Brief information:
- What is the Mendlingtal Adventure World? You walk through a wild and romantic gorge, mostly on wooden paths.
- Where is it located? Address: Lassing 19, 3345 Göstling an der Ybbs (in the Mostviertel)
- When is the valley open? Here you can find the Opening hours (approx. 1 May to 31 October, daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m.)
- How much does the entrance cost: Here you can find the Admission prices. With the Lower Austria Card the one-off admission is free.
- Is the valley suitable for children? Yes, the paths are very well secured.
- Is the route suitable for strollers or wheelchairs? No, there are some stairs and narrow passages.
- How much time should I allow? The walking time is about 2 hours and the distance is 3.5 km. This can vary a lot depending on whether you are traveling with children. You can find our report below.
- How difficult is the hike? light
General
The Mendlingtal adventure world is a very popular hike for young and old. You walk for about 3.5 kilometers through a wild, romantic gorge along a stream. Most of the time you walk along a wooden path, and you repeatedly cross wooden bridges to the other bank.
Why adventure world? Here you will find one of the last functioning timber rafting systems in Central Europe, a blacksmith's house, a Venetian sawmill, an old grain mill and, at the end, a fish farm. During our walk we also saw a number of children throwing stones into the river or simply having fun on the wooden path. You can find our report here.
Directions to Mendlingtal
We park at parking lot 1, past the village pond in Lassing, right at the entrance to the Mendlingtal. If this parking lot is full, you can also park a few hundred meters earlier at parking lot 2. At the forest entrance there is a toilet, drinks machine and information boards.
The Tour
Our tour begins at 10:00 a.m. We walk through the forest along a fairly wide forest path. There are information boards along the way describing the different types of wood in the forest.
After about 10 minutes, the forest path turns into stairs. We then descend into the valley via dozens of steps. It takes us about 15 minutes from the car park to the ticket office and thus the entrance to the Mendlingtal. There we learn that the adventure world was the state winner of the television show Nine Places Nine Treasures in 2014.
Mendlingtal adventure world
In 2022, admission for adults costs 9€, with the Lower Austria Card One-time admission is free. Right at the beginning at ticket office 1, the museum is located in the old blacksmith's house with its original "smoke kitchen" and the photo documentation opposite that recreates the living conditions of the blacksmiths and woodcutters. But we hardly find time for a tour because our three-year-old is walking purposefully towards the playground.
Right next to it is the old forge and a Board saw from 1907In the 15th century, the first attempts were made in the Venice area to saw logs using water power. Hence the name Venetian sawOne of the most prominent designers of a sawmill was Leonardo da Vinci.
The hike through the Mendlingtal
At 11:00 a.m. we finally continue our hike. It begins at the beautiful Mendling-Hammer weir. From this weir (a weir is a weir that was built to dam up water for rafting) a channel leads to the old sawmill. Since 2002, the old Venetian sawmill has been powered by water from this weir.
Now we continue along a beautiful wooden path, over numerous bridges and footbridges. We make very slow progress because our children keep finding time to throw stones into the river. The path is safe for children, but not suitable for strollers. We now pass winding streams through the beautiful alluvial forest.
We continue past the timber rafting facility and at 11:30 we reach the Klaushütte, where you can rest but not buy anything. We continue along the stream. We cross footbridges and bridges from one river bank to the other. The view is spectacular.
The rebuilt Mendlingbach Klause dams up a small timber rafting lake, the backwater of which is needed for timber rafting.
At 12pm we reach one of the most beautiful spots on this hike. We walk over wooden bridges between the rock walls above the river.
Shortly afterwards we reach the Grossegger Mill.
At 12:20 we reach the fish pond with various farmed fish, such as sturgeon, char and rainbow trout. There are also automatic feeders, which cost 20 or 50 cents for a handful.
At 12:30 we finally leave the Mendlingtal and return to the Jausenstation Herrenhaus (of course you can go back past cash desk 2 into the valley if you want to hike back). Now that we're really in the mood for fish, we order a whole trout. This comes with a side salad. For dessert we treat ourselves to an apple strudel. Our children are now busy at the spacious playground.
Tip: With the bill we order a taxi to take us back to car park 1. This costs €5 per person and €2.50 for children. It's just too far back on foot with our little one.
At 2:00 p.m. we arrive back at the parking lot (so in total we needed 4 hours)
Conclusion
We can fully recommend this hike for young and old, regardless of whether you do just one route or the complete “round”. You don’t need any particular fitness. You can do the walk there and back in 2 hours, but only if you are traveling without children and do not take any long breaks. We recommend planning at least 3-4 hours for this beautiful valley.
Afterwards we treat ourselves to a nice afternoon in the Ybbstal brine bath.
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