Danube Deviations - head for the hills

Heading for the hills, on the Ötscherland bike trail

 The Danube bike trail from Passau to Vienna is hugely popular. In the summer the bikes go by in flocks. Bikes of every type. Riders of every age. It is a wonder to see. Cycling as easy as it can be.

But it can be a bit tedious. It’s a big river and there are only so many gigantic cruise ships to gawp at. It’s a wide valley and the hills are sometimes rather distant. And where there are attractions, like the abbey at Melk, the cruise ships are double parked and the trail is clogged with their passengers. 

 

Cruise ships double parked beside the bike trail at Melk 

It is great to see so many people enjoying their bikes. But the gaggles of cycling groups, all with matching bikes and day bags, out on their first bike tour experience, are so concentrated on following the wheel ahead, it is best to give them a wide berth.

 The Danube bike trail can at times become a bit tedious - it isn't often as empty as this

So if all this is spoiling your fun, leave the Danube and head for the hills. On the south side of the river, in the province of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) there are a number of great bike routes which follow rivers flowing down to the Danube. And you don’t have to ride up to enjoy the ride down. 

From Sankt Pölten the Mariazellerbahn, will take you and your bike to the pilgrim centre, Mariazell. The two-and-a-half hour journey itself is worth taking and the town with its lovely basilica, has a special atmosphere. Leaving on the Traisental Radweg is a true treat. Almost entirely on tiny roads or bike-only asphalt trails, it swirls down a serpentine road, and then climbs before it launches you into a wonderful descent back to the start. It is so well signposted you can’t get lost. It is about 88km to St Pölten, but continues another 20km to Traismauer on the Danube.

 

Along the Traisental bike route

Not had enough? Ride across country on the Pielachtal bike trail to Melk and a short way up the Danube. At Pöchlarn is the start of the Ötscherland bike route. This climbs 656m over a stretch of 62km. The first part rises gently but after Gaming a steady but do-able climb brings you to Pfaffenschlag from where there is a beautiful run down to the lake at Lunz.

 

The river Ybbs has beautiful green waters

From here, the trail along the river Ybbs through to the old town of Waidhofen is as good a route as you can find anywhere. Steadily descending, it is a broad, smooth asphalt trail running through pretty villages and along the turquoise green of the river. After Waidhofen it isn’t quite so idyllic, but it is easy to follow to Amstetten and the town of Ybbs on the Danube.

 

Göstling on the Ybbs Bike trail

The scenery is farmland and woodland, lovely but not extreme in any way. It certainly is a lot quieter than along the Danube and you will have had an opportunity to stretch your legs a bit on the uphill stretches and cruise down the descents.

Niederösterreich is justifiably proud of these trails, and the many more that link to and from them. They have a good range of detailed maps available for free in the tourist offices. The building of the province’s cycle network has been financially supported by the EU.