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Please find information on holidays in Austria in your local language by selecting it here.
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Lebensgefühl Austria - children at play
Hiking with Kids in Austria
Hiking is a great and memorable family holiday activity. Need a few suggestions? Check out our favourite kid-friendly trails.
Fancy an outdoorsy family day? Hiking is a great way to get your little ones connected to nature at a young age while bonding as a family over fun and memorable experiences. Add all the beautiful landscapes you will discover and the bonus of exercising in fresh air and you might even consider it as a mission to turn your offspring into dedicated hikers and backpackers for many years to come.
However, hiking with kids in tow is slightly different from heading out solo or together with fellow adults. Firstly, keep in mind you will have to slow your pace. Secondly, kids prefer to explore the trail rather than just walk from point A to point B. And thirdly, you might need to come up with some games along the way to keep them motivated.
To make things easier, many Austrian regions offer designated family trails these days, with interactive stations, playgrounds, picknick spots and a lot more.
The best Themed Hikes for Families
Children are naturally curious about their surroundings - and even more if their senses are properly stimulated. So, when hiking, it's always a good idea to keep them entertained with fun learning experiences. They might just become dedicated hikers as a side effect.
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Streif in summer media_content.tooltip.skippedStreif Panorama Trail
Explore the famous Hahnenkamm trail on foot and learn more about both the Streif and Kitzbühel. There are 9 interactive stations along the way based on the real race track.
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St. Anton, Arlberg Mutspurenweg Path St. Anton am Arlbergmedia_content.tooltip.skippedMutspuren Circular Trail
A family-friendly hike on the Galzig mountain featuring interactive learning stations, water games by the reservoir, amazing views, and a gondola ride.
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Familienwanderung im Tuxertal media_content.tooltip.skippedTux River Adventure Walk
A fun 3-hour-walk along the Tux River in Zillertal with a curved slide, dwarf forest with wobbly bridge, butterfly flight cable car, adventure barn and much more.
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Hiking in St. Anton St. Anton am Arlbergmedia_content.tooltip.skippedSenn’s Wonder Walking Trail
A multi-award-winning trail in St. Anton am Arlberg featuring a Magic Forest, a tree house, a natural playground, flower and herb gardens and a barefoot path.
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Summer in St.Johann media_content.tooltip.skippedSchnackler Adventure Trail
Children follow the story of local mascot "Schnackler", a young shepherd, on this hiking trail in Tirol's Kaiserbach valley. Playing stations along the way included.
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Family Hiking in Austria's 9 Federal Provinces
Looking for the perfect hiking trip? Have a look at what Austria's federal provinces have to offer for families hiking with kids.
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How long can you hike with kids?
To make a family hike a success for everyone, it's essential to take your kids' abilities and interests into account when planning a tour. Keep in mind that hikes always have to be adapted to the weakest members of the group - in that case, this would be your children, especially the little ones.
So, how long can you actually hike with kids in tow? While times may vary depending on individuals, there are a few rules of thumb to follow:
- Up to the age of 6, children shouldn't hike for more than 3 or 4 hours.
- Primary school kids can manage an average of 5 hours.
- If you hike with teenagers aged 10 to 14, the tour should take a maximum of 7 hours.
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Checklist for your kid's backpack
Make sure that the backpack matches your kid's size and is not heavier than 10% of his or her body weight.
- Rain protection
- Reusable bottle, filled with water or tea
- Small sandwiches or muesli bars
- Sun cap or hat
- Fleece vest
- Extra t-shirt and socks
- Sun protection
Family Moments in Austria's Nature
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Hiking in the woods, family holidays, Altaussee media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Drachensteigen, Ferien mit Familie auf der Gjaidalm media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Pflanzenbestimmung media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Schwarzsee lake media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Family Hiking in Alpbachtal in Tirol media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Family hiking Saalbach Hinterglemm media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Familie am Fluss media_content.tooltip.skipped
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Keep the memories alive!
Hardly anyone travels without a smartphone these days and there's no doubt it's tempting to just snap your family pictures when on holiday and leave them on your phone for good. However, photo books and albums are a great way to remember experiences, so, it's worth taking the extra time to choose your favourite shots and get them printed. You might also want to take into account that, according to studies, kids best remember activities when looking at images of the experiences themselves, not the obligatory selfies.
So, when taking out your phone (or camera), think about the little details: the animals you encounter on your tour, a gorge you explore, or the wild flowers along the way. It comes without saying that some family selfies and fun shots of your kids should not be forgotten. But they usually happen spontaneously anyway.
Family Hikes at the Water
Hiking for several hours? Nothing to worry about! When water is involved, children will easily lose track of time and forget about their tired legs.
If one day isn't enough: Multi-day adventures
The kids are slowly getting into the flow. While they were restless at first, hard to motivate and quickly tired, they have now found their rhythm. Equipped with "hiking sticks" found along the way, they are marching towards their end destination for the day: the mountain hut. Soon they will be enjoying the hearty farmhouse bread with homemade butter and mountain cheese and then spread out their sleeping bags in the dormitory - after admiring all the stars in the sky of course! What could be more romantic and memorable?
The Most Beautiful Multi-Day Hikes for Families
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Hiking in Tirol’s Wilder Kaiser region media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Hiking to the Maurachalm in the Grossarltal valley media_content.tooltip.skipped -
Hiking in the Alpbach Valley media_content.tooltip.skipped
