Pure mountain sports for all
Last updated on 15.06.2021
Summer 2021 in St. Anton am Arlberg/Austria
What constitutes a perfect Tyrolean mountain summer? For some, it’s exhilarating moments in nature’s midst. Mountain air, lush greenery and panoramic views that push everyday life to the back of the mind and flood the senses with alpine sunshine. Others replenish flagging energy levels with active sports, guide their bikes down scenic trails or around challenging serpentine bends, allow their boot-clad and enthusiastic feet to carry them through the landscape, before savouring that inimitable adrenalin rush of reaching a mountain summit. Some, on the other hand, prefer to take it easier on holiday and explore the local history, immersing themselves in the myths and legends of exciting historic sites. Those wanting to share in all of this and more, spend their mountain summer in St. Anton am Arlberg. From the “cosmopolitan village” of St. Anton on the banks of the Rosanna River, through the Stanzertal valley with the communities of Pettneu/Schnann, Flirsch and Strengen, this Tyrolean region has always exuded an inimitable charm with its wonderful mix of mountain sports and enthusiastic holiday hosts. Not only sports lovers, but families and camping fans too will find optimal infrastructure and ample space to relax safely here in the Austrian Alps. Tip: Those travelling environmentally friendly by rail get off the train right in the centre of St. Anton am Arlberg. The summer season starts on 19th June 2021. Information on the latest on-site safety measures is available here.
Info and Service
St. Anton Summer Card – your holiday ticket
Anyone visiting the St. Anton am Arlberg region, even for as little as one night’s stay in a hotel or guesthouse, receives the “St. Anton Summer Card.”. The free ticket is valid for the entire duration of stay and includes many free services, participation in the weekly and children’s programme, as well as special rates on many other activities. For example, each Summer Card entitles the bearer to one free admission to the Arlberg WellCom open-air swimming pool, or Arlberg Stanzertal wellness park, to St. Anton am Arlberg Museum and the Bergbau Gand hiking circuit. The weekly programme for cardholders includes free yoga sessions (once a week), guided hikes, archery, a torchlit hike and one green fee for the 9-hole golf course in the Nasserein district (handicap certificate required). Moreover, from summer 2021 there will be a €20 discount on the daily or half-day use of an e-bike in participating sports shops. All rides on the buses between Landeck and St. Christoph, as well as one day’s use of the St. Anton cable cars are also included. For a fee, guests can ”upgrade“ their ticket to a Premium Card and enjoy extra services. The St. Anton Summer Card is valid for the entire summer season from 19th June to 26th September 2021. www.sommerkarte.at
Electric infrastructure – expansion of charging stations
Vacationers in St. Anton am Arlberg and the Stanzertal Valley have had five rapid-charging stations for e-bikes at their disposal since summer 2020, where empty batteries can be “refuelled” up to 80 percent charge within 20 minutes. Each station has space for four bikes, and five different cables are available for different adapters. The new charging stations are located at the mountain station of Rendlbahn cable car, at St. Anton am Arlberg Tourist Information Office, Arlberg Stanzertal Wellness Park in Pettneu, Mario-Matt-Platz in Flirsch and between the municipal offices and Hotel Post in Strengen. Further stations are planned.
Leave your car at home – take the train straight to the village centre.
St. Anton am Arlberg in Tyrol is an attractive destination for rail travellers from all over Europe. The mountain village is a Railjet station, with seven direct connections daily from Vienna and Zurich. St. Anton am Arlberg Tourist Board operate the local railway station ticket office as a Service Centre. In addition to classic ticket sales, the station also functions as an additional tourist office with guest advisory and other services. Thanks to the cooperation with ÖBB (Austrian Rail), the Tourism Association is able to provide even more professional and personal service to arriving visitors. Overnight guests don’t actually need a car throughout the entire holiday region: buses regularly commute to and from all districts and the surrounding regions in the Stanzertal Valley and those staying in St. Anton am Arlberg direct can make the most of the convenient location and access everything on foot anyway.
News in Summer 2021
Arlberg Trail – 50-kilometre long-distance hike
From summer 2021, a new long-distance hiking trail will lead from St. Anton am Arlberg via St. Christoph to Stuben, Zürs, Lech and back to St. Anton. The Arlberg Trail has a total length of 50 kilometres, of which almost a fifth is covered by cable car, and can also be completed in individual stages. A total of 15 hours of walking is calculated to cover the 3,351 metres in elevation difference (4,322 m including the cable car). The route is scheduled to open mid-August 2021.
