The region is well known, not only for its skiing, but also for its thermal spas.       

Click here to open a pdf map of Gasteinertal in a new window.  Use the +/- in Adobe Acrobat to zoom in on the area of interest.

The centre of the Gasteinertal area is the town and resort of Bad Gastein.  It's an interesting place with a large waterfall flowing through the town centre.  It's grand hotels, set on the side of the gorge, make it a far cry from your standard chalet-style Austrian village. Lower in the valley, Bad Hofgastein has a nice centre, good mix of restaurants and bars and a pretty park. 

Skiing in the region is based around the four Gasteinertal ski areas plus Großarl.  Both of these ski areas have varied skiing to suite everyone.  Bad Hofgastein has a particularly nice open area at the top of the mountain which would be good for finding powder on a new ski day.  We would recommend driving up to the Zentrum Angertal to start your days skiing.  This way you can access both Bad Hofgastein and Bad Gastein ski areas.  It also means you are starting out high so avoiding poor conditions in poor snow and also any valley level cloud cover. The skiing on offer is varied with a good mix of easy and more challenging slopes.  Another bonus is the high-alpine area of Sportgastein starting at around 1600m which can offer skiing when snow conditions are poor elsewhere.

Cross Country Skiing at Sportgastein

The region has many groomed cross-country skiing trails.  However, the trails up at Sportgastein offer the opportunity for sliding even when there is no snow down in the main valley.  

Sportgastein has several marked routes of varying length and difficulty.  You can hire boots, skis and poles near the start of the tracks (white portacabin). 

Felsen Therme at Bad Gastein

The Felsen Therme spa in Bad Gastein is one of many in the region.  Although we thought it was quite expensive (17 Euro for 3 hours), it does provide a great facility for non-skiers and an interesting variation for skiers looking for a good soak after a long day on the slopes.  It is obligatory to be naked to enter the area of the complex where all the saunas and steam rooms are.  Look out for the warning signs - you will be thrown out if you have your swimming costumes on! (you can still use the pool areas though)