking in this area, you will discover hilly sandstone forest ridges to the west, as well as steep limestone cliffs to the east. There are also deciduous and pine forests that are punctuated by meadows and fields – a dreamlike hiking route can be found there at all times of the year.

The 30 most beautiful hiking tours through the Vienna Woods

Discover the Vienna Woods by foot along a number of interesting routes. Together with the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve we have compiled a list of the 30 most beautiful hikes in the Vienna Woods. These day hikes offer a balanced mix of easy, family-friendly short circular walks, such as a walk through the Sparbach Nature Park, to more challenging day tours that require a good level of fitness. The hike to the “Rooftops of the Vienna Woods“ takes hikers to the almost 900m high The Schöpfl and the neighbouring Gföhlberg – the panoramic views are picture-perfect! And the best bit: You don't even need a car. The majority of the hikes are easy to access by public transport.

Particularly family-friendly and easy hiking paths in the Vienna Woods

The Sparbach Nature Park is family-friendly on account of the fact that it is suitable for prams and equipped with easy paths. Elderly hikers can select easy routes and get some rest at picturesque rest areas. A hike through the Hagenbachklamm is perfect for hot summer days, since this wild and romantic gorge has a lot of shade. The cool water of the Hagenbach is also refreshing. The well-built paths do not call for any particular surefootedness.

Rest points and hosts along the routes

From inns, to pubs, to rustic wine taverns – the variety of cuisine along the routes in the Vienna Woods offer hungry hikers the ideal places to rest a while. The hosts that you’ll find along the hiking routes are given for each tour.

Not to be forgotten – Rules of conduct for hiking in the Vienna Woods

Hikes should obviously make it possible for everybody to enjoy nature and experience the beauty of the landscape. In order to ensure that the natural beauty and the animals’ living spaces are preserved, you should follow the most important rules of conduct associated with hiking. The most important basic rules are summarised as follows:

  • Be mindful of the signposts and markings while hiking. Only the officially marked paths may be used in the core zones of the nature conservation area. Nevertheless, you should stick to the paths no matter where you are so that the wild animals are not disturbed.
  • Check the weather conditions before you go on any tour and be mindful of potential limitations to the accessibility of the paths.
  • Mushrooms, berries and the like may not be collected in the nature conservation areas. However, such items may be collected for one’s own personal use in the other zones (up to 2 kg per person, per day).
  • Dogs should be on a leash out of consideration for wild animals, but also for one’s own protection as contact with the wild can result in the transmission of diseases.