On June 1, 2024, it's happening!

The panoramic trails, with touring options across the alpine pastures and flowing descents, are being expanded on the Styrian side of the mountain.

Initial situation on the Styrian mountainside:

Cycling on the Wechsel had until now only been permitted on public roads in accordance with the StVO. Not only because of technical developments (e‑bikes), however, mountain biking has become increasingly popular in the region. The demand from forest owners, hunters, hikers and landowners for a designated route to counter unguided/uncontrolled mountain biking grew ever louder. After a feasibility study was carried out, it became clear that a solution could be found.

Goal and target groups:

Primary target groups are the entire population of East Styria and the neighbouring regions of Lower Austria and Burgenland; additionally, overnight guests should be targeted through an appropriate overall offering. The trails, with their varying difficulty levels, also provide an attractive option for school and sports weeks. 

Project & Financing

The sponsor and operator of the project is the Association for Tourism Development Steirischer Wechsel under chairman Markus SIMON.

The project is financed 60 percent with support from the federal government, the State of Styria and the European Union; the participating municipalities (Schäffern, Pinggau, Friedberg, Dechantskirchen, St. Lorenzen am Wechsel, Rohrbach an der Lafnitz and Lafnitz) share the remainder among themselves.

Routes

The centerpiece of the project is a continuous trail from the Schutzhaus on the Hochwechsel over the Alm to the Vorauer Schwaig. Overall, the Styrian PanoramaTrails connect the bike paths from the Thermenland (via the R8) as well as the Großer Jogl and the bike paths around Lafnitz, which run from Waldbach to Rohrbach, with the already existing Wexl Trails in Lower Austria.

Trail maps will be available at the municipal offices, in local inns, and at the Wexl Trails ticket office in St. Corona am Wechsel from early June 2024.

Information and details about the individual routes:

Tour tips:

What makes these trails so special?

The Styrian Wechsel area will feature 3 km of singletrail and a 50 km mountain bike route network once completed. In total across the Wechsel (Styria and Lower Austria) an enthusiastic target group can be offered 130 km of mountain bike trails – making the Wechsel the largest mountain bike destination in eastern Austria (even larger than Schladming). Also noteworthy and unique is that all huts are integrated into the network and can be accessed by bike, which is not a given.A big thank-you to all the property owners who pulled together on this.

Opening hours

The Panorama Trails are every summer vOpen from May 15 to November 1.and passable. Between November 2 and May 14 it is closed for the winter.

All information about theYou can find the opening hours here.

Trail Ticket

The use of the trails is subject to a fee. Trail tickets for individual days can either be obtained at the municipal offices of the participating communities, at inns and huts in person, or, of course — most easily —also acquired digitallyn will be.

Season tickets

Users of the Wexl Trails in the Styrian region can in theTicket webshop: a mobile season ticketbuy online.

The advantage of this mobile-ticket season pass is that you don't need a chip card that has to be picked up or returned. After purchasing online, you receive a confirmation by email with a PDF invoice and a PDF voucher.

Quick tip: Simply save the invoice and voucher on your phone (or save a screenshot as a photo). These must be presented during an inspection.

Anyone who would prefer a season ticket on a chip card can get one.herebuy online and pick up the chip card from us in St. Corona am Wechsel.

Season tickets are valid for the current summer season.

If you want to give next year’s season ticket as a Christmas or birthday present, gift vouchers in theOnline shopAvailable. The season ticket for the next year is usually available online from mid‑December.