Nestled amongst mountains, the Radstadt-Altenmarkt in Austria, is less than 50 miles (80 km) from the centre of Salzburg and an excellent option if you would like to go to a ski resort in the winter without the hustle and bustle of the bigger slopes and with a more affordable price.
The slopes are part of the Ski Amadé – a network of 28 ski areas offering 760 km of slopes that make up the second-largest ski area in Europe.
The Ski Amadé is divided into five regions: Salzburger Sportwelt, Dachstein Tauern, Bad Gastein, Hochkönig Ski Area (read more here) and Grossarl Valley.
The Radstadt-Altenmarkt is part of the Salzburger Sportwelt and is situated between 850 and 1.571m with around 18km of blue, red and black slopes linked by eight modern lifts systems.
Although Radstadt-Altenmarkt is one of the smaller ski resorts in Ski Amadé, it offers plenty and is quite popular with beginners and experts for winter sports enthusiasts.
The Beginnerpark is a playground for all freestyle pros. Two kickers with a jump distance of two to four meters and three boxes quickly show who has enough courage and technique.
The Funslope Königslehen you pick up speed right at the beginning with the six-meter-long speed boost before you head over waves and steep curves, through a seven-meter-long tunnel and over a double-wave run. A snail and small jumps are additional challenges.
And the fun Fichtelland, next to the Hochbifangbahn train in Altenmarkt, is a children’s paradise, where children can experience an exciting story about the forest and its animal inhabitants.
The Kidsrun has 20 easy obstacles, including waves and steep curves and a Fichtel slalom course.
And as you might already know, I love sledging, and the Königslehen is the longest in the Salzburger Sportwelt region, with 6 km of a speedy and bendy run descending on an altitude of 727m.
They are also open on Tuesday and Friday’ nights from 18.00 to the last ride up at 21.00.
Ps: you can rent the sledges at the Königslehen station in Radstadt.
Families in particular will enjoy the nearby toboggan run at the Gnadenalm – a natural 1.5 km route and excellent for beginners and small children.
At the valley stations or in the village centre of Altenmarkt and Radstadt ski resorts, you will find several sports shops with ski/snowboard equipment to hire, ski service, ski schools, and an ice rink in Radstadt Sports Centre.
The Kemahdhöhe – name of the clear ski mountain between Altenmarkt and Radstadt – you can appreciate a magnificent 360-degree panoramic view of the alps.
And at the end of a fun day, you can head to one of the Après-ski to have more fun or the cafes, bars and restaurants within the area.
There is also a good variety of shops around the main square home to many concerts held throughout the year.
Or maybe, relax at the Therme Amadé Spa in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, near Radstadt, with swimming pools, saunas, massages and waterslides for the kids.
Prices
The Ski Amadé Ski Pass entitles you to use the lift and the sledge run Königslehen throughout the day.
A wide range of ski passes is offered, with season tickets, daily ski passes, multi-day tickets and toboggan tickets.
For prices and buying tickets for this season, check it out here.
How to get there?
By car
Directions for Radstadt:
Valley station Königslehen Radstadt
Unterbergstraße 15 – 5550 Radstadt
The car park is free of charge.
Directions for Altenmarkt:
Hochbifangbahn valley station Altenmarkt
Zauchenseestraße 109 – 5541 Altenmarkt im Pongau
By train
The Euro City (EC) and InterCity (IC) trains stops at Radstadt railway station.
There are frequent trains from Salzburg and Vienna. You can check the timetable here.
Also, trains come from Germany – Munich, Augsburg, Ulm, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Saarbrücken. Check for trains from Germany here.
And from Zurich, there is a daily direct EuroCity connection to Radstadt. Check time and prices here.
By plane
The nearest airports are WA Mozart Airport in Salzburg or the Franz Josef Strauss Airport in Munich.
For more info about the resort, you can also look at their website here.
I hope you have a lovely time as my friends and I did.
Enjoy your winter holiday!
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