Salzburg - Austria

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Steinpass

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21/B178 Bad Reichenhall - Steinpass - Lofer

N47?41.339 E12?50.768

This section of Germany, known as the Deutsche Eck (German corner) is where Hitler had his mountain retreat.It is busy, full of tourists and locals alike, but off-peak this road is a little jewel. A level road runs along a small river in a small gorge. It is certainly one of the best roads here anyway.

B164 Saalfelden - Dientner Sattel - Bischofshofen

2005-05-15

N47?23.490 E13?03.474

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You have two routes from Saalfelden to Bischofshofen. The first, via Schwarzach is the main road. Very heavy traffic but well-kept surface and mostly fast sweepers. Use this only if you really have to, because the northern option - via the Dienten Sattel (1357m) is definitely the best bet and one of, if not the best, road around here. It's been more-or-less re-surfaced from end to end, with just a few yards of unevenness, and widened in a few places. Because it runs the same route as the main road B311/B159 it only really has a few touring campers on it. And bikes.

The road can be broken down into 3 main setions:

Bischofshofen - Mühlbach:: Excellent. the road runs trough a narrow gorge along a small river. The surface here is superb. It's about 9km and an absolute blinder of a stretch. I'd rate this section among my favourite bits, very similar to the Grein road near Linz and the Gorge d'l'Arly near Albertville. The first 2km through the gorge has been recently resurfaced and repaired. Only a little patchiogn and overbanding, nothing to worry about.
Mühlbach - Maria Alm:: A mixture of medium radius sweepers with real twisies with one or two easy hairpins. The scenery is thick woodland and alpine meadows ("The hills are alive...") with towering vertical mountainsides in the distance.
Maria Alm - Saalfelden:: Sweepers and straights. Lined with villages and holds no real surprises, not terribly exciting

This route also has the advantage of avoiding most of Bischofshofen, which is always a Good Thing.
Don't be put off by thinking the main road will be faster - I did the 46km (I admit I wasn't hanging around though) in 33 minutes, including stopping for a few piccies.

To make the best of this road, you should ride the Bischofshofen end, then turn left at Dienten and take the road down to Eschenau on the B311. It's twisty but a bit bumpy in patches - not enough to ruin the fun. If you're coming to or from the Grossglockner then this is the route to take.
[Closed between December and May]

B162 Golling - Lammertal - Abtenau

N47?34.868 E13?14.926

This starts near Golling and the motorway and runs through a particularly narrow gorge above the river. Gradually getting lower, wider and a bit less twisty it joins the Pass Gschütt road at Abtenau.

B165 Zell am Ziller - Mittersill

2006-06-25

N47?14.923 E12?07.774

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Gerlos Website

You have two options here - do NOT be tempted to go via the Gerlos pass. It might be free, but it's very bumpy and really no fun whatsoever.
On the other hand, there's the Gerlosstraße, which runs to the south via the Krimml waterfall. A toll road €4(GBP2.30 per bike), but as usual a perfect surface - scenery highlight is a picturesque waterfall on a densly forested mountainside (Austria's highest). Buses and slow tourist trafic here on the weekends but you should have no trouble blowing them into the weeds. The road has also been recently resurface, turning the previously bumpy, concrete plateau into a section of fast sweepers, the whole road having corners with good visibility and the perfect radius to crank it over and keep it there....
Watch out for cows!

B107 Bruck - Grossglockner - Heiligenblut

2004-07-01

N47?07.023 E12?49.732

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Großglockner
Website link to Grossglockner Website

The Grossglockner (2405m) is an expensive toll road €18 or €12 after 6pm. And they do NOT take credit-cards. But well worth the trip once. It IS a long road. The steeper north side had many cobble-stone hairpins but these have been all widened and resurfaced now, but the south side is faster, finished by a relatively straight-forward stretch to Heiligenblut. While you're up there, take the turn-off to the Pasterze glacier, Austria's largest and wonder at the dirty-grey colour,and try and spot the top of the Grossglickner, Austria's highest mountain.. It's pretty high (2500m). Also try the little cobbled road up to the Edelweißspitze (7 really steep and bumpy hairpins - the view's good).
Großglockner Webcam

B100/ss49 Huben - Erlsbach - Staller Sattel - Antholz (I)

2003-06-15

N46?53.259 E12?11.981

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From Austria, the Staller Sattel (2052m) takes you to within spitting-distance of the Dolomites. Used mostly by motorbikes and locals (and cows).
Beats the pants off going round via Toblach on the B100/ss49.
This is another pass that can be divided in to two halves, the very top is single-track and controlled by traffic-lights.
Open from the Austrian side from the top of the hour till 15mins past.
Open from the Italian side from the half hour to 15 mins to the hour.

The Austrian Side:: 1] A long gradual climb from the valley with only a few sweepers, and few central white lines;
2] then up a short but steep twisty section to the top. On the whole the surface is poor to bumpy with a few ohmigawd bits.
The Italian Side:: 1] Very narrow, but short top section, hence the traffic lights but with a great surface all the way
2] The valley floor is mostly straights with some fast sweepers and wide meadows.

Hallein - Krispl - Ebenau - Salzburgring

2005-05-15

N47?42.940 E13?10.788

Salzburg is busy, congested and sprawling. It's best avoided really, so either blast past on the motorway, or cut the eastern corner and take this route. The main road between the Salzburgring and Hallein is well made and smooth, but it has a blanket 80km speed limit most of the way. Ignore it, as most locals do, but watch out for police at peak traffic times and weekends. It runs along a river, and the side of a lake and is hardly ever straight. Mostly sweepers.
I reccommend taking the short - 10km - detour up the road to Krispl, a one-yodler village on a low pass. The road has a lot less traffic and a couple of easy hairpins but is mostly sweepers in low alpine meadows. Nice scenery. The eastern end is twistier and runs along a river. An 'in' road for locals. Outsiders tend to ride past.

Kötschach -Plöckenpass - Timau (I)

N46?36.243 E12?56.704

A fairly under-used pass, this one. As most of the long distance traffic takes the motorways, and it's a little steep and tight for most caravans. Which is nice. The Italian side has a series of tight hairpins stacked above each other (not unlike a miniature Splügen pass) through trees. The Austrian side has less hairpins, but is effectively steeper.