Top Things To Do in Saalbach-Hinterglemm
By Gillian Boyd Published 25 March 2026
These are the top things to do in Saalbach-Hinterglemm if you are not skiing.
At 1040m elevation, Hinterglemm is a pretty Austrian style town next to the slightly larger Saalbach in the Salzburg area of the Alps and close to the German border. It is part of the Ski Circus area. As the main tourists are German and Austrian, the first language spoken is German and then excellent English.
Tourism is the main industry and a lot of work has been put into making it a year-round destination. Now the resort is almost as busy in the summer with hiking, mountain biking and family fun as it is in the winter with skiing, snowboarding and après.
Getting There
We booked a package ski holiday for 1 week in Hinterglemm, Austria with Crystal Ski. Our flight from Southend Airport to Salzberg took about 1 hour 45 minutes. Then a 1hour 30 min coach transfer to Zell am See and a further 30 mins to Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
It is possible to do it all yourself, organising flights and chalets, but some of the deals from the tour operators and the transfers make the package comparable. Alternatively you can drive, but its a long journey from the UK and you need to invest in snow chains and winter tyres.
Panorama of Saalbach-Hinterglemm in the valley
Lift Passes
Our skis and lift passes were all pre-booked online before we left the UK. There was an offer of buy one get one free for the lift passes which meant that I got a free lift pass.
The Ski Alpin Card covers 3 premium resorts: Ski Circus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, Schmittenhöhe in Zell am See as well as Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel in Kaprun. (alpincard.at also sells Summer Hiking cards)
The Super Ski Card of Salzburg and Kitzbüheler Alpen covers 23 ski areas with up to 2840 km of slopes and more than 900 lifts.
Individual rides can also be purchased from the ticket office at the base of a gondola. This can be useful if you want to meet skiers up the mountain for lunch.
Getting Around
With the Ski Alpin Card, all ski buses in Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn as well as Zell am See and Kaprun can be used free of charge.
Additionally, you can travel free with the valid pass on
- 680 bus Saalbach-Hinterglemm to Zell am See
- Pinzgauer Lokalbahn local railway Zell am See to Mittersill
The Guest Mobility Card from your hotel permits free public transport travel in the province of Salzburg. If you inform your accommodation in advance, it can be registered to you in the digital wallet of the Home of Lässig app from the day of arrival and can be used for your journey.
Take a Bus to Zell Am Zee
I didn’t have time to do this as I did so much hiking, but it is possible to take a bus to nearby Zell Am Zee. I have stayed there on a previous trip at Easter and the pretty town was beautifully decorated with eggs hanging from the trees. There is a lake that you can walk was around. It’s an easy 11km circular, flat tour with varied landscape and views of mountain and lake.
Find surprising things at Glemmart
Visit Glemm Art
Almost opposite the bus terminal in Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a giant wooden octopus and some totem poles announce the entrance to Glemm Art. Walk a little closer and you will see a helicopter perched on a roof with ‘The world needs therapy’ painted on the side. Not at all what I expected to see in an alpine resort.
I had to take a closer look at Glemm Art, the showroom for a collective of 3 artists – Flo13 Wolf, Michael Gappmeier and Herbert Aschaber. They each have very different styles of art mostly based around wood. The showroom is upstairs covering multiple rooms and ranges from functional small wooden kitchen items to large paintings, modern sculpture and furniture. There are whimsy pieces and religious pieces. The pink flamingos, as tall as me, were my favourite. Downstairs at the rear is the workshop where these unique pieces are created and Herbert kindly gave me a tour.
Have a drink and listen to the birds in a tropical paradise
Sit in a Tropical Paradise
If you are tired of the snow, pop into Kerii Garden in the centre of Hinterglemm and feel like you are in a tropical paradise. This café/bar is full of enormous lush palm and vines and an aviary. When I visited, the doors of the aviary were open and I spotted 7 chirping birds in the treetops of the café. The fact that it was cold and snowy outside just made this experience all the more delightful.
Ride the Shortest Gondola in the World
At only 210m long, the 12er Express is the shortest gondola ride in the world. The 10-passenger gondola lift operates from the centre of Hinterglemm and finishes at the Ski School avoiding a 500m walk for children to the ski school and avoids the need for skiers to cross the road.
Go on Free Guided Hikes
The tourist board (saalbach.com) provides free daily guided winter hikes Monday to Friday so I knew I would be hiking before I travelled to Austria. The guides are employed by the Tourist Board so these hikes genuinely are free. I went on 4 Free Guided Hikes and you can read about them here. This was my favourite activity and gave me the opportunity to meet with other non-skiers affording some company during the day whilst my family was skiing in the mountains.
