Ötztal with kids

The Ötztal valley is famous above all for skiing. Besides Sölden, World Cup races are also held in Obergurgl further up the valley, which is my Austrian favourite.

For kids there is the huge Widiversum playground at Hochoetz and plenty of trails livened up by hunting for “treasures”. In practice these are very easy-to-find geocaches. Their positions are mostly listed in the official geocaching apps as well. For all the routes, the tourist information centres offer paper maps with details on where each box is located; the boxes contain either a question you need to answer to get letters for the puzzle, or the letters themselves. Once the puzzle is solved, a reward awaits the kids at the information centres.

You can find a list of the various themed trails here. The website also has a nice overview of all the possible activities for families with children.

For teenagers there is the big Area 47 adventure park at the start of the valley, or the Ninja Park at Hochoetz.

Ötztal has its own guest card for visitors. During our visit, however, the weather was rather tricky, we wouldn’t have used the cable cars that much, and so it didn’t pay off for us. If you do get it, it’s a good idea to travel by public transport, which runs frequently. All the car parks are paid – most likely precisely so that visitors use the buses.

If you like collecting stamps at mountain huts, you can earn the bronze hiking pin with just three! The paper version of the logbook is available at the information centres. If the digital version is enough for you, you’ll find it in the Summit Lynx app.

Here is my map with all the possible routes and places to visit.

If you’d like some accommodation inspiration, we stayed here. An ideal location within the valley, quiet and excellently equipped.