Au: Discover Hiking, Climbing and Wiesle

Au offers a range of options for planning your day: hikes with specific times and route details, climbing and other destinations can each be considered separately. To help you choose, first compare the time required and the character of each route, then consider its course and destination. This will help you decide whether a particular hike or another activity is a better fit for your stay.

Hiking by duration and route

The Auenweg is an easy hiking trail, 8.46 kilometres long, with a duration of two hours. The walk to Wiesle takes about one hour and 15 minutes from Au or from the Nösslach Chapel; it follows a narrow, somewhat steep hiking trail. Comparing the times, the Auenweg is the longer of the two hikes, by approximately 45 minutes. Since the walking time to Wiesle is approximate, this difference is also only a guideline. For Wiesle, there are also two possible starting points in addition to the walking time; this may be just as important for planning your day as the duration itself.

The Auenweg first follows the Ötztaler Ache downstream and later upstream to the hamlet of Au. It then returns to Längenfeld along the opposite bank. If you choose a hike based on its route, you can take both directions along the river and the change of banks into account.

Climbing and other destinations

The Auplatte climbing garden is in the district of Au and has 41 routes. This is a distinct climbing option when planning your day, alongside the hiking trails: climbing is the main focus here, while the hiking options are defined by distance, duration and route. The number of routes gives the climbing programme a specific, quantifiable scope.

The Warch-Weg starts in Au and follows the banks of the Ötztaler Ache to Aschbach. By contrast, after following its course along the river, the Auenweg returns to Längenfeld along the opposite bank. The named destinations help distinguish these two riverside routes when planning. The Geo-Lehrpfad Winkelberg ends at a water playground at Winkelboden. This gives this trail a specific endpoint, distinct from Aschbach and Längenfeld.

Winkelbergsee is jade green, fed by spring water and has three islands. Its defining features are therefore its colour, water source and islands, rather than a route. This offers a different nature experience from the trails and the climbing garden described here.

Wiesle: a hiking destination with a historical connection

Wiesle was first mentioned in a document as a Schweighof 450 years ago. This historical connection adds a cultural and historical perspective to the practical considerations of walking time and trail character. If you include Wiesle in your travel plans for this reason, you can consider it both as a hiking destination and in light of its historical mention.

Directions at the start of the village

At the start of Au, you can reach the Auenweg, cycle path and hiking trail by turning right towards Winklen and then left after a few metres. After crossing a road, the path continues to the hamlet of Unterried. This gives you a specific sequence of directions for the start and a named landmark, Unterried, for the onward route.

Discover more destinations: Gries, Burgstein, Huben, Unterlängenfeld, Oberlängenfeld, Oberried, Winklen.

Return to the main travel overview: Längenfeld.