New: Interactive quiz tour through the village
In summer 2021, the range of activities for families in St. Anton am Arlberg will be expanded by the Detective Trail, where guests can playfully learn interesting facts about the Tyrolean mountain village and its history along an interactive treasure hunt. The creative quiz tour begins and ends at the tourist office and includes 14 stops: including the Galzigbahn cable car with its visionary “Ferris wheel”, the old railway station and Arlen Castle, where a groundbreaking encounter took place in the 14th century – one that has shaped the region to this day. Route descriptions and pictures guide “detectives” from puzzle to puzzle, to be solved by means of clues found on site. Price (including a little surprise at the end of the trail): from €7, children up to 6 years go free.
New: solve the whodunnit
Teamwork and communication: Holidaymakers can put their detective skills to the test in the only escape room in the St. Anton am Arlberg holiday region, in the basement of the “Murmel Bar.” The case with a splash of regional flair deals with the disappearance of the “Arlberg Giro” trophy, which participants only have an hour to solve before the award ceremony. As so often in life, the key to solving the mystery is: teamwork. Registration (required) under arlbergescapes.com.
Authentic mountain sports in an exhilarating natural setting
Biking, hiking, alpine summit experiences – with training included: lower oxygen levels at medium altitudes are a valuable side-effect of mountain sports, which is why many athletes take advantage of the myriad of opportunities for fitness and endurance training in St. Anton am Arlberg (1,304 metres above sea level). Speedy mountain ascents are facilitated by the Arlberg cable cars: they whisk holidaymakers to Mounts Rendl, Gampen, Kapall, Galzig and the 2,811-metre high Valluga. Once at the top, nature enthusiasts will discover a huge variety of hiking tours, food lovers can sample culinary delights at rustic mountain inns, while holidaymakers have ample space to enjoy the perfect mountain summer.
Endless hiking, from leisurely to high alpine
A 300-kilometre network of hiking trails in St. Anton am Arlberg opens the Tyrolean alpine world up to holidaymakers for extensive walks in the healing mountain air. Expert hikers can take advantage of meandering trails that transcend provincial borders, while nature lovers marvel at Mount Rendl ablaze with flowers and families sharpen their senses along Senn’s WunderWanderWeg (WonderHikingTrail). Those who prefer walking in company, can join one of the guided tours offered by the Arlberg-Arena Mountain Hiking School (free once a week with the Summer Card). Well-marked trails in varying lengths and degrees of difficulty entice hikers to the untouched natural landscapes of the Verwall and Lechtal Alps.
Long distance hiking trails of international repute
Pilgrims encounter many highlights along the famous Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela. The literally highest point to the northwest of Spain is located, however, at the tranquil Maiensee Lake above St. Christoph, a sub-district of St. Anton am Arlberg. The historic Arlberg Hospiz Hotel in St. Christoph, which offered protection and shelter to traveling pilgrims in the 14th Century, is also on the route. The “Eagle Walk”, Tyrol’s most spectacular long-distance hiking route, also begins (or ends) here. This 300-kilometre-long hike (over 24 stages) leads hikers past mighty peaks, refuge huts, mountain lakes and flower-filled meadows, through the Karwendel and Rofan mountains to St. Johann am Wilden Kaiser.
For (e-)MTB fans, racing cyclists, leisure lovers and families
St. Anton am Arlberg is a popular spot for every cyclist genre. The trails of the well-signposted 350-kilometre route network are sometimes extremely challenging, but always reward with fabulous views of some of the most beautiful high valleys in the Alps. St. Anton is also an ideal starting point for racing cyclists: Challenging routes stretch away to the east and west for alpine explorations, such as the sporty tour to the Kaunertaler Glacier, the scenic Silvretta High Alpine Road or the “Three Pass” journey to Bregenzerwald Forest and Lake Constance. A challenging 20-kilometre route has taken (E-)MTB fans to the Heilbronner Hut in Verwall since the summer of 2020. The route leads over asphalt and gravel paths as well as a steep trail (a total of 1,600 metres in elevation difference) and can be combined with tours to Paznauntal or Montafon. The Stanzertal cycle path between St. Anton am Arlberg and Schnann is asphalted from start to finish, making it particularly suitable for families with small children
Climbing for all levels of ability
With its steep and rocky faces, Arlberg presents a whole range of climbing opportunities for free climbing. The „Klettergarten“ (rock climbing area) at Schanner Gorge is a particularly popular destination for sport climbers, with 40 different routes (in grades of difficulty ranging from 3 to 9). Bouldering enthusiasts can scramble over boulders up to eight metres high along the wildly romantic rocky walls of the gorge. Experienced alpinists appreciate the region for its many high alpine multi-pitch routes. The Arlberg via Ferrate, for example, is considered one of the most challenging, but also one of the most beautiful in the Alps. The almost two-kilometre-long route leads high above St. Anton on a long ridge to Weißschrofenspitze Peak. Climbing fans of all ages enjoy the Verwalltal recreation area, where they can try out the high and low rope course, with a total of 22 climbing stations at heights of up to 12 metres. arl.rock sports and climbing centre in St. Anton am Arlberg attracts visitors in all weathers with its almost 1,000 square metres of climbing space. Of around 100 challenging climbing routes, 30 are located in the outdoor area where two climbing routes lead up the 18-metre-high outdoor tower. Tricky bouldering variants are also ready and waiting inside.
