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Gentle mountain experience for all generations

Dobratsch nature park

Whether on foot or comfortably by car via Villacher Alpenstraße. Once you arrive at the Rosstratte, the last car park before the summit, you are presented with a fantastic postcard mountain panorama. The Dobratsch Nature Park adventure area invites you to go hiking and offers lots of interesting facts at its foot with exciting mining history (including a show mine).

What makes the Dobratsch Nature Park unique

  • Local recreation area: The Dobratsch is Villach's green lung and is specially protected as a nature park
  • Barrier-free paths: The Skywalk or the geology trail are suitable for pushchairs or walking aids
  • Variety of huts & cuisine: snacks, pizza or a breakfast buffet - the Dobratsch cuisine is diverse
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Highlight of the season

The Dobratsch circular hiking trail:
Hikers can circle the Dobratsch on a total of 4 stages. Culture and landscape alternate at every turn, making this long-distance hiking trail a varied experience. The trail circles Villach's local mountain in an anti-clockwise direction, with each stage taking between 5 and 6 hours.

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Hiking at Dobratsch

The Dobratsch is best explored on foot. Hiking trails lead ambitious hikers away from Heiligengeist or on more moderate tours to viewing platforms or rustic huts. Some of the paths - the geological trail or the Skywalk - are barrier-free and therefore also suitable for baby carriages or those with walking aids. From the last parking lot, the Rosstratte, it takes 1.5 hours to reach the summit via a forest path.
Skitour Dobratsch

Hard

Dobratsch Northern Ascent (Alpenlahner)

Back-country skiing

3,74 km

04:00 h

1252 hm

1 hm

2166 m

Wandern Schütt

Easy

Nature Reserve Schütt

Hiking Trail

7,70 km

02:00 h

133 hm

551 m

Wandern Dobratsch

Easy

Alpengarten

Medium

Alpengarten Dobratsch

Hiking Trail

13,88 km

06:15 h

973 hm

1496 m

Hundsmarhof

Medium

Hundsmarhof

Hiking Trail

12,97 km

03:50 h

516 hm

1013 m

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Barrier-free Skywalk Dobratsch

The barrier-free Skywalk is located directly opposite car park 6 on the Dobratsch. A viewing platform that ends in a 7 metre long self-supporting metal platform and thus offers an unforgettable view of the red rocks of the Schütt and the picturesque Karawanken. Under the motto ‘Experience nature for everyone’, particular attention was paid to easy accessibility, especially for pushchairs and walking aids.

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Dobratsch Bus

From May to October and in the winter season, the bus takes you regularly to the Rosstratte, the last car park on the Villach Alpine Road. Ticket free of charge with our Erlebnis CARD.

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Mountain hut cuisine

The Dobratsch, or more precisely the Dobratsch huts, cater for their guests all year round and do so in a variety of ways. From the breakfast buffet after an overnight stay in the summit hut, the homemade curry in the Aichinger hut, a stone oven pizza on the Rosstratte or the classic Brettljause, everything is provided for small and large appetites on the mountain.
Aichingerhütte
Aichingerhütte

mountain hut/mountain restaurant

Austrian cuisine

regional cuisine

+5

Warmbad-Villach

Die Rosstratten
Die Rosstratten

mountain hut/mountain restaurant

Austrian cuisine

regional cuisine

+2

Bad Bleiberg

Closed, opens at 10:00 AM o'clock
Dobratsch Gipfelhaus
Dobratsch Gipfelhaus

mountain hut/mountain restaurant

shelter

Austrian cuisine

+2

Bad Bleiberg

Closed, opens at 10:00 AM o'clock
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Children and family

Directly at the Rosstratte, families can enjoy a small high plateau with plenty of space for little explorers. The neighbouring playground is the ideal starting or finishing point for short hikes to the viewing plateau.

