Expansion of the hiking trail

Hike hellishly far in the beautiful Höllental valley

Hubert Prigl (Naturefriends Hirschwang-Reichenau), Peter Lepkowicz (Head of the Forestry Administration Source Protection of the Municipality of Vienna), Helmut Miernicki (Managing Director ecoplus), Regina Hrbek (Naturefriends Austria) and Andreas Schieder, (Chairman of Naturefriends Austria) at the ground-breaking ceremony for the extension of the water pipeline path.(Bild: Naturfreunde …sterreich/ Carina Fritz)

The popular hiking trail along the Schwarza is four kilometers long, starting at the Raxseilbahn valley station. Now the ground has been broken for an extension of over eight kilometers. A route that until now had to be covered on the busy Höllentalbundesstraße. 

Almost all year round, the wild and romantic water pipeline trail, nestled between the Rax and Schneeberg mountains, is a popular excursion destination for hikers, walkers and dog walkers. Especially in summer, as the turquoise-green, crystal-clear waters of the Schwarza are also ideal for wild swimming in many places. The start is at the valley station of the Rax cable car. The end - unfortunately - is in Kaiserbrunn. But fortunately not for long. Because the ground-breaking ceremony for the extension has now taken place. In two years at the latest, you will be able to hike 8.5 kilometers further to the former Gasthaus Singerin.

At the moment, the idyllic hiking trail is only four kilometers to Kaiserbrunn.(Bild: Doris Seebacher )

The hiking trail is particularly popular in summer, as beautiful bays invite you to swim in the wild.(Bild: Doris Seebacher )

Hiking further is not entirely safe at the moment

There were always critical voices because the path from Kaiserbrunn to the popular Weichtalhaus was only accessible via the main road 27, which was particularly popular with motorcyclists. School classes were recommended to take the bus for this distance. Many pilgrims and hikers also had to continue their journey from Kaiserbrunn via the narrow, often confusing road in order to reach their further destinations.

The total costs for the extension amounted to around EUR 800,000. 60 percent of this was funded by ecoplus, 15 percent by the City of Vienna and the rest was raised by numerous private individuals, tourism businesses and companies from the region. During the ground-breaking ceremony, they were presented with a specially created Höllental hiking pin as a big thank you.