Mystical Winter: On nightly paths in Vorarlberg
Winterly paradise by day, adventurous snow-covered landscape by night. Besides the classical activities at nightfall like skiing and tobogganing, Vorarlberg’s holiday regions have a couple of more nocturnal experiences to offer.
Date: 5 February 2019
To slightly prolong days in winter season as well, there is a lot to experience in the holiday regions of Vorarlberg – also at later hours. The night turns into day and, by the mystical darkness, classical activities are transformed into night-time adventures.
On special days or special dates, some ski resorts of Vorarlberg are open in the evening hours for night skiing and numerous ice rinks offer the possibility to extent the skating pleasure into the night. Activities such as floodlight tobogganing, snowshoeing with torches and nightly city tours are also on the list of how to experience Vorarlberg at night.
Tobogganing fun with flood- and torchlight
Vorarlberg’s longest illuminated night-time toboggan run is in St. Gallenkirch-Garfrescha in Montafon. The point of departure of the 5.5km long route with about 20 minutes of tobogganing pleasure is the Garfrescha cable way mountain station. Another great experience in Montafon is the natural toboggan run in the ski resort Golm which wends its way down the mountain to Vandans in around 21 bends.
Several tobogganing runs in Bregenzerwald also have longer opening hours on certain days. The 2.5 km long natural toboggan run in Damüls is a popular destination for toboggan fans. Also, the track in Au in Bregenzerwald is open for night tobogganers. The 650-metre-long track at the Grunholz lift is especially fun for families. The lift is even equipped with special toboggans that can be attached to the lift.
In Lech Zürs am Arlberg, the 1.2km long toboggan run for mini bob or Zipfelbob from Oberlech to Lech is open in the evening hours. The spectacular descent makes it an unforgettable experience for the whole family and with just four minutes on the railway, the fun can easily be repeated.
Guests can also experience night tobogganing in Brandnertal: The toboggan run “Löcher” in Bürserberg and the toboggan run “Eggen” in Brand are open on certain days until 10 pm and thus enable night-time fun on sledges in floodlight or with the help of headlights.
All toboggan runs of Vorarlberg at a glance can be found here.
Snowshoe hikes at night
If you want to experience the full moon nights on 21 January, 19 February and 20 March in a special way, then the guided Full Moon Snowshoe Ramble in Lecknertal by Helga Rädler is just the thing for you. Starting from Hittisau in Bregenzerwald, the group hikes through the winter landscape of Bregenzerwald – in nothing but full silence and the moonlight.
At Golm in Montafon, guests experience another adventure night in the snow. From the Golmerbahn ropeway in Latschau, participants walk on snow shoes at sunset to Kristakopf, where the Zip Line Golm is located. Warmed up with a hot drink, the nocturnal flight on the zip line across the Latschau reservoir starts. The evening ends with specialties from Vorarlberg, served at the restaurant Gasthof Sulzfluh in Latschau.
Guided nocturnal snowshoe hikes to the most beautiful places of the region are also available in Lech Zürs am Arlberg and Gargellen in Montafon.
With torches through the winter wonderland
A very special experience is the torch-lit hikes through the snowy and icy Breitachklamm Gorge in Kleinwalsertal, which are organised at given dates. Glittering icicles, mighty ice curtains, frozen waterfalls and numerous mysterious caves transform the gorge into a fairy-tale landscape.
In Montafon, a special nocturnal adventure also begins with a torchlight hike: before spending a night in an igloo, the group hikes up to their sleeping places in the igloo village on the Schwarzköpfle at 2,000m altitude. For dinner, they will be served a cheese fondue on a table made of snow, breakfast is taken at the Valisera Hüsli lodge which is closed by. Also in Hittisau in Bregenzerwald is the possibility, to spend a night in an igloo. The specialty is, that participants build their igloo by themselves first.
Moonlight fairy-tale hike in Silbertal in Montafon
At new moon and full moon – seven times in total – storyteller Hertha Glück takes participants on a trip through Montafon’s fairy tales. Equipped with kerosene lamps, the group strolls through the darkness of Kristberg mountain in Silbertal valley, hearing about the night folk and the devil’s creek. During dinner together after the tour, the group can exchange one has seen, heard and experienced in a pleasant atmosphere. The dates for 2019 are 21 January, 4 and 19 February, 6 and 21 March as well as 5 and 19 April.
Night Watchman Tours through Bludenz
Equipped with a lantern and in historic costume, a night guard will take participants to historic and romantic places in the old town of Bludenz, sharing stories from bygone days. Night watchman tours are also offered in the medieval town Feldkirch. The tours last about 1.5 hours.
