Summer Highlights 2022
Broad expanses and astonishing views convey a sense of boundless freedom and the pure joy you only experience here in the high Alps. Freedom also means an endless array of opportunities for hikers, bikers, nature lovers, families and day trippers to choose from. Right on the border of the biggest national park in the Alps, Hohe Tauern National Park, and with every fiber of your being, you are able to enjoy an extraordinary sense of freedom at elevations between 786 and 3,029 meters above sea level.
The unmistakable silhouette of the Kitzsteinhorn and its almost magical aura make this “White Mountain” the iconic emblem of the entire Zell am See-Kaprun region. The “Kitz”, as it is affectionately nicknamed in these parts, is one of the most legendary glacier ski areas in the Eastern Alps. From autumn until early summer, winter sports fans get to enjoy the freedom they yearn for at 3,000 meters above sea level. Yet all summer long, the incredible duo of the Kitzsteinhorn and the Maiskogel greets families, hikers, cyclists and nature lovers with a wealth of choices. Readily accessible thanks to ultramodern gondolas that provide passengers a comfortable ride up to higher elevations. In the summer months, the cableway known as the K-ONNECTION offers a direct link from the town center of Kaprun, over the Maiskogel and all the way up to the Kitzsteinhorn.
TOP OF SALZBURG / Gipfelwelt 3000 – the high-alpine excursion destination
What a sublime feeling it is to stand on the 3,029 meters-high viewing platform, aptly named TOP OF SALZBURG, allowing your eyes to roam the jaw-dropping scenery: As if in a painting, rank upon rank of more than 200 alpine peaks extend towards the horizon - including the mighty 3,000ers and glistening glaciers of Hohe Tauern National Park, the biggest national park in the Alps. And this unforgettable experience is surprisingly close at hand, with the ride on the modern gondola from the valley to the top station at 3,029 meters taking only a matter of minutes. Surrounded by the highest mountains in Austria, visitors experience high-alpine nature at its most spectacular. Aside from the panoramic TOP OF SALZBURG platform, the over 360 meters-long Nationalpark Gallery, with its fascinating info stations, is one of the out-and-out highlights. The tunnel runs right through the mountain, opening out onto yet another awe-inspiring lookout platform which is geographically actually inside Hohe Tauern National Park. Here, revealing itself before your eyes, is the imposing image of the highest mountain in all of Austria, the Grossglockner (elev. 3,798 m). In the Cinema 3000, projected onto an 8 meters-wide screen, you will enjoy a movie-going experience unlike any other. The multi-award-winning film “Kitzsteinhorn-THE NATURE” shows the Kitzsteinhorn, not only as a paradise for outdoor sports, but also as the vast habitat it is for the countless creatures that make their homes here in the Alps.
Hiking tours filled with variety
Awaiting you on the Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel are hiking routes that promise constant variety and enjoyment. Thanks to the MK Maiskogelbahn, you are able to board a lift in Kaprun and float up to the starting point of many different hiking trails and hiking tours. The Hut Tour (“Hüttenrunde”) interconnects the traditional huts and alpine grazing areas on the Maiskogel by means of an easy and very relaxed hiking loop suitable for the whole family. The huts themselves invite you to stop by, take a bit of a break and sample a selection of regional specialties. The Kitzsteinhorn also offers diverse and occasionally challenging hiking terrain. Sometimes paths that climb gently across green meadows strewn with colorful flowers. Sometimes rocky high-alpine landscapes with trails across exposed karst. Once again, the gondolas will bring you quickly and comfortably to the trailheads for the various hiking routes.
Paradise for Mountain Bikers
The Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel have long been one of the most popular high-alpine destinations for experienced mountain bikers. The selection of tours is broad and exciting. Whether a challenging sweat-inducing climb – with or without an extra boost from an electric motor – or in combination with the total comfort of a gondola. Bikers enjoy so many different options, from magical tours on the Maiskogel to high-alpine, physically demanding freeride trails on the Kitzsteinhorn. The Maiskogel Trail, especially due to its wide construction and minimal slopes, is an ideal “gateway” biking experience for beginners and families. Here on the Maiskogel Trail, they also hold a “Trail Tuesday” (every Tuesday, logically), at which they offer training in basic freeriding skills for newbies. A great opportunity to learn correcting braking and cornering techniques from the pros, and perfect preparation for your first “solo” on the trails.
