Travellers’ tales: A family cycle tour in the Alps

“Where do you want to go on holiday this year?” we asked our children (Rafe aged 6 and Edwyn aged 9). “Cycle touring!” they both replied. Having enjoyed previous tours of the Rhine and the Bodensee, we fancied something a little more mountainous but still family friendly and so settled on the Alps.

As outdoor enthusiasts and geographers we wanted to introduce the children to big mountains, the opportunity to see streams grow to big rivers, glaciers, eagles and a host of other wildlife. Don’t underestimate the interest of industries along the river, too: gravel workings, numerous hydroelectric plants and dams.

Swiss start

Starting at St Moritz in Switzerland, the Innradweg (Inn Cycle Path) follows the River Inn as far as Passau. We decided to cycle the first section to Jenbach just east of Innsbruck.

Then, to stay in the mountains, we headed south through the Zillertal Valley and over the Gerlos Alpine Road to cycle the Tauernradweg (Tauern Cycle Path) from Krimml to Salzburg: 570km of continuous riding.

In all we used two ferries, 12 trains and cycled 682km in five different countries (France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein). There were two hotels and 18 campsites on the way, the highlights being those with go karts and swimming pools.

The Inn cycleway is a mixture of gravel and asphalt, with some challenging hills, especially in the first 100km, with bikes that were fully loaded and Rafe on the FollowMe tandem.

Cobbles on the road through towns added interest to the uphill riding – it was tempting to give chase as e-bikers whizzed past. Fortunately, there are some wonderful downhill sections as well.

Weather watch

During most of the trip we had good weather, very hot and sunny. However, this sort of weather often leads to late afternoon thunderstorms in the Alps. Watching one such storm head down the valley towards us, we knew we wouldn’t make the campsite so tried to shelter under some trees.

This proved fruitless as the rain was so heavy it came through the leaves and the path was a flowing river within five minutes. About 20 minutes later we got to the campsite absolutely soaked.

Luckily there was a large shower room to change in. Mostly our things dried out, but it took 24 hours for our shoes. Lesson learned: don’t leave getting to the campsite too late in the afternoon.

After three days in Switzerland we crossed a nondescript border into Austria while riding a wonderful gravel section alongside the River Inn through a gorge. Beyond this the floodplains started to widen, the valley bottom flattened out and the route meandered along quiet lanes and cycle tracks through villages and small towns.

With the big hills behind us for the time being, we could enjoy some freewheeling and longer distances each day. The longest day of 77km completed our first section along the Inn valley. From Innsbruck we cycled to Jenbach then headed south along the Zillertalradweg for 31km to Mayrhofen.

Playtime

It wasn’t all about the cycling though. With children, it’s important to stop at play parks, and there are some amazing ones along the way with massive slides, climbing frames and swings.

Outdoor swimming pools were abundant, usually with water slides and other activities such as white-water rafting. There were also cable cars, funicular railways and Innsbruck Alpine Zoo.

Mostly we managed to turn our phones off during the trip and enjoyed some screen-free time. We did find the internet super useful when it came to locating supermarkets for food shopping, though. Due to the 37°C temperatures and practicalities of carrying food, we were often shopping twice a day.

After four days of mountain fun in the Zillertal Valley we needed to get to Krimml via the Gerlos Alpine Road, a 1,100m climb through the mountains to move from the Tyrol to the Tauern region.

Initially we had considered taking a cable car, but we spent the money on rafting instead, which we concluded was a better investment. We cycled the hill. We followed a classic mountain road through hairpin bends and its winding route through the mountain.

The scenic route

We split the climb with a campsite in Gerlos 700m up. There were some nice albeit tough gravel sections which enabled us to get off the busy road and take a slower but more scenic route.

The last downhill section into Krimml and the official start of the Tauern cycleway followed the Pinzgauer Höhe pass. This hair-raising descent of 12km included hairpin bends and gradients up to 17%. It took us 15 minutes to complete it. The children said their hands ached from braking so much!

The semi off-road route winds its way along the valley floor until Zell am See where it splits. We elected for the more scenic route along the Saalach River, cycling along a lake shore and through narrow gorges and passed briefly through Bavaria in Germany.

The Saalach joins the Salzach River in Salzburg where the two routes come back together. We ended our cycling here but it’s possible to follow the cycle route all the way to Passau.