Welcome in Upper Austria

Innviertel Woodlands Ride

The charming Innviertel region is located between Salzburg and Passau and borders on Bavaria. This  new ride in traverses forests and high plateaus, along lakes and overnights in charming traditional guest houses. This is a trail design for the rider with riding experience, but at the same time not so demanding that there is still plenty of time to look around and enjoy the scenery. You start your trip near Mattinghofen, a lovely town situated on the edge of a little hill, stretching down to the Mattig river and the romantic Schwemmbach brook. The riding center is situated in the middle of forests and meadows. From here we explore the forests of the Innviertel in Upper Austria all the way into the Salzburg land. Small villages, pristine lakes and never ending forests are your daily riding companion.
Your professional guides and hosts Claudia and Rudi will take good care of you and the horses on this relaxing weeklong riding vacation.

PG-INT8
Rates include accommodations with breakfast and dinner, 6 riding days.
8 days/ 7 nights   $ 1,295    Single +$59
-- based on € 875 / € 38
2008 Dates:
04/19-04/26    05/10-05/17   
07/26-08/02    10/04-10/11
Also: 
Star rides from the center
- with 2 day trail:
8 days/ 7 nights   $ 1,095    Single +$59
-- based on € 745 / € 38
2008 Dates:
weekly SA-SA all year (min 2 riders)

Meeting:  Höhnhart
Airport: Salzburg or Vienna
Train Station: Mattighofen
Transfer from Mattighofen € 24, from Salzburg € 60, or from Linz € 100  - rates are return per vehicle (max 4) - to pay locally
Level:    Intermediate
Horses:   Shagya-Arab, Haflinger, Icelandic and German Warmblood
Tack:   Australian trekking saddles
Pace:  all paces on 5 to 6 hours of riding per day
Notes:   Lunches are taken in small restaurants along the way - to pay locally

Day to Day Itinerary
Day 1   We can arrange transfers from Linz, Salzburg or Vienna. Arrival at the riding center in the afternoon. Your hosts will show you around and introduce you to the horses. Over dinner you meet your riding companions for the week.
Day 2   After breakfast we get to know the horses and exercise in the arena. Then we start a long ride to explore the surrounding area that will give you a taste of the following trail days. Over dinner your hosts will be happy to answer any of your questions before getting ready for the multi day riding tour that will start tomorrow morning.
Day 3   We start our trail at about 600 meter elevation in the center of the ‘Innviertel’. We ride in north easterly direction towards the Inn River. After a nice ride through the Gaugshamer forest we reach Wagham, where we stop for lunch at a ‘Gasthof’.  Already riding across the ‘Inn” plateau we head towards the well known Thermal village of Geinberg. The final destination for today is Weilbach, where we overnight on a Western riding center that raises Missouri Foxtrotters.
Day 4   Our trail continues in easterly direction. Passing by Oberweintal and through the Rothenberger Forest we finally reach Untereitzing. We stop for lunch at the local ‘Innviertler Vierkanthof’.
And on we ride across a hilly countryside towards ‘Atzing’. We pass through the village and climb up to an elevation of 583 meters, where wonderful vistas over the ‘Waldzeller Ache’ await us. On a clear day we can see tomorrow’s lunch stop from here. Through Ramerding and by Staxroith our trail leads us to a farm in Brockenbach with its Noriker stud farm.  Here our horses stay for the night, giving us time to admire some of the famous studs. A short drive will take us to our lodgings for the night in Mettmach. We stay at a large guesthouse with excellent local cuisine.
Day 5   Through Rainthal and Hochkuhl we reach the highest point of the day – the 723 m high Hochkugelberg. A great panorama over the villages of Lohnsburg and Waldzell is in fornt of us. We ride throught the village of Kobernaussen that gave the following forest tits name ‘Kobernausser Wald’.  The ‘Kobernausser Wald’ with the bordering woods of the ‘Hausruck Wald’ form a 50 x 20 kilometer forest area that is today one of the largest of its kind in central Europe. After lunch we ride on forest trails that invite for nice longer canters across the ‘Hausruck Wald’. Tonight we enjoy a typical Upper Austria dinner at the ‘Gasthof Lohninger’.
Day 6  From Fomach across the Koglholz with its moors at an elevation of 700 m we reach the sothern border of the