Locals use Salzburg's home mountain for a multitude of activities: bicycling, mountain biking, hiking and paragliding are options during the summer. The mountain is used for alpine touring or cross-country skiing. A number of restaurants and hotels are available for day trips or vacations. The best known inns include the Zistelalm, Gersbergalm, Hotel Kobenzl, Mitteregg and the rustic Rauchenbühel Hut refuge.
Access and hiking
For those who do not have a car, the "Gaisberg" bus leaves from Mirabell Square and drives through the district of Gnigl up on the Gaisberg. The summit offers a wonderful panoramic view of the city of Salzburg, Salzburg's lake district, neighboring Bavaria and to the Göll massif and Tennen Mountains to the south. Drawing nearly 600,000 visitors, the Gaisberg peak is one of the most popular excursion destinations in the greater Salzburg area.
The circular Gaisberg trail near the Zistel, stretching five kilometers around the Gaisberg, and the 2.5-kilometer Zistel loop are the most popular hiking trails. All hiking trails on the Gaisberg are well-marked.
The Gaisberg is a true experience for Salzburg residents and visitors during the winter: almost 20 kilometers of cross-country trails, hiking trails and alpine touring routes are groomed, approx. 12 kilometers nearly each day. Skaters and diagonal striders feel equally comfortable on the loop trails while enjoying the view of the city and surrounding mountains. Attractive alpine touring routes lead to the Zistel and peak from Oberwinkl.
History of the Gaisberg Road
A railroad operated on the Gaisberg at the beginning of the 20th century. The last scheduled passenger trains operated on October 30, 1928. The tracks were removed in 1930 upon opening the Gaisberg Road to traffic in 1929.
The Gaisberg Road was commissioned in 1927 and already designed for motor sports competitions during the planning stage. After a two-year period of construction, 700 workers completed one of Europe's most beautiful low mountain roads in 1929. The "Austrian Mountain Rally" was held from 1929 to 1969. The annual Gaisberg Race for classic cars has been held since 2003.
The transmission tower on the Gaisberg
The Austrian Broadcasting Company's Salzburg Studio set up a 100-meter transmission tower on the Gaisberg at an altitude of ~ 1,300 meters above sea level in 1956/57. A lightning research project has been conducted at this site since 1998, directly measuring the roughly 50 strokes of lightning that hit the transmission tower each year. A special camera continuously delivers 1,000 frames per second.
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