On the guided hikes we learnt how the hikes are ranked according to difficulty, similar to ski runs. Blue is the easiest, red is moderate, and black the most difficulty requiring technical climbing skills, similar to skiing. Winter hiking trails are marked with a snowflake. The signs are marked with length of time, not distance.
Go on Guided Snowshoe Hikes
If you fancy walking through deep snow-covered forests then book yourself onto a guided snowshoe hike.
Go Tobogganing
Tobogganing is available in the centre of Hinterglemm at the Reiterkogel Lift on a 3.2km route with a 400m descent. My friend loved it so much she went twice! In Saalbach, the toboggan run is at Spielberhaus, where you are transported on a piste basher to the Spielberghaus. It is a shorter route at 2.5km and less steep with only a 254m descent. When we hiked this route, the toboggans were mainly being used by families with young children.
Go for a Run or Walk Along the Glemmital Promenade
This is an easy well cleared path that runs along by the river from Jausern, past Saalbach and Hinterglemm to Kolling for 10km with a gentle descent of 164m. It can be started or finished at many points along the route.
Take your pick of pools and saunas
Visit the Spa
We stayed at the Alpen Karawanserai Hotel in Hinterglemm and chose it for the central location but mainly for its fabulous spa. With indoor and outdoor pools, lounge areas and at least 4 different kinds of sauna our aching muscles were revived every day.
My favourite routine was to start in the gentle dry infrared sauna, then head into the hot and sweaty Finnish sauna, shower, followed by the steamy hammam, shower and finally finish with a few laps in the outdoor pool. By the time I had completed this sequence I felt like a new woman. The spa facilities were free for guests and you could pay for a massage.
Pyrotechnics, music and tricks at the Freestyle Show
Watch the Freestyle Show Night
On Thursday evenings each week pro riders from Saalbach and overseas show off their tricks in a high energy show that includes skiers and snowboarders performing big air tricks to electronic music and lights. There are even some flame throwers and fireworks to add to the spectacle. This free show on the lower slopes of Saalbach is definitely worth a visit.
Skiers packed at the après ski bar, Goaßtall
Visit The Goaßtall
The Goaßtall, once a barn for cows, pigs, chickens and of course goats, became an après ski bar on the lower slopes of Hinterglemm in 1994. You can ski in and out, but it is close enough to the town that you can walk up the slope (maybe 50m) as I did to meet my family there. It is standing room only inside and so packed that you have to hang your helmet on the hooks above the bar. The DJ plays pumping techno and there are some wooden picnic tables outside.
1350 restaurant slope side next to the lift
Have Lunch Up the Mountain
Typically, I do this on the first day of the trip when my family are finding their ski legs and are skiing on the local slopes. Having identified a suitable restaurant close to the top of a gondola station, they send me a location link and time to meet. Sometimes we have figured this out the night before.
In Hinterglemm, I took the ski bus (free with the pass) to the Hochalmbahen gondola which took about 5 or 10 minutes. The gondola ride to the top was about another 5 or 10 minutes. As I had an Alpin Ski Card it was free, otherwise the cost is €21 for one journey up and down.
At the top, there were 2 restaurants. The 1350 had a self-service restaurant serving typical Austrian mountain food, indoor seating and a large sunny terrace with tables and some deckchairs looking down over the view.
The Alpen Oase Sonnhof is a hotel with a self-service restaurant if you are in a hurry, and a waiter service restaurant. There are a conservatory and a couple of sunny terraces with views across the mountains. We ate here and enjoyed our food. Each dish was a euro or so more than the 1350 but we were able to book ahead and had waiter service.
Fancy a ride and listen to the bells tinkling?
Go for a Horsedrawn Carriage Ride
From the final bus stop at Lengau head towards the hiking trails and on your right, you will find the waiting point (like a taxi rank) for the horse drawn carriages. It is possible to book one to take you for a ride but also to Ossmanalm for dinner too. My friend did this for a romantic evening. Apparently, there is no light pollution so on a clear night the stars are amazing.
Go Cross Country Skiing
On the other side of the fence from the horse drawn carriages, I saw cross-country skiers. They were on Route L1 Talschluss Cross-Country Trail, an 11.8km moderate trail. The full route is on the Winter Sun Active Map available from the Tourist Office in Saalbach which is closed on Sunday.
Visit Märchenwald, the Fairytale Forest
Just behind the Sportzentrum, on the edge of Hinterglemm, is the entrance to the Fairytale Forest, an easy 1.4km route through the forest decorated with carved figures from the world of dwarves and fairytales. This really is aimed at children.
Pro Tip – The Fairytale Forest is illuminated at night and is closed when icy.
Final Thoughts
Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a great resort for skiing with a wide range of slopes available through the SkiCircus. My family were very happy with the ski area. For me, it was also a great resort for a non-skier offering a variety of activities to keep me entertained, especially the Guided Winter Hikes.
Never miss an Adventure!