Alpine combinations in summer
Increasing numbers of holidaymakers appreciate combined mountain experiences such as “Bike & Hike”, i.e. an MTB tour to the starting point of a hike or climbing route. “Bike & Summit”, the combination of a tour on two wheels with an alpine summit ascent, is swiftly gaining popularity with mountain sports enthusiasts. The Darmstädter Hütte, eleven kilometres south of St. Anton am Arlberg in the Verwall Mountains is particularly suitable for this. A well secured gneiss climbing area can be found around this Alpine Club House and the nearby Kuchenspitze Peak (3,148 metres above sea level), with seven climbing areas and around 70 routes.
Quench your thirst for adventure in every element
Raging white waters, deep canyons and steep gorges: professional outdoor experts such as H2O Adventure or Kayak School Arlberg help visitors quench their thirst for adventure in the midst of the high alpine landscapes surrounding the holiday region of St. Anton am Arlberg – be it rafting, kayaking or canyoning tours down the Rosanna River, paragliding, climbing or adventure hikes at lofty hikes.
Nine holes with panorama
The mountainous landscape of St. Anton am Arlberg is perfect for golfers who enjoy that extra challenge – because you play on high alpine terrain on the fairways and greens in the Nasserein district. A challenging 100 metres in altitude need to be negotiated on this varied nine-hole course, which is “tricky” not just in terms of fitness, but also in terms of play. Amateurs are offered the opportunity to learn how to drive, chip and putt during coaching lessons, children’s afternoons or golf license courses.
Family holidays in St. Anton am Arlberg
Parents don’t have to wait until Hoppl the floppy-eared mascot takes off with their young ones before they can relax. From Mondays to Fridays, four to sixteen-year-olds learn all kinds of practical things during the professionally guided forays through nature, such as how to build a dam or a sundial. Families are also highly recommended to visit the pram friendly Verwalltal Valley, not far from the village centre. The flat cycling or hiking route leads past natural playgrounds, interactive stations on local myths and legends, as well as the emerald green Lake Verwallsee, whose magnificence is truly captivating.
Hiking holidays for inquisitive kids
The “Mutspuren – Feel the Courage” Panorama Trail on Galzig at 2,100 metres above sea level is easily accessible via cable car, where the whole family can learn about Arlberg’s fascinating history at the lovingly designed “Erlebniswelt – Adventure World”. A circular trail in Schann entitled “Faith and History” is dedicated to various themes such as the Swabian Children, alpine farming and the ”Golden City“ and also includes a treasure hunt. Senn´s WonderWalkingTrail around the Senn Hut above St, Anton am Arlberg is yet another popular day trip destination for families. The adventure trail extends to Lake Maiensee in St. Christoph and connects adventure stations in the herb garden, the tree house, along “Kuh’len Weg” trail or in the WunderWald Forest. QR codes are positioned along the trail, which can be decoded using a smart phone. The various stages were awarded the golden innovation prize for ”Ideas and Nature“ and ”Best Offer for Children”. Trained herbalist and Sennhütte hostess, Tanja Senn, also organises weekly guided tours.
A blooming world record
Every year in August, a small floral “Sennsation” can be found above St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria: since 2017, the Sennhütte has been the official record holder for the world’s largest floral arrangement with well in excess of 100,000 edelweiss blooms – in the form of a single giant edelweiss. Visitors can find out more about this powerful alpine symbol at the Edelweiss-Stadl and adjacent nature trail, which is part of the WonderWalkingTrail.
Places, tips and activities
The Versatile Verwall Valley
A particularly attractive hiking and cycling route leads through the Verwalltal recreation area, not far from St. Anton’s village centre. Past lush meadows, sections of forest, small streams and the emerald green Lake Verwallsee, the trail is flat and easy to negotiate, even when using a pram. Young climbing fans especially will enjoy making a stop at the high and low rope course, with a total of 22 climbing stations at heights of up to twelve metres. Those that dare can conquer their fear of heights on the “Flying Fox” zip wire over the Rosanna Gorge. There is a playground with a fire pit by the lake and another grill and picnic area near the Wagner Hut, an inviting meeting point for locals and visitors (open daily from 10 to 18 hrs). Interactive nature stations allow visitors to playfully immerse themselves in the myths and legends of the St. Anton am Arlberg region. The 35 metre long steel cable suspension bridge at the waterfall has also provided many an adrenalin rush, while bike enthusiasts can look forward to sampling the delights of the Pump Track, Northshore Trail and Co. at the “EldoRADo“ Bike Areal. Alternately, you can take the latest KTM E-motocross bikes out for a few laps of the specially built cross-country track. “EldoRADo” also features easy curves and obstacles for younger riders and is even suitable for balance bikes.
