Biking In Innsbruck: All You Need To Know

What To Expect

Examine Innsbruck’s geographical position for a moment and you will understand why it’s a biking paradise. Nestling in the Inn valley and sandwiched between Karwendel Alps (north) and Patscherkofel/ Serles (south) Innsbruck boasts of easiest mountain access right from its city centre (Nordkette). The city has long bike lanes that connect it to surrounding towns. Just 10 minutes of drive away there is Mutter Village while the Stubai village is half an hour away.

Innsbruck Biking — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Incidentally, Innsbruck plans to revamp itself as one of Europe’s leading mountain biking (MTB) destinations over the next decade. The city recently won the bid for hosting the 2018 Road World Championship and it has boosted its biking infrastructure remarkably along with a strengthening of its transportation networks… Innsbruck is now certifiably a ‘Bike City’.

Get around Innsbruck and you will see that buses have bike racks sitting on their backs and trams happily transporting bikes along with people. Even funiculars and gondolas carry bikes and bike lanes deck almost all wide streets of the city. The surrounding area around Innsbruck is undoubtedly beautiful and there are plenty of lovely terrains to explore but 4 areas are officially recognised to constitute the brand ‘Bike City Innsbruck’. These are:

Innsbruck’s Nordkette Mountain,
Innsbruck Bike Park in Mutters and Gotzen,
Tirol Bike Park in Steinach,

The Elferbahn Gondola trails at Stubai Valley Neustift.

A grand total of 115 km of mountain bike trails zigzag through the Innsbruck region and its gang of holiday villages, and offer routes of varying difficulty (altitudes range from 600 meters to 2250 meters). Whenever you check out the difficulty level of any biking trail look for the colour coding (blue is for beginners, red for bikers of moderate experience and black for experienced bikers).

Nordkette Mountain

Bikers usually meet up at the Lownhaus funicular station and then ride up to whichever Nordkette trail they want. The easiest is usually the new Arzler Alm trail which is meant for bikers of all experience levels. There is a stop at Arzler Alm Alpine Pasture hut that offers beautiful views of Innsbruck plus cake and coffee. The trail has many gentle jumps and small drops and a slightly challenging uphill stretch. The Arzler Alm trail is a fun trail that ultimately meets up with the Hungerburg trail though the latter is obviously a more challenging option.

If you take the Hungerburg trail then fuel yourself at the Café Hitt and Sohne right at the top of the funicular, the Hungerburg trail takes off into the forest where there are some sharp vertical drops and ascents but overall it’s an achievable trail that pales in comparison to the difficulties presented by the mighty Nordkette Singletrack Beast trail. This one is only for experienced bikers and there are 36-degree angles and 1030 meter sharp drops with tight bends and fast turns.

Biking at Nordkette gives bikers the added thrill of accessing Zaha Hadid’s sensationally designed Nordkette Funicular and the Seegrubenbahn Gondola that takes them right up the mountains. Biking here means that there is a good chance of spotting famous bikers who regularly visit challenging trails here like the single track which is now believed to be one of the most difficult downhill trails in Europe.

The Mutters Bike Park & Muttereralm Adventure Mountain

The Mutters Bike Park is quickly becoming a family biking magnet because of the range of activities it offers although it shot to the limelight because of the Crankworx. The best MTB riders across the world congregate at the Mountain bike Gravity Festival ‘Crankworx’ and it’s an exhibition of awesome long bike jumps, high-speed races down the hill and so much more!! Trendy and latest biking equipment is also kept on display.

The Crankworx Innsbruck is hosted in June every year and the venue is Mutters village bike park (called Bike Park Innsbruck) that’s just a ten-minute ride away from Innsbruck town. Technically, the bike park extends from the mountain station to the intermediate station.

There are multiple trails in Innsbruck Bike Park and their names are kind of self-explanatory.

The First One is a pretty gentle slope (easier than Nordkette) and is loamy with chunks of Alpine meadows and roots and the drop is about 350 meters through a lovely wood. About midway, the First One trail meets the ‘Chainless One’ … an interesting trail with 180 bends and plenty of thrills. There are other tough trails like ‘The Rough One’ and the ‘Wild One’ that are meant only for experienced bikers.

If you are bringing kids then they can have a great time too at the 7000 sq. meter Kids Park (that’s right next to the cable car Valley Station). Mutteralm is known as the Adventure Mountain and it’s an awesome summer destination that offers many hikes including the well-known Innsbrucker Almenweg trail for adults and teens and an alpine playground and learning centre for kids. The huge Alpine playground sandwiched between the cable car station and the Panoramasee lake has ponds, enchanted forest, tree houses joined by chain bridges, Zauberwasser water course etc. There is also geo-caching that’s a 21st-century treasure hunt that’s conducted with advanced GPS devices.

