Home base is Leogang in the heart of the Austrian Alps about an hour south of Salzburg. Surrounded by sunny and serene alpine meadows at an altitude of 2,500 feet, Leogang sits against a backdrop of snow-topped mountains. The town has medieval roots, which you can experience whether in 400-year-old restaurants or wandering past centuries-old farms.

The region is known for its spectacular landscape and as a top European destination for skiers, mountain bikers and hikers. It’s in the heart of an extensive regional system of backcountry mountain bike trails marked for different skill levels and with views to snow-topped mountains, farms, villages, waterfalls and valleys. Hot food, cold drinks and typical Austrian hospitality are rarely far away, both in villages and at mountain inns and huts.

Take the cable car to the top of Asitz Mountain, and the view is glorious. The Steinberge (Stone Mountains) and Steinernes Meer (Stone Sea) dominate nearly 180 degrees of northern panorama. Over the summit of the Asitz, the snowy peaks of the “Dreitausender”—glacial mountains higher than 3,000 meters (9,800 feet)—fill the view to the south.

It’s also home to Bikepark Leogang, Europe’s largest bicycle park. Bikepark Leogang’s cable car carries both novices and experts to the high-alpine summit landscape of 5,990-foot Asitz Mountain. From there, ride or run to adjacent summits and back to the village. From the summit, more than a mile above sea level, trails lead through woods and meadows back to the valley or deeper into the Alps.Terrain ranges from challenging single track to more sedate trails, with routes from 2 to 50 miles.

Historic Leogang
Leogang is an old farming village that has grown up a bit thanks to prosperous skiing seasons. As with many towns in the region, Leogang earns most of its tourist money during the ski season. From late spring to early fall, the après-ski crowds are gone but the infrastructure remains. The pace is slow, the visitor count low and the service more attentive. That’s when we’ll be there.            

In old dialect, “Leogang” meant “Path through the Swamp.” The swamp has been reclaimed through the centuries, and now a small river, the “Black Leo,” flows through the valley. Villages and settlements grew up along the old path, and Leogang is more of a linear town than a traditional one built around a central market square and church.

Leogang’s Hütten section is worth a visit, a small village that once housed miners and other mountain workers. The Mining Museum gives a hint of life during six centuries of mining (mostly silver, copper, lead and nickel), an experience made even stronger with a tour to the mine itself. The tour follows a series of steep ladders and can be strenuous—and is definitely not for the claustrophobic.

A view to Leogang and the valley