Visit the Arlberg in a rolling living room
Camping in a tent, a stylish road trip or some time out in alpine lodge ambience: St. Anton am Arlberg offers the very best conditions for holidays in mobile accommodation. Only a few kilometres from the “cosmopolitan village” of St. Anton am Arlberg, you will find two ideally situated 4-star campsites in Pettneu. In addition to classic camping, ArlBerglife holiday resort offers apartments and three stylish lodges of 60 square metres each with kitchen, flat-screen TV, private garden with barbecue and private sauna. All 145 pitches at Camping Arlberg have their own multifunctional eight square metre private bathroom in a biological wooden cabin. Panoramic tours of the surrounding Tyrolean mountains entice during the day, for example via Stöcklweg Trail to the historic Nessler Alm in a northerly direction, or southwards to the picturesquely situated Malfon Alm with views of the Lechtal Alps. Regular bus services shuttle from Pettneu to St. Anton am Arlberg (free with the summer ticket). Camping fun without the bites: thanks to the altitude and climatic conditions in St. Anton am Arlberg, living conditions for mosquitoes are unfavourable, which is a true blessing, not just for a good night’s sleep.
History brought to life
Follow in the footsteps of Tyrolean ore mining history – as well as the region’s mysterious past: the former mining area of Gand in St. Jakob, a sub-district of St. Anton am Arlberg, has been accessible to visitors on a circular hiking trail since 2019. This shared project between the municipality and Tourist Board connects two tunnels and three show huts along a route of 750 metres. www.bergbau-gand.at
New home for the yoga community
The yoga community in St. Anton am Arlberg has grown significantly in recent years, thanks not only to the international Mountain Yoga Festival. Local and vacationing yogis now have their very own room for their sessions with arl.flow in the Karl Schranz Stadium. In addition to courses for beginners and advanced students in various styles, the programme includes children’s yoga, meditation and relaxation sessions. The stadium’s roof terrace can also be used in good weather.
Indoor sports centre with trampoline hall
Tennis, squash, bowling, climbing, bouldering: Active holidaymakers can let off steam all year round at the ultra-modern ”arl.rock“ sport and climbing centre in St. Anton am Arlberg. Highlights include the many climbing possibilities in varying levels of difficulty, while climbing fans can also look forward to 80 square metres of indoor bouldering facilities and 70 climbing routes. arl.park Trampoline Hall extended its facilities in 2019 and now covers a total area of 1,000 square metres with 14 jumping fields, airtrack floor jumping mats and bagjump airbags with freefall tower.
Relax with views of the peaks
Peace-seeking holidaymakers can relax tired muscles and regenerate in the soothing waters of the ultra-modern ARLBERG-well.com, Centre for Wellness and Communications in St. Anton am Arlberg. The complex is also used regularly as a venue for sporting and international events. As with Wellnesspark Arlberg Stanzertal in Pettneu, Summer Card holders enjoy free admission here too. Moreover, numerous hotels in the Tyrolean holiday region offer guests wellness and therapeutic treatments.
Proactive environmental protection and self-generated electricity
As an official KLAR! model region since 2021 (climate change adaption model region), St. Anton am Arlberg’s commitment to environmental protection includes various ecological measures and projects – ranging from alternative energy generation and waste disposal, to nature-friendly piste maintenance. The holiday region also strives to participate in the KLAR! support programme (Climate Change Adaptation Model Regions). The recently constructed local heat distribution network went into operation in autumn 2020, which is well on its way to saving no less than 5,000 tonnes of heating oil in its first year.
Arlberg electricity makes St. Anton autonomous
The independent power supply in St. Anton am Arlberg is a unique project. In 2005, the Kartell power plant was expanded and put into operation together with its eponymous lake, which holds around eight million cubic metres of water and generates around 33 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The same capacity is also used to supply the Rosanna power plant, making St. Anton am Arlberg self-sufficient in terms of power since 2006. Moreover, the municipality operates a wood chip fired biomass heating plant, which is designed to supply up to 80 residential units. The plant is also connected to a solar system for heating water.
