Trail running

295 kilometres of marked paths, peaks over 3,000 metres high, and a National Park as your running track: When it comes to trail running in the Salzburg region, the Rauris Valley is one of the most spectacular arenas in the Alps.

When you run here, you run differently. No roads, no traffic noise – just forest paths, historic miners' trails, and alpine meadows winding through one of the wildest corners of the Hohe Tauern National Park. The 4-star superior Hotel Rauriserhof sits right in the thick of it: direct trail access from the doorstep, certified trail running guides in our activity team, and a Mountain Spa that pieces tired legs back together in the evening. If you are looking for the perfect basecamp for trail running in Rauris, you have found it.

The Best Trails: Why Trail Running in Rauris Becomes an Addiction

The valley offers routes ranging from gentle introductions to hardcore skyruns. All three highlights can be reached directly from the Rauriserhof or after a very short drive.

1. Rauris Primeval Forest & Alpine Meadows – Soft Ground, Steady Rhythm

• Focus: Ideal for beginners and leisure runners
• The Trail: Centuries-old windfall forest, moors, clearings – and beneath your feet, ground that cushions every single stride. The trails around the alpine meadows make trail running in the Rauris Valley an absolute pleasure. They are the perfect place to find your flow in the terrain without overloading your joints. Scenically beautiful, technically manageable, and nowhere near as easily forgotten as the name "beginner's tour" might suggest.

2. Kolm Saigurn – Historic Miners' Trails Right Up to the North Face

• Focus: The alpine centerpiece at the head of the valley
• The Trail: For many guests, the head of the valley at Kolm Saigurn is their most powerful memory of the Rauris Valley. Running along old miners' paths and past roaring waterfalls, you head directly towards the immense north face of the Hohe Sonnblick (3,106 m). It is a change of scenery that feels like the end of the world and the beginning of something truly massive. Technically more demanding than the meadow loops, but scenically on an entirely different level.

3. Hoher Kopf & Schwarzwand – Singletracks for Elevation Hunters

• Focus: For ambitious skyrunners
• The Trail: If you want summits, you get summits. The steep singletracks up the Hoher Kopf and the Schwarzwand demand surefootedness and stamina – and reward you with an unobstructed panoramic view over the glaciated three-thousand-metre giants of the Hohe Tauern. A summit experience you gladly ruin your legs for.

Mountain runs forgive very little. A wrong step on a descent, poor pacing on an uphill – and a dream day turns into a painful one. That is exactly why Ina Forchthammer is a vital part of the Rauriserhof activity team.

Ina is a certified trail running guide with the Austrian Trail Running Association (ATRA) and shows our guests why trail running in the Salzburg region is nowhere near as versatile as it is right here. As part of our weekly hotel programme, she accompanies you on regular guided sessions. Anyone who has run with her runs better afterwards – that is not a marketing promise, but the honest feedback of our guests.

What Ina teaches you out on the trail:

• Uphill & Downhill Technique: How to save energy heading uphill and protect your joints on the descents without losing speed.
• Gear Know-How: Which trail shoe fits which terrain, when a running vest actually makes sense, and whether poles help or just get in the way.
• High-Alpine Safety: Weather awareness, route planning, and the right behavior when the terrain gets serious. No theoretical lecture, just practical knowledge delivered straight out on the trail.

What the Rauriserhof Delivers for Trail Running in Rauris

A trail running holiday only works if the hotel sets the right conditions. The Rießlegger-Mayr family has purposefully geared the Rauriserhof towards outdoor athletes – not with interchangeable buzzwords, but with the things that truly matter after long days on the trail:

• Mountain Spa: Pools, saunas, and targeted sports massages from therapists who know exactly what an overworked calf muscle feels like. Recovery you will notice the moment you take your first step the next morning.
• Gourmet Board: Regional cuisine with the precise ratio of carbohydrates and protein – because a body that eats elevation gains for breakfast needs to be fueled properly in the evening.
• Trail Expertise at the Front Desk: Route maps, GPS tracks, and honest, insider tips on which trail is in what condition today. Updated daily, never generic.