Cycling around the lakes of the Salzkammergut

Wonderful cycle rides around the most beautiful lakes

The magic of the lakes

The Salzkammergut is famous for its numerous lakes. They are all of drinking-water quality and lie picturesquely nestled between mountains, hills, forests and meadows. The blue of the lakes shimmers through the branches, small waves lap at the shore, schools of fish frolic in the shallow water and the sails of the boats glisten white in the distance. Exploring a lake by bike is something truly special. The pace is moderate, you engage all your senses, you mostly ride away from the roads, and if it gets too hot, you can easily cool off with a dip in the clear water. We have selected the most beautiful lake circuits in the Salzkammergut for you.

Attersee Circuit

It’s just a five-kilometre or 20-minute cycle from St. Georgen im Attergau to the shores of Lake Attersee. The cycle tour begins there in Attersee am Attersee. You pass through Nußdorf, Zell am Attersee, Unterach am Attersee, Weißenbach am Attersee, Steinbach am Attersee, Weyregg am Attersee and Seewalchen am Attersee. On the eastern side of the lake, you’ll mostly be cycling along a road. The tour takes around four hours and covers approximately 55 kilometres. Along the way, there are plenty of opportunities to jump into the crystal-clear waters of Lake Attersee and cool off.

Mondsee Loop

Just south of Lake Attersee lies Lake Mondsee, which is connected to Lake Attersee via the Seeache. The route around Lake Mondsee involves very little elevation gain, so this cycle tour is also suitable for families. We start at the lakeside promenade in Mondsee and then cycle clockwise around the lake, past the Loibichl bathing spot, where you turn off at the Mayerhof onto a short climb and then rejoin the main road. At the other end of the lake near Au, you could also cycle on to Unterach and thus incorporate Lake Attersee into the tour. We, however, stay on the shores of Lake Mondsee and head up through narrow tunnels on the steep northern side of the Schafberg, near the Kienbergwand, towards Scharfling. These tunnels, incidentally, were built specifically for cyclists. Here you’ll also find one of the lake’s landmarks – the Kreuzstein. A small rock jutting out of the lake with two crosses. Once in Scharfling, you could also cycle over a small pass to St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang. However, the route around Lake Mondsee continues from Scharfling to Plomberg, Schwarzindien and finally back to Lake Mondsee. The 25-kilometre route takes just under two hours.

Wolfgangsee Loop

Lake Wolfgang stretches along the southern side of the Schafberg. It is roughly the same size as Lake Mondsee, but at 114 metres, it is almost twice as deep. The water of Lake Wolfgang is considered particularly clear and pure. With the Schafberg and the villages of St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang, there is plenty to discover here. We start our ride in beautiful St. Gilgen and set off towards Gschwand. On this stretch, we cycle alongside the main road for a while, which also runs alongside the lake here. At Gschwand, we leave the main road and stay closer to the lake. This is also the narrowest point of the lake, at just under 200 metres. At the eastern end of the lake, the village of Strobl awaits us. Afterwards, the route veers slightly away from the lake at Bürglstein and leads via Schwarzenbach back to the lakeshore. We now leave the province of Salzburg and arrive in St. Wolfgang, the only Upper Austrian section of Lake Wolfgang. St. Wolfgang is a small, idyllic village, made famous above all by the film ‘Das weiße Rössl am Wolfgangsee’. You continue on to Ried, where the route eventually joins a footpath and becomes quite steep. Even pushing the bike here is quite strenuous. We recommend taking the boat to Fürberg for this section. Near Fürberg there is an impressive natural swimming spot. A steep cliff drops straight down into the lake and only the very brave dare to jump from the very top. At Fürberg you leave the lake once again and cycle via Winkl back to St. Gilgen. The 24-kilometre route takes around two hours, with a 200-metre climb to tackle.

Irrsee Loop

The Irrsee is perhaps the most underrated lake on this circuit. Here, there are no rocky mountains bordering the lake, only higher ranges of hills. You start in the centre of Zell am Moos heading south and soon reach the junction by the Kasten inn. Here, the path turns onto a farm track leading to the western side of the lake. At the Hotel Pöllmann, you join the lakeside road and follow it. You pass a few places to stop for refreshments before reaching the moor on the north side of Lake Irrsee. In the village of Laiter, you join the main road and follow it to Ramsau. From here, the cycle path runs parallel to the main road back to the starting point. The 14.7-kilometre route takes just over an hour to cycle. However, we recommend taking your time, as there is plenty of nature to discover here alongside the land art. Parts of Lake Irrsee are protected, so you may also spot animals such as the curlew or the four-spotted chaser.

By the way, you can easily hire bikes from us at Hotel Winzer in St. Georgen im Attergau.

Written by Christian Messmer