Breathtaking mountain holidays in the Stubai Valley

Last updated on 05.04.2019

Fresh air, an intact nature and attractions for all ages await.

Summer in the Stubai Valley happens outside, with fresh air, a unique panorama and the alpine diversity that mountain holidaymakers and families enjoy so much. There are also a number of attractions scattered around from the valley floor up through to the middle heights and onto the high alpine terrain. This year, the Stubai Glacier will amaze its young visitors, the Schlick 2000 lives up to its name as a hiking centre, the Elferbahn lift in Neustift is in operation for an extra long period of time, the Serlesbahnen in Mieders is focusing on barrier-free access and the Grawa Waterfall invites you onto its new platform where you can relax and enjoy yourself.

The Stubai Valley offers guests from all over the world a recreational space that its residents value and maintain as a habitat and share with visitors. It is a region focused on activity and having fun, whose physical competence in terms of its natural surroundings, facilities and skilled guides and trainers can be tangibly felt all-year-round.

Experience the fascination of glaciers
If you explore the Stubai Glacier this summer, you can look forward to regal experiences of nature and a literally gigantic highlight. In the Kingdom of Snow stands an impressive, six-metre-high mammoth who skilfully connects the adventure playground and photo point at the Eisgrat mountain station. Here downtime leads directly into the ice age. The six-metre-high and over seven-metre-long mammoth made of wood will open on 14 July 2019 as part of the “Fascination of Ice” event. The mammoth – an eye-catcher in itself – will captivate young visitors in particular, who can let off steam on the Mammoth adventure playground with various play activities, including a snail slide, a funnel, a climbing wall as well as a pouring tube and a sand elevator.
At the same time, at over 3,000 metres, the Stubai glacier world doesn’t just delight families but it also inspires mountaineers and fans of a good view. Its location just 45 minutes from the Tyrolean capital of Innsbruck scores points with both holiday guests and day trippers. Its easy accessibility and the quick ascent on the modern 3S Eisgratbahn combined with the versatile summer offer, make the Stubai Glacier the ideal destination for taking a break from the summer heat. Above all, the ice grotto on the Stubai Glacier, which offers unique insights into the millennium-old glacier ice and entertains children with the BIG Family Ice Rally, provides sparkling adventures.
The Schaufeljochbahn takes you further up to 3,165 meters above sea level. Just a few minutes’ walk from the mountain station, the summit platform TOP OF TYROL towers to 3,210 meters. The panoramic view sweeps over 109 three-thousand-metre peaks and affords fascinating views of the surrounding mountains of the Stubai Alps as far as the Dolomites or the Schaufeljoch chapel. By the way, the platform has been chosen by the magazine GEO as one of the ten most spectacular viewing platforms in the world.

From the mountain to the forest in the Schlick 2000
In the hiking centre Schlick 2000 in Fulpmes the name says it all. A wide, 65-kilometre-long network of hiking trails leads through the Kalkkögel range, also known as the Dolomites of North Tyrol. At over 2,100 metres above sea level, instructive themed trails start, such as the “Alpenpflanzenlehrpfad” (alpine plant learning path) or the “Naturlehrweg” (nature trail), which deal with the flora and fauna of the Alps. The “StubaiBlick” viewing platform, not far from the Kreuzjoch mountain station, offers a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and reveals legends. On three dates in August, it is also the scene of atmospheric sunrise excursions.
West of the mountain station, hiking trails lead to the “Alpin Erlebnispark” (alpine adventure park), with great rock climbing opportunities for beginners as well as the more advanced, the entrance to the Stubaier Höhenweg at the Starkenburger hut and the “Gletscherblick”, a site of natural beauty that frames the white firn. There is still time to enjoy the natural environment out on the evening pasture near the Schlickeralm restaurant.
Children run along the “Scheibenweg” (disc trail) in turn with wooden discs in a race to get to the Froneben middle station, where the “Stubai Baumhausweg”, a family highlight in the Schlick 2000, then also branches off. Exciting tree houses and extraordinary play activities invite you to discover, play and rest between the ground and the treetops. The path leads to the Almgasthof Vergör. After a little refreshment, it is worthwhile making a detour to “Gschmitz”, a site of natural beauty nearby, and look from there out to the valley.

Extra-long gondola rides on Mount Elfer
It sits enthroned in the middle of the valley and is visible from a long way away – the Elfer, Neustift’s monument mountain in the Stubai Valley. Not only is the view of the imposing rock massif unique, so too is the view from the Peninsula and so it has, and rightly so, the nickname “balcony of the Stubai Valley”. If you want to see for yourself, you’ll have a particularly long time to do so this summer season. The Elferbahn is in continuous operation from May to the beginning of November and from July onwards, it travels six times, every Tuesday, for sunset cruises until late at night.
Arrived at the mountain station, visitors will notice the largest walk-on sundial in the Alps. It is the starting point for informative walks on the “Geh-Zeiten-Weg” (time-trail paths), the paths into the Pinnistal and the “Gratzengrübel”, a site of natural beauty. Hikers and families with children are visibly comfortable here. Below the clock, the paragliders and hang-gliders rise from the nearby launch site to lofty heights. Downhill bikers twist and turn along two challenging single-track trails – the “Eins Einser” and the “Zwei Zweier”-trail – into the valley and climbing fans climb the rugged needles of the Elfermassiv on sporty via ferratas.

Comfortable and barrier-free at the Serlesbahnen in Mieders

The Serlesbahnen in Mieders have invested in comfort and accessibility. As of this summer, following the expansion of the valley station, they can take up to a quarter more passengers to the Koppeneck mountain station, where the hotspot of the area is located, the Serlespark. With its shimmering emerald-green main reservoir basin and three other pools, it represents the ideal world of adventure and relaxation for the whole family. In future, it will be accessible via a gently sloping access path with barrier-free access, ideal for strollers and wheelchairs. There are two kilometres of barrier-free paths around the Serles Lakes, from which you can enjoy the view of the surrounding mountain panorama. Furthermore, the range of activities on offer at the Miederer mountain is completed by the “Bewegungsparcour” (activity trail), the Serles train to the Maria Waldrast monastery and the three observation stations, namely “Koppeneck”, “Karwendelblick” and “Serlesblick”.

WildeWasserWeg site of natural beauty receives new platform
The WildeWasserWeg, which impressively demonstrates the elemental forces of flowing water masses on three stages, is the highlight of the mountain holiday in the Stubai Valley. Attractive stops along the way are a breathtaking gorge called “Ruetz Cataract” and the Grawa Waterfall, the heart of the WildeWasserWeg. The ever-present spray of the waterfall has a health-promoting effect, which has been scientifically proven. In order to provide as many visitors as possible with this positive benefit, a residential platform with deck chairs has been newly installed at the foot of the waterfall. With its shapes, it nestles into the landscape and passes on the flowing movement of the water to the environment.