There are even downhill mountain carts and easy downhill tracks in Mutteralm Mountain Park. Mutterer Mountain Carts (go Karts) that go from the mountain cable station to the valley cable station are now a big rage amongst kids.

Alpine huts provide resting places while the Muttereralm restaurant provides snacks and beverages. Muttereralm Park has a huge practice area with loads of activities and game zones. The Bike Park remains open in winter too and there are designated fat bike trails and snow bike circuits besides 15 km ski slopes 8 km away from the town over the village of Mutters and at the base of Muttereralmbahn Gondola. This can be justifiably called a great day trip destination for anyone visiting Innsbruck.

The best way to reach Bike Park by public transport is to take the L3 bus from Innsbruck railway station to the cable car station. The tram will only take you to Mutters town and to reach the cable car station / Bike Park there is a steep 20-minute walk. Though it opened relatively recently (in 2016) but it has been creating a lot of buzz. Cars are mostly parked in the car park at the base of Muttereralmbahn. For accessing most of the trails you need to go up on the Muttereralmbahn gondola with your bike … just board whichever gondola has the bike sign on it.

Tirol Bike Park Steinach

The Tirol Bike Park in Steinach, Wipptal Village opened only in 2012 but has two gorgeous gravelly downhill tracks that cater to a great variety of abilities and tastes. These high adrenaline trails both start off at the top of Bergeralmbahn Gondola and end up at the Slopestyle area and both have a fair share of table jumps, drop-offs and wallrides besides step-offs.

The bike park is the epicentre of the mountain biking network here that has 17 routes and lots of restaurants, lodges and mountain huts. Ötztal Cycle Marathon and other biking events are held in this region. Steinach is perched along the Sill river valley and lies at the junction of Gschnitz… it is 31 km south of Innsbruck.

The Wipptal Cycle route that connects the Brenner Pass with Innsbruck also commences here. This long route first runs on Brenner main road and then takes a gravelly cycle path before moving on to Elbogener Landesstrabe to Innsbruck. There is a lot of landscape variation on this route that spans across 40 km (3-hour ride) and there are lovely sights in between like the Ottoburg Castle (there is a connection to Inn Cycle Path from here). Steinach Brenner is 20 km to the south of Innsbruck.

Biking at Stubai Valley

The Elfer Mountain in Stubai Valley is the newest biking hotspot… it is operational only since 2017. Stubai Valley has always been in the limelight because of the top class skiing opportunities here but now it’s a biker’s paradise too!! There is a tough trail here called the EinsEinser trail that’s super steep and full of technical surprises. The less challenging but still high endurance ZweiZweier trail is smoother but it still packs in a lot of gaps, bends, drops etc. Visiting the Stubai valley gives you access to 4 gondolas.

The 2717 metre tall Serles Mountain is known as ‘Tirol’s High Altar’ and that can be accessed by Panoramabahn Elfer cable car that’s situated in the village of Mieders. The 2505 meter wide Elferspitze leisure park can be reached by the special Elfer panoramic gondola from the heart of Neustift. Both of these have biking trails while the Stubai glacier and the Schlick 2000 hiking centre are other major attractions in this zone.

Bike-friendly accommodation options abound in this area and there are features like guides, bike storage units, washing facilities plus plenty of bike shops and bike workshops. There are weekly kids and teens biking camps organised by Bike City across all its locations with the primary objective of cultivating an interest in biking and honing necessary skills and stamina.

You will find scheduled buses leaving for Stubai valley in front of the Hauptbahnhof station, Innsbruck.

Bike City Card

If you are really into biking then buying a Bike City card will be a good choice; you get unlimited access to all 4 bike parks, unlimited use of lift and bike transport systems… all included in one ticket. A single-day ticket for an adult will cost around 36 euros while a 5-day ticket is 144 euros.

Mountain Huts

Innsbruck and its surrounding areas are full of lovely little mountain huts that offer food, bike refurbishments and sometimes accommodation. The Nordkette, Patscherkofel, Serles etc. each have their own bevy of huts and many of these are bereft of signboards and printed menus though they serve the best (and freshest) Tyrolean cuisine. Each hut offers unique unadulterated mountain views and has limited menu items that are exceptionally delicious.