High-spirited adventure for families and kids
Snowy enjoyment in the middle of summer. The ICE ARENA on the glacier plateau at 2,900 m promises unique summertime enjoyment in the snow, in July as well as August. An unforgettable experience for the whole family, highlighted by sledding and tubing hills, a “snow beach” and, of course, snowball fights in the summer snow. At the KIDSsteinhorn Adventure Playground close to Restaurant Gletschermühle at 2,500 meters, kids get to run, play and have the time of their lives surrounded by the high-alpine countryside. On the Langwiedboden, a Water Fun Park promises pure enjoyment for the little dudes.
K-ONNECTION: Unique panoramic lift ride from Kaprun directly to the glacier
As many as six separate gondola stages bring you from the Kaprun town center, over the Maiskogel and up to the TOP OF SALZBURG at 3,029 meters. The longest cableway in the Eastern Alps also spans the greatest elevation gain, a jaw-dropping 2,261 vertical meters. Furthermore, each section of the K-ONNECTION affords never-before-seen perspectives and fascinating views of the high-alpine landscape, interspersed with scenic lookout points where you can truly absorb the majesty of what is there before your eyes. The centerpiece of this direct link to the Kitzsteinhorn is the 3K K-onnection. The most modern tri-cable gondola in the world. As if floating on air and almost silently, passengers glide closer and closer to the highest peaks in Austria. 32 designer gondolas – including two that are completely glass-sided – guarantee fantastic 360° panoramas of the high Alps, of those mighty 3,000ers and, far below, of Kaprun Valley, including the picturesque Klammsee and Zeller See.
Maisi Flitzer – comfy ride up, exhilarating ride down
As soon as you have sat yourself down on the Maisi Flitzer, buckled yourself in, and the traffic light at the valley station has turned to green, your first “order of business” is a laid-back ride up the mountain. At the final curve, you will have reached the highest point, and thus the start of what is certain to be a thrilling ride all the way back down to the valley. As much as eleven meters above the ground, you will zoom down the mountainside, a ride that also includes tight curves and loops through which you will clearly feel the centrifugal forces on your body. The Maisi Flitzer, located in the town center of Kaprun, is an exciting adventure. At the bottom of the Maisi Flitzer, a number of other highlights are just waiting for you to discover: a big playground, a slide paradise, a bouncy castle, a merry-go-round and many other attractions.
Explorer Tour with a National Park Ranger
Every day during the summer, National Park Rangers lead an Explorer Tour through four climate and vegetation zones at elevations between 786 and 3,029 meters above sea level. The tour begins in the Kaprun town center, utilizing the lifts to climb the 2,261 vertical meters in comfort. On the various stages of the lift ride, participants are given an eagle’s-eye view of their surroundings. The views on all sides and deep below the fully glass-sided Explorer Cabins on the 3K K-onnection are magnificent to say the least. In each elevation zone, you will also be given plenty of time to explore the native flora and fauna with the National Park Ranger. In summer, this tour begins daily at 9 am from the Kaprun Center, right there at the valley station of the MK Maiskogelbahn. Advance online registration is required at www.kitzsteinhorn.at/explorer.
Best Austrian Summer Lifts
For more than ten years now, the Kitzsteinhorn has been quality-certified as one of the “Best Austrian Summer Lifts”. In all of Austria, only 83 mountain lifts are permitted to display this prestigious seal of quality. More than 100 quality criteria must be met, which include offering an iconic experience unique to that specific location – in the case of the Kitzsteinhorn, it is the theme “Panorama and Nature Experience”. Inspections are conducted every three years prior to quality certification being re-awarded.
Culinary enjoyment at every level
The Summit Restaurant and Bergrestaurant Gletschermühle on the Kitzsteinhorn are clear evidence that you can dine really, really well even at high elevations. There, excursioners, visitors and nature lovers are able to enjoy Austrian culinary classics as well as international specialties.