Things to do in Saalbach-Hinterglemm: the valley on foot and by sledge

The Guest Mobility Ticket

Every guest is handed a Guest Mobility Ticket at check in and it covers all public transport in the province of Salzburg for the length of the stay. It arrives in the Home of Lassig app wallet from the day of arrival, and the accommodation has to register you in advance for it to appear, so ask the hotel to do that before you travel rather than at the desk.

The ski bus, free with a ski pass

The valley bus runs the Glemmtaler Landesstrasse between Viehhofen and Lengau, stopping at every stop on the road, every twenty or thirty minutes depending on the season. Ski pass holders ride free to and from the lift stations, and separate shuttles run Schonleiten to Mitterlengau and Viehhofen to Schonleiten on their own dates. It is the reason a guest here can stay at one end of the valley and use the other.

Free guided winter walks, up to twice a day

The resort runs guided winter walks free of charge, up to two a day, with a state certified walking guide. It is a real free activity with a named person behind it rather than a brochure line, and it is the easiest way for somebody travelling alone or arriving without a plan to spend a morning outdoors in company.

A hundred and forty kilometres of winter walking

The headline figure for the valley, cleared and signposted, with an interactive winter hiking map and a separate winter trail running map published online. Pack a pair of spikes or grips for the boots, because the resort's own standing notice warns of black ice on some of the trails and recommends carrying them. Anybody who wants to start a walk from the top of a gondola buys the Sun Ticket or a single return.

The cross country trail at the valley head

The Glemmtal valley trail starts opposite the B4 Zwolfer-Nordbahn base station, runs along the Talschlusspromenade and gently up and down to Lengau, then about five hundred flat metres past the Hotel Lengauerhof across the meadows, and finishes with two continuously uphill kilometres to the Lindlingalm. Use of all the trails is free and there is parking at the start. After heavy snow the trails are groomed in the afternoon, because clearing the roads and the walking paths comes first, so a late start is the better plan on a snowy morning.

Opposite the B4 Zwolfer-Nordbahn base station, Hinterglemm

The Fairytale Forest

A built forest walk of well known fairy tales, Mother Hulda and Little Red Riding Hood among them, right beside the Sports Centre in Hinterglemm. It is illuminated in the evening and the official line is that it is accessible at all times, so it works after dinner as well as in the middle of the afternoon. It is also one of the stamps on the Kids Winter Challenge, and the only one of the five that is genuinely free.

Beside the Sports Centre, Hinterglemm

What the ski pass already covers

Night skiing is in the ticket and the ski pass page says so twice. The main floodlit run is the A9 Unterschwarzach in Hinterglemm, 1,051 m long with a 314 m drop and graded an easy blue, and there are two more, at the L12 Schantei lift in the middle of Leogang and at F5 in Fieberbrunn. A ticket bought from one day is valid from three o'clock the previous afternoon, floodlit slopes included.

The same pass covers the daytime playground on the mountain. The snow trails are narrow natural runs through the forest edges, marked with beach flags and printed on the piste map. On top of those sit the Funslope and Family Park at the A9 U-Bahn, the Funslope Zwolferkogel, the Snow Trail Bernkogel, a learn to ride park, a SkiMovie slope and speed slopes at four separate lifts.

Timok's Alpine Coaster, free with any lift ticket

A 1,160 metre two seater alpine coaster with a 115 metre drop from the F1 Streuboden middle station in Fieberbrunn, fitted with a rain cover so it runs in bad weather, and you control your own speed on the way down. Use of it is included in the price of every valid lift ticket, whether a ski pass or a single ticket, which nobody advertises anywhere.

F1 Streuboden middle station, Fieberbrunn

The Kids Winter Challenge

A punch card for children, the winter version of the summer hiking challenge. Symbols are collected at the Treetop Trail, in the Fairytale Forest, on the two illuminated toboggan runs, at three summit crosses and on the funslopes and snow trails, and a completed card handed in at the tourist office earns the child a medal. The flyer and the control card are a free download, so it can be printed before anybody travels.

The Spielberghaus, snowcat up and three kilometres down

This is the Austrian hut and toboggan evening in its purest form and it is really cheap. A piste basher collects you from the Staumauer Spielberg path and takes you up to the Spielberghaus at 1,311 m, you eat, and then you sledge three kilometres of illuminated natural run back into Saalbach. Ring ahead, because reservation by phone is essential and the family run the whole thing themselves.

Under 20 euros · Snowcat pick up from the Staumauer Spielberg path, Saalbach side of the valley · Their page

The Golden Gate Bridge of the Alps and the Baumzipfelweg

The suspension bridge does open in winter, and this was worth checking properly. From the Talschluss car park at the head of the valley a natural circular route runs two kilometres over meadows and through forest, and at the Lindlingalm the one kilometre Baumzipfelweg begins: a six hundred metre larchwood walkway up to thirty metres above the forest floor, with steps, towers, platforms, bridges and play stations in the treetops for children.

Under 20 euros · Talschlussweg 367, Hinterglemm, at the head of the valley. In winter reached on foot along the cleared trails, on cross country skis, or by horse drawn sleigh. The Talschlusszug valley train is a summer service · Their page

Horse drawn sleigh into the Talschluss

Familie Hasenauer run sleighs up the valley to the Lindlingalm, afternoons for families and evenings for couples, with blankets over the knees. It is also the pretty way to reach the Golden Gate Bridge, and it is the one thing at the head of this valley that works just as well when the weather closes in. Telephone reservation is required and Monday is the day off.

Over 50 euros · Talschlussweg 376, Hinterglemm · Their page

Pedestrian gondola rides and the Sun Ticket

Eleven gondolas carry foot passengers, which is a lot for one valley, and it means a walker can start a winter walk or a hut lunch at the top of the mountain rather than the bottom. The 12er Express is the one to know about, because a return on it is five euros, which is the cheapest way onto the mountain in the whole resort. The Sun Ticket is the multi day option and it buys two return rides a day anywhere in the Skicircus.

20 to 50 euros · Their page

The local history and ski museum

The village's own story in two connected collections, from a poor mountain farming community to a World Championship host. In the ski museum a touchscreen holds around a thousand images of skiing in Saalbach and of the 2025 World Championships, and in the local history rooms monitors let you browse more than two thousand images of village history through the Topothek. The current special exhibition is on Ranggeln, the Alpine wrestling tradition that has been on the UNESCO intangible heritage list since 2010, put together with the Saalbach Rangglers' association.

Under 20 euros · General-Weitlaner-Weg 58, Saalbach · Their page

Bowling at Bobby's Pub

Four bowling alleys taking up to sixty players, with billiards, darts, table football and arcade games alongside them, and a kitchen doing a daily special as well as pizza, toasties, kebabs and burgers. Book the lane ahead, because advance reservation is required in winter and it fills on the evenings the weather is poor.

Price on request · Unterdorf 353, Saalbach · Their page