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Nature Park Rangers

Speaking of nature park rangers: For them, the focus is on experience and discovery and they show young and old alike why the Dobratsch Nature Park is worth protecting and experiencing in equal measure. The Dobratsch has been protected as a nature park in Carinthia since 2002 and is the habitat of numerous animal species as well as the local recreation area for the town of Villach.

Dobratsch and its surroundings

Already in the valley, far below the summit cross of the Dobratsch, its forerunners and the surrounding area offer impressive natural spectacles and recreational opportunities:

  • The Schütt impresses with its rock formations, the crystal-clear waters of the Gail and its untouched nature and attracts many people seeking peace and quiet.
  • The high valley of Bad Bleiberg with its miners' culture is a UNESCO Intangible World Heritage Site. The disused mine is used as a Heillklimastollen for health tourism . There is the Terra Mystica show mine for young and old explorers.
  • In Warmbad - the local recreational jewel of Villach - you can go for a walk, have a picnic, go jogging or - with a little seasonal luck - even bathe in the natural thermal springs, the Maibachl.
  • The border triangle is located south of the Dobratsch and is a popular excursion destination. The special feature here is, of course, that once you reach the top, you will find the border stone between Italy, Slovenia and Austria .
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Bad Bleiberg gallery hiking trail

The Stollenwanderweg is a circular hiking trail and was set up by the Bergmännischer Kulturverein. It leads along the Erzberg and offers insights into the mining tradition of the Bleiberg Valley through old tunnels.

Winter in the nature park

If the snow is still a long time coming down in the valley, the Dobratsch is reliable when it comes to snowfall in winter. The Rosstratte also offers a beautiful backdrop in winter for exploring the winter landscape on touring skis, sledges, snowshoes or on foot.

Winter Erlebnis CARD

Erlebnis CARD Winter

With the Erlebnis CARD Winter, you can experience a variety of activities every day: from ski tours in the nature park to relaxing in the KärntenTherme thermal spa and guided winter hikes, there is something for everyone.

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Winter sports

Since the ski lifts on the Dobratsch were closed, Villach's local mountain has become the most popular ski touring area in the neighbourhood. From the valley in Heiligengeist or directly from the Rosstratte, the summit house is a popular and at the same time sporty and ambitious ski touring and winter hiking destination. At the foot of the Dobratsch, the Villach Alps Arena and other cross-country ski trails also offer winter fun within a short distance.
Alpengarten

Medium

Alpengarten

Cross-country skiing

4,96 km

01:20 h

123 hm

1534 m

Closed
Rodeln am Dobratsch

Easy

Dobratsch - Rosstratte

Winter Hiking

2,06 km

01:00 h

72 hm

66 hm

1744 m

Bad Bleiberg

Easy

Bad Bleiberg

Cross-country skiing

4,30 km

01:10 h

52 hm

936 m

Closed
Dobratsch - Heiligengeist bis Rosstratte

Medium

Dobratsch - Heiligengeist to Rosstratte

Back-country skiing

4,75 km

03:30 h

825 hm

1 hm

1733 m

Skitour Dobratsch

Easy

Dobratsch - Rosstratte to Summit

Back-country skiing

4,38 km

02:15 h

466 hm

38 hm

2166 m

Tobogganing

For families and the young at heart, the Dobratsch and the Villach Alps Arena offer toboggan runs that are prepared for tobogganing throughout the winter.
Tip: Sledges can be hired at the Gasthaus Rosstratte!

More about tobogganing in the region

Accommodation nearby

Ferienhaus Saak_web0059_1
5/5

holiday home

Nötsch im Gailtal

Best Price
from €225.00
per unit
no meals
Cottage

holiday home

Arnoldstein

foto2
4.8/5

private rooms

Riegersdorf

Willkommen im Bauernhaus Koatz vor dem guten Berg

private rooms

Nötsch im Gailtal

Neuhaus 33 Außenansicht

private rooms

Arnoldstein - Riegersdorf