New Höllental trail aims to guide hikers and improve safety

A new riverside hiking trail has opened in the Höllental valley in Lower Austria’s Neunkirchen district, creating a route along the Schwarza river away from traffic. The 8.7-kilometre trail is intended to make walking safer and help manage visitor numbers, ORF reported.

The route connects Kaiserbrunn with the former Singerin inn. The Naturfreunde hiking association says it takes about two and a half to three hours to walk the full trail and has only small changes in elevation. Combined with existing paths, it also allows a longer hike between Payerbach-Reichenau and Schwarzau im Gebirge.

Until now, hikers had to use parts of the busy Höllental road or walk alongside it. Local residents and visitors welcomed the new route, saying it lets people enjoy the landscape and the Schwarza without walking beside traffic. Families with young children and people over 90 were among those using the trail on opening day.

Hubert Prigl, 79, chair of the Naturfreunde Hirschwang-Reichenau association and the project’s initiator, had worked towards the opening for 10 years. He called it a personal success and described the project as his “retirement project”. Planning involved securing permits and funding, as well as accounting for water regulations and conservation rules.

The project cost about 800,000 euros, according to Naturfreunde. It was financed through public grants, donations, the association’s own contributions and volunteer work. The City of Vienna, Lower Austria’s economic development agency ecoplus and several municipalities were among those involved. Volunteers and students from vocational schools also helped build the trail.

The opening comes as the valley faces heavy visitor numbers on hot summer days. The Schwarza attracts people seeking to cool off, while crowded parking areas, cars along the road and litter prompted concern last summer. Authorities also raised concerns about open fires near woodland and the risk of fire.

Schwarzau im Gebirge Mayor Peter Lepkowicz said the busiest weekends put a significant strain on the area, with between 500 and 1,000 cars counted in the valley on such days. Targeted checks last summer led to 75 reports, about 15 of them for forestry-law violations, including unauthorised campfires and grilling during dry conditions. Municipalities are considering parking fees as part of efforts to address the summer traffic problems.