Hiking the Ötscher Gorge. A canyon full of photo opportunities
The Ötschergraben (engl. “Ötscher Gorge”) is a beautiful gorge carved by an emerald blue creek by the name of “Ötscherbach” (engl. “Ötscher Creek”). The gorge is located in Lower Austria inside the “Ötscher-Tormäuer” national park. I’ve hiked in the gorge several times. In this blog post, you’ll see the beauty of this national park, and maybe I can persuade you to visit it for a hike.
Know before you go
The Ötscher Gorge is an ideal day trip if you stay in Vienna and want to experience the beauty of nature as a contrast to the city.
How to get to the Ötscher Gorge?
There are just two ways to get there. Either you go there by car or by train. Going by car will take you around 1 hour and 45 minutes from Vienna. That’s the fastest way to get there. Public transport will take you around 4 hours from Vienna, and you’ll need to change the train at least twice! So my recommendation is to go there by car.
You’ll find a parking lot right at the entrance of the national park.
Is it free to enter the Ötscher Gorge?
As the Ötscher Gorge is inside a national park, you’ll have to pay an entrance fee. At the time of writing they charge 10 EUR for an adult. But I think that’s a fair price for the beautiful landscale you’re going to experience.
How strenuous is the hike?
As you’re hiking downhill at the beginning of the gorge, you’ll have to hike uphill at the end to get out of the gorge. The uphill hike is a bit strenuous and takes between and hour or two, depending on your condition.
Plan half a day for the hike that I’m going to share with you.
Hiking through the Ötscher Gorge
The beginning of the gorge
Right after the booth where you paid the entrance fee, you’ll hike through a forest for about 15 to 30 Minutes. You’ll already see the Ötscher Creek. You’ll pass over a few small bridges until you enter the gorge.
Footbridge over the Ötscher Creek
From here, you’ll hike downhill. It will take you between 15 and 30 Minutes to reach the bottom of the gorge.
Hiking down into the Ötscher Gorge
The bottom of the Ötscher Gorge
Once you’ve reached the bottom of the gorge, you’ll hike on gravel paths and small, wooden footbridges right next to the Ötscher Creek.
Bottom of the Ötscher Gorge
There are even some spots where you can dip your feet into the creek. That’s a welcoming opportunity on hot summer days.
After about 90 minutes, you’ll see a snack station on the left. But it’s a small snack station. So if you arrive here at noon, do not expect to find a free table. Many other hikers had the same idea already. From the snack station, continue for another 30 minutes to get to a beautiful waterfall.
Waterfall at the Ötscher Gorge
Once you’ve taken your photos, return to the snack station and leave the gorge.
Exiting the Ötscher Gorge
You have two main options to exit the Ötscher Gorge. Either by hiking all the way back where you came from. But Behind the previously mentioned snack station is also a trail you can take to leave the gorge. Once you’ve made it uphill, continue along the road downhill until you reach a train station after about 30 minutes.
From here you can take the train called “Ötscherbär” (engl. “Ötscher Bear”) to go back to the entrance of the national park.
Summary
The Ötscher Gorge is a beautiful national park with impressive sights and dozens of places to take photos with your iPhone. The hike is mainly easy except for the part where you need to hike uphill again to leave the gorge. Plan an entire day here. It’s worth the time.
If you need some inspiration for taking photos here, check my blog post about the mastering essential photo composition techniques like the rule of thirds or using leading lines.
