10 activities for families in the Pitztal

Our favourite activities for families during Winter season!

1. Walk around the Rifflsee

The path around the lake is flat, wide and takes about an hour at a child’s pace. Marmots live in the slopes above the water and they are not especially shy. The gondola from Mandarfen does the climbing for you, which matters when small legs are involved.

Bring something to eat. There is a hut at the far end, but the best spot is the flat rocks halfway round, where children can throw stones into very cold water for a surprisingly long time.

Good to know: buggy-friendly for most of the loop, though there is a short stretch of loose gravel near the outflow.

2. Take the gondola to Café 3440

Austria’s highest café sits on the Pitztal glacier at 3,440 metres. It is unashamedly a tourist thing to do and children love it: snow in July, a viewing platform with a glass floor, and hot chocolate afterwards.

Dress properly. It can be twenty degrees in the valley and near freezing at the top, and every summer we watch families arrive in shorts and turn straight back around.

3. Spend an afternoon at ZirbenPark

On the Hochzeiger, a short drive down the valley, there is a play area built into the mountainside from stone pine. Water channels, wooden animals, climbing frames. Nothing digital, everything outdoors, and it will absorb most children for two or three hours.

4. Swim at the Alpenbad

Rain days need a plan, and the pool in Jerzens is ours. Indoor and outdoor sections, a slide, a shallow area for the youngest ones. Not glamorous, entirely functional, and a good deal cheaper than the thermal resorts further afield.

5. Walk the Wassermarsch trail

A themed water trail with dams to build, channels to divert and small bridges to cross. Children get soaked. Bring a spare set of clothes and accept it as the price of an easy afternoon.

6. Visit the goats on the way up

Several farms along the valley road keep goats and sheep close to the fence, and most farmers are happy for children to look. It costs nothing, takes ten minutes and consistently makes a bigger impression than the paid attractions.

7. Cycle the valley floor

The cycle path runs the length of the Pitztal, mostly flat, mostly separated from traffic. You can rent bikes and trailers in Mandarfen. The stretch from St. Leonhard down to Wenns is gentle enough for a nine-year-old on their own bike.

8. Ride the summer toboggan run

At Hochzeiger, a track down the mountainside on a small sled with a brake lever. Children need to be about eight to ride alone, younger ones go with a parent. Expect to do it four times.

9. Look for stones in the Pitze

The river runs cold and fast, but there are shallow bends where children can wade safely with an adult nearby. Garnets and mica turn up regularly. We have a small collection on the windowsill in the Stube from guests who found them.

10. Watch the stars from our terrace

The simplest one, and the one guests mention afterwards. At 1,680 metres with no light pollution, the Milky Way is properly visible on a clear night. Children who have only ever seen a city sky tend to go very quiet.

A word on ages

Most of this works from around four upwards. With toddlers, stick to the Rifflsee loop, the goats and the pool. With teenagers, the toboggan run and the glacier hold up better than you might expect.

If you tell us what ages you are bringing when you book, we will have a few suggestions ready when you arrive. We usually do anyway.