I am very much into biking these days and with so many gorgeous little spots within an hour or two of my home in Salzburg, Austria, it's been the perfect way to spend summer weekends.
Check out the lakes I've been visiting this summer near Salzburg!
On a hot 30ºC Saturday, under a blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds, I decided to visit some more lakes on my list and attempted to bike the 24km from Salzburg to Hintersee in Faistenau, via the Wiestalstausee. Unfortunately, I made it so close but with about 5km left on my trek, the hill was simply too steep in the heat for me to conquer and I couldn't walk it as it was on a main road. So I turned around, defeated.
In the end, it ended up being a wonderful thing, because as I was biking back the way I came towards home, I came across an idyllic little bridge - the Hammersteg - crossing over the Almbach river in the tiny little village of Adneter Riedl, nearby Hallein. Underneath, the most perfect gushing river made these little natural swimming pools and the clear fresh water was exactly what I needed after my sweaty ride. A few others were lounging about riverside and I spent the whole afternoon under the sun with my book, ocasionally pausing to take a cool-down dip in the river.
This natural swimming spot is so small and secret that it's not even a location on Google Maps! But if you can locate the Hammersteg bridge, there is a little dirt pathway that leads down to the river. Trust me, you're going to love it.
The exact location of the bridge is here on Google Maps.
