Hike on the Rauchbodenweg – Gesäuse National Park

The Gesäuse, known for its steep rocks and wild water, can be admired on this leisurely hike along the Enns without having to go on a dizzying climbing or adventurous rafting tour. The special thing about this route is the close experience of all three defining habitats of the national park: water, forest and rock.

From the train station it is about 400 meters on the Gesäuse federal road to a forest road, which also marks the beginning of the Rauchbodenweg. It leads to the Johnsbach stop in the national park without a major difference in altitude. Especially in spring, the abundance of flowers along the path is a delight for all flower lovers. The path also leads through a shady forest, which, with its high proportion of dead wood, offers an ideal breeding ground and a very special habitat for many creatures, such as the rare Alpine longhorn beetle.

After about half the way you cross a stream. After heavy rain this may require some skill. You will be rewarded by the magnificent view of the mighty Hochtor group with its highest elevation, the Hochtor (2,369 meters) and the breathtaking deep view of the roaring, natural Enns. With its power, it continually creates new gravel areas, which provide important habitats for rare plant and bird species such as the shore tamarisk and the sandpiper. The latter has its breeding grounds here.

The end point of the path is the Johnsbach stop in the national park. If you want, the tour can be extended to include the “Wilder John” theme trail, for example.