Obertraun in Winter: Cross-Country Trail, Caves and Krippenstein

Obertraun offers a clearly defined combination of a cross-country trail, mountain scenery, caves and paths through protected landscapes for a winter stay. In winter, a cross-country trail runs through the Koppenwinkel Nature Reserve. The Dachstein-Krippenstein cable car provides access to several documented attractions, including the Ice Cave, the Mammoth Cave and the Cave Museum on Schönbergalm. With the first and second sections, you can reach Krippenstein at an altitude of 2,108 metres.

Winter Paths and Mountain Destinations

After taking the cable car up, the 5fingers viewing platform can be reached via a comfortable hike of about 25 minutes. The Heilbronn circular hiking trail offers views of the Dachstein massif and ends at Gjaidalm. In the Dachstein Hiking World on Krippenstein, 20 signposted stations at an elevation of just under 2,000 metres tell the story of how this unique landscape was formed. This trail is considered suitable for the whole family.

The cave trails also focus on different themes. The themed trail Hike Through Geological History illustrates 550 million years of Earth’s history along the 550-metre route from the Schönbergalm cable car station to the Mammoth Cave. The Dachstein Giant Ice Cave features, among other things, a suspension bridge as well as a light and sound show. Its route leads from the Ice Palace via the Parsifal Dome to the Great Iceberg, an ice formation more than nine metres high.

Cave Visits with Set Times

Specific information is available for the Koppenbrüller Cave for 2026: it is open daily from 1 May to 27 September 2026, with guided tours running continuously from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The entrance can be reached from the Koppenrast inn at the edge of Obertraun via a comfortable hiking trail along the Traun in about 15 minutes. During guided tours, the dry stream bed in the Simony Hall can transform within a few minutes into a raging mountain torrent during snowmelt or after heavy precipitation.

The Mammoth Cave conveys a different sense of scale: of the more than 70 kilometres of explored passages, about one kilometre can be visited on guided tours. The Obertraun themed trail leads to the Koppenbrüller Cave and then through the Koppenwinkel to Koppenwinkelalm. This means that, in addition to guided cave experiences, longer routes through the surrounding area are also available.

Landscape, Lake and Regional Orientation

The landscape ranges from forest and meadow paths along the Sarstein slope to trails through meadows, forests and floodplains; benches invite visitors to take a break. Koppenwinkel Lake and its surroundings have been protected as a nature reserve since 1978, and the lake is surrounded by green floodplain forest. Swimming is possible at Obertraun’s sunny bathing beach in the warmest bay of Lake Hallstatt. For a meal, there are options at the Dachstein in the Salzkammergut serving regional specialities.

The region around Hallstatt and Obertraun is described in its cultural and natural dimensions as cultural and natural heritage of the highest international standing. Obertraun can therefore be understood not only through its winter activities, but also through geological history, caves, protected floodplains and the Dachstein massif.

Further destinations for orientation: Rindbach, Ebensee, Altmünster am Traunsee, Gosau, Sankt Konrad, Neukirchen, Scharnstein, Bad Goisern Am Hallstättersee.

For the overarching travel overview: Gmunden District.