Have you ever heard of the Stoneman Taurista? To be honest, this was the first time I (Bolle) heard about the “Stoneman” in general, but Marco was already familiar with the concept. These are very special MTB trails (between 120 and 176 km) developed by MTB pro Roland Stauder and located in various countries. The challenge is to master the trail in 1, 2, or 3 days. So it’s your very own personal challenge, and you decide where you start and at what pace you complete the route.
When we received the request to get to know the Stoneman Taurista concept in Austria, we naturally didn’t hesitate for long. Although we knew from the start that we wouldn’t be able to ride the entire route due to time constraints, we still got a great first glimpse. In the following article, we would like to introduce you to the Stoneman Taurista in more detail and show you the stunningly beautiful surroundings around Flachau. Are you ready? Then let’s get started…
- General information about Flachau
- Arrival in Flachau
- The Bike Hotel Tauernhof
- Tour 1 – Hut breakfast at the Schlossalm
- Tour 2 – Bike tour to the Jägersee
- General information about the Stoneman
- Stoneman Taurista – Rossbrand & Mandlberg
- Our conclusion about the Stoneman Taurista
General information about Flachau
The municipality of Flachau is located in the heart of SalzburgerLand and is about 80 kilometers from Salzburg. Active holidaymakers will especially enjoy this place. In summer, activities such as climbing, biking, rafting, canyoning, stand-up paddling, and swimming are on the program. In winter, however, the hilly landscape transforms into adventurous slopes for skiing and snowboarding. Flachau, along with Wagrain and St. Johann-Alpendorf, is part of the Snow Space Salzburg ski area and awaits you with 210 kilometers of slopes, over 85 ski huts, 70 modern cable cars, two World Cup slopes, 12 peaks, and five valleys. Around two-thirds of guests spend their winter holidays in Flachau, so there’s considerably less going on in summer.
- All information about winter sports in the region
- Inspiration for your summer holiday in the region
Getting to Flachau
By train: Flachau is a small community with approximately 2,900 inhabitants in the Salzburger Land region of Austria. From Salzburg, it’s just under an hour (80 km) by car (or rental car*). You can easily arrive by train from Germany and take the EC train from Munich or the IC train from Salzburg to Radstadt. From there, it’s only about 12 km by bus or taxi to Flachau.
By car:You can easily reach Flachau by car via Munich and Salzburg on the A10 Tauern Autobahn (Exit 66). If you’re coming from Italy, Carinthia, or Slovenia, you can also take the A10 Tauern Autobahn via Villach and Spittal. Coming from Graz, it’s best to take the A9 and exit 69, Selzthal. Then we continue on the B320 towards Schladming/Wagrain/Flachau.
The Bike Hotel Tauernhof
During our time in Flachau, we stayed at the cool 4* Funsport-, Bike- & Skihotel Tauernhof*. This hotel is located directly on the town’s main street and awaited us with many great highlights. After receiving our room key at reception, we went up to the second floor and checked into our cool, modern room. Okay, it was more like an apartment, as it had two bedrooms with balconies (family suite). The bathroom with shower and the cozy seating and work area with a table were particularly modern. The Stoneman starter package, which was provided to us for the trip, was waiting for us in the room.
The highlight of the hotel for us was the modern and very Spacious wellness area with a sun deck, 5 saunas, comfortable relaxation rooms, an indoor pool, an outdoor rooftop pool, and much more. Here, we were able to revitalize our tired muscles after our bike rides and unwind at the end of the day. The hotel also has a fitness room, a bike shop, a restaurant, and a hotel bar, the cool “FunBox” with table tennis, billiards, and table football, as well as an on-site skate park. We enjoyed the all-inclusive Tauernhof board and were able to participate in the weekly program activities free of charge (e.g., hut breakfast, guided mountain bike tours, bike technique training, and much more). Interested? Click here to book your room*.
Tour 1 – Hut breakfast at the Schlossalm
The first item on our agenda was At 7:30 a.m., we headed to the Schlossalm with other guests. A sumptuous breakfast with a stunning view awaited us. The ride initially led us along the Enns River before climbing past the “Holz-Schnell GmbH” sawmill and Höch Castle to the historic alpine hut at 1,150 meters. It is nestled amidst rolling hills and looks back on around 250 years of history. Luckily, we had really cool e-mountain bikes, which took us up the mountain at a more relaxed pace. In total, it took us about 30 minutes to get to the alpine pasture.
This rustic alpine hut particularly impressed us with its wonderful details from times long past, the beautiful view, and the surroundings. Behind us, three horses grazed in the pasture, and in front of us, a small herd of cows grazed between the trees. They repeatedly came curiously to the alpine hut and sniffed around. The lavish breakfast buffet had already been set up and truly left nothing to be desired. We grabbed a plate, filled it with delicacies, sat down on the wooden bench, and enjoyed this wonderful hut breakfast to the fullest. That’s how every morning should start, right?
Tour 2 – Bike Tour to Jägersee
While some guests took a short tour of the surrounding area with the guide, we cycled to the beautiful Jägersee. This idyllic and picturesque mountain lake is located about 24 km from Flachau in the municipality of Kleinarl. The bike tour first took us through Wagrain, always along the stream, and a little later through Mitterau, Kleinarl, and Stöckl. The bike path to Jägersee is well signposted; it’s virtually impossible to get lost here. With the e-mountain bikes, we were of course much faster and were able to successfully complete the almost 45 kilometers that day.
Break at the idyllic mountain lake
On site We were amazed by the truly beautiful scenery, with the mountains, the lake, and the restaurant on the shore. This view somehow reminded us of Canada, probably because of the trees and boats. We ordered a large Spezi and a generous portion of Kaiserschmarrn. The water of the lake was crystal clear and shimmered in beautiful shades of blue. The Jägersee itself is a real eye-catcher, but the steep cliffs and imposing peaks in the background are at least as beautiful. In summer, you can row across the lake in a small rowboat.
We took our time and were out and about the entire afternoon. We took lots of videos and photos along the way, which naturally meant it took us considerably longer. You should plan at least 1.5 hours each way from Flachau (approximately 45 kilometers in total). Stroll around the lake, order something to eat at the inn, or take a hike in the surrounding area. The Tappenkar Waterfall and Tappenkarsee Lake are located around 5.5 km from the lake. You can find the details of the hike here: Hike to Tappenkarsee.
General information about the Stoneman
The Stoneman Taurista awaits you with an adventurous 123 kilometers, over 4,500 meters of elevation gain, breathtaking panoramas, an imposing mountain backdrop, picturesque alpine meadows, rustic mountain huts, and numerous other highlights. You decide where you start your mountain bike adventure and which stages you choose. Our hotel bike guide told us that most participants are on the trail for 2 to 3 days and that only the “really crazy bikers” ride this trail in one day. Ultimately, of course, everyone has to decide for themselves. Good starting points for the Stoneman Taurista are Flachau, Wagrain-Kleinarl, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Radstadt, Forstau, Filzmoos, Obertauern, and Untertauern.
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On the Stoneman Taurista website, you can book your personal “Classic” starter package . This package includes, among other things, the current Stoneman Taurista overview map and GPS track, a multifunctional scarf, a wristband, a water bottle, chain wax, the StoneMag, entry on the finisher list, and much more. Of course, the package is not mandatory; you can also ride the trail without it. It’s still helpful, though, because you get so much information and, above all, the exact GPS track. The route is generally very well signposted and marked with the red and white Stoneman sign.
Stoneman Taurista – Rossbrand & Mandlberg
Now we want to introduce you to one of the most beautiful stages of the Stoneman Taurista (at least, that’s what many participants say online). From Flachau, we set off for Radstadt, 10.9 kilometers away. From there, we made our way up through Schwemmberg toward Rossbrand. Normally, you’d drive up to the 1,768-meter-high Rossbrand via Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, but for our short test trip, we were recommended to take the route via Radstadt. We climbed the paved Rossbrand Panorama Road for about 1.5 hours (over 1000 meters in elevation) before reaching our first destination.
Stoneman Taurista – Route to Rossbrand
Once we reached the top, we were amazed by this impressive view. From the Rossbrand, in good weather conditions, you can see over 150 striking Alpine peaks, such as the Tennengebirge and Hagengebirge, the Hochkönig and Dachstein, the Hohe Tauern with the Großglockner and Großvenediger, and the Radstädter. You can find some interesting information on the panorama panels and the summit cross. The Radstädter Hütte (1,768 m) is also located nearby, offering both a delicious meal and an overnight stay. From there, we set off on the official Stoneman Taurista route and continued towards Mandlberg.
Stoneman Taurista – Route to Mandlberggut
The route now descended almost 800 meters in altitude, mostly over hill and dale, sometimes over tree roots, past cows and majestic mountain panoramas. The flowing trail winds through the beautiful Salzburg landscape and, just before the Mandlberggut, a signposted downhill track awaited us. Now we had to maneuver the bikes (and ourselves) along a narrow, sometimes steep, and very rooty path. If you don’t feel up to it, continue straight ahead instead of turning left onto the track. Both paths lead you to your destination. Upon arrival at the Mandlberggut, the first thing you’ll naturally enjoy is Kaiserschmarrn, a large Spezi (traditional German ‘Spezi’), and fresh coffee. We deserved it!
The Mandlberggut is idyllically situated at approximately 980 meters above sea level in the Enns Valley and offered us a spectacular view of the Dachstein massif. There’s a lot to discover on site, such as a distillery, a small shop, a terrace, a wine cellar, pretty holiday apartments, a chapel, and a children’s playground. After about an hour, we set off on our bikes back to Flachau. There were still another 20 kilometers ahead of us, which we quickly mastered in about 90 minutes. We then ended the day in a truly relaxing way in the hotel’s wellness area.
Our conclusion about the Stoneman Taurista
This trip gave us a great first insight into the Stoneman concept. The idea behind it is pretty cool, and we quickly decided that we wanted to ride the entire Stoneman Taurista route next year. Certainly not in one day, but probably in two. We also really liked the region around Flachau, as there are many great hiking and biking trails there. We can definitely recommend Flachau as a starting point for the Stoneman Taurista! Have you ever ridden a Stoneman Trail? What were your highlights? Feel free to write in the comments.