Salzburg Summer Toboggan Run
One of the highlights of our summer road trip around Germany and Austria was packing in as many summer toboggan runs as we could. Keltenblitz is located just outside of the city making it an attractive option for anyone wanting to try out these amazing rides.
Keltenblitz is a 2.2km alpine coaster run. Alpine coasters sit on rails while Alpine slides run in metal or concrete troughs. Both types of Alpine slides can cause serious rug burn if you’re not careful but Alpine coasters tend to be safer. We arrived by car and parked in the dirt lot adjacent to the run.
Navigating all the ticket options is difficult. We found it best to just go to the window and explain our kids’ ages and see what they recommended. With five family members, including one baby, it can be difficult to figure out how we can all take a turn riding. The Little Little (1) was not permitted to ride.
On the first ride we opted to have Jeff go with the Big and Middle. The Middle had to ride with Jeff and we figured the Big could navigate his own sled.
The gondola ride up takes about 10 minutes, all the while you are watching the track spiral beneath you. The view from the top is exquisite. There is a small restaurant serving cake and coffee, a petting zoo and a playground. Had we thought this through a bit more we all would have ridden up together, explored at the top and then had one group ride down on the alpine coaster and another group on the gondola with the baby.
Unfortunately, sending the Big down on his own turned out to be a mistake. The Big was terrified. (We also didn’t realize how long and steep the ride would be.) Jeff and the Middle little came down slowly trying to keep the Big in their sights. At top speed riders can get up to 40km/hour on the run.
The Big was fighting tears when he got to the bottom. We had pushed him too hard!
We regrouped and I headed up the mountain with the Big for another run together. This time he would ride on my lap. When not in control of his own vehicle he was able to relax and enjoy the ride a bit more, although he still kept a death grip on the center brake.
With one ride ticket left we sent Jeff and the Middle back up to take a high speed ride down. The Little, the Big and I relocated to the shade and checked out some of the property the run sits on.
We were having such a good time watching riders come down and looking at the flowers that time flew by. All of a sudden we could hear Jeff’s hearty laughter and a squealing Middle Little. They raced down the track laughing the whole way!
Thus started our Middle Little’s love of alpine coasters and a trip full of bonding rides with his dad! These two literally wanted to do nothing else except find more runs to ride!
The runs in this area typically operate from May till October, so make sure to check on opening times and weather before you head out.