When visiting mountain huts try items that are made with seasonal ingredients like Chanterelle Goulash, Schnitzel, Almdudler etc. You can also try local speciality beverages like Holla that’s a syrup reduction made from elderberry flowers. Some of the more famous mountain huts are Coburger Hutte Alpine Hut (Obsteig), Kreither Alm (Kreith 60, Mutters), Alpengasthaus Stockerhof (Mutters) Stottlalm Mountain Hut and Seebenalm Alpine Hut (Mieming).

Inn Cycle Path

The 520 km long Inn Cycle Path is now hailed as Europe’s longest and prettiest cycle route and it literally follows the River Inn from its source in the Maloja Pass Switzerland through Tirol and on to Passau in Germany. The Tirol section of the Inn cycle path is 230 km long and runs on scenic specially built safe cycle paths along the river Inn.

Innsbruck sort of lies in the middle of the Inn Cycle path which is why you will often see bikers passing through the city. You can easily try out the Inn Cycle path… It’s a gentle route with lots of sightseeing opportunities. For example, you can cycle to Martinswand from Innsbruck and then pass on to Telfs and Zirl… this is route Silz Innsbruck and is a safe, pleasant route with regular descents and almost no ascends. Or you could take the opposite direction and cycle towards Strass from Innsbruck and en-route you can explore the Rum holiday village and Hall town. The beauty of the Inn Cycle path is that it appeals to bikers of all ages and abilities.

The Mieming trail starts off from the Inn Cycle path in Innsbruck and then runs along the southern side of Inn River to Vols where it meets the main road. Bikers go through the villages of Flaurling, Inzing, Hatting while admiring the traditional cottages and flourishing local markets that lie around these areas. There should be a break at the Stams Abbey and the Orangerie monastery and then the route leaves the Motz main road and joins a paved cycling path that goes up to reach the Mieming plateau. You will see wonderful green meadows here offset by a view of the savage Wetterstein mountains.

While coming back bikers usually go downhill to Telf and then follow the north bank of Inn River back to Innsbruck. This is an 80 km route that has minimum ascends and can be done by anyone who knows the basics of MTB and is reasonably fit. If you want a shorter biking experience take public transport to Mieming Plateau and rent a bike there to experience its 30 km Mieming plateau loop that takes you across the high points of this amazingly fertile region. Mieming is the best place near Innsbruck for shopping for organic produce as the route markings will guide you from one local seller to the next.

E-Biking

E Biking is hugely popular amongst tourists who want to bike in and around Innsbruck without straining themselves. The bikes have an electric motor to help to pedal and the level of motor assistance can be controlled by the rider. The town terrain in Innsbruck is mostly flat but the terrain in the outskirts is steep and that’s when the ‘sports mode’ of e-bikes comes in handy.

You can easily rent an e-bike and do nature trails and some sightseeing on your own but guided bike tours make sure that you are never lost and accomplish maximum sightseeing within minimum time.

Innsbruck Bikeschool offers the best-guided bike tours around here and they take groups (less than 8) around the city as well as up and around the gorgeous mountain trails and bike parks. They do these tours every day from April to November and you need to email/ phone in order to book.

Address
Leopoldstraße 4, 6020 Innsbruck
Email: [email protected]; Phone: 0660 4148337, Website

Innsbruck Bikeschool offers both e-bike and regular MTB bike tours. Half-day tours (2.5 hours to 3 hours) are priced at 90 euros per person while full-day tours (5 hours) are priced at 160 euros.

Guided Bike Tours

If you want to join a guided bike tour where the bike or e-bike along with a helmet and other accessories are provided along with an experienced guide, then check out this Viator site for some excellent options.

Best Bike Rentals

Whether you want to rent an MTB or an e-bike, knowing the best places to rent it from is important. Check with the individual operators to know about their rental plans, terms and conditions etc. If renting an e-bike, enquire about the location of e-bike charging stations around. Bike rental agencies usually double up as bike repair stations too.

Alpin Bike
Address: Planötzenhofstraße 16, 6020 Innsbruck
Phone: +43 664 / 1343230
E-Mail: [email protected]

Bike Point
Address: Gumppstraße 20, 6020 Innsbruck
Phone: +43 512 / 36 12 75
E-Mail: [email protected]

BKD Innsbruck
Address: Burgenlandstraße 29, 6020 Innsbruck
Phone: +43 (0) 512 / 343226
E-Mail: [email protected]

Bike Washing Facilities

There are bike washing facilities in Innsbruck town as well as Nordkette cable stations. You will find bike washing facilities at the first and second stations of the Muttereralmbahn as well as Nockspitzbahn.