River Inn Cycle Trail

High peaks and rolling hills

The River Inn Cycle Trail leads from Switzerland via Austria to Germany and all the sections are family-friendly. Although there are some light climbs around the source of the river on the Maloja Pass, from the Tirol the route is largely even and follows the river until it joins the Danube in Passau. The countless connections to other cycle trails in Engadin, Tirol, Bavaria and Upper Austria are an additional attraction to the River Inn Cycle Trail. You can look forward to a journey of diversity: from the peaks of the Alps to the rolling hills of Bavaria and the floodplains of Upper Austria.

The steep 3000 m high mountains, the stretching high plateau of the Engadin, the tourist centres of St. Moritz, Pontresina and Scuol make this trail a unique cycling experience. At Finstermünz, cyclists are already rolling on Austrian soil into the Tyrolean Oberland. The trail leads past romantic spots on the banks along the river and through the highlands and mountains via Landeck, Imst and Roppen, Ötztal/Haiming to Innsbruck. The capital of the Tirol is a fascinating combination of tradition and modernity.

After Innsbruck come a number of picturesque towns: Stans, the silver town of Schwaz, Brixlegg and Kramsach. The trail continues through diverse landscapes to Wörgl and Kirchbichl, the fortress town of Kufstein and finally to the Bavarian section of the River Inn. At Brannenburg it is worth taking a trip to the Wendelstein on Europe’s oldest rack railway. Other towns snuggled in the rolling hills include the historic town of Rosenheim and Wasserburg as well as Altötting, a place of pilgrimage, and Burghausen.

After the Salzach converges with the Inn you will find the historic, cultural town of Braunau am Inn, where you can climb Austria’s sixth-highest church tower to get a fantastic view of the Lower Inn European Nature Reserve, a real natural jewel. The nature reserve stretches for 55 km downstream and includes numerous islands, as well as impressive floodplain vegetation and over 300 species of bird. The trail continues via Braunau, Obernberg, the Reichersberg Abbey, home to the Augustinian Canons and a fantastic wine merchant, the picturesque little town of Schärding and its world-famous Silver Row, until you reach the end of the trail in the town of Passau, where three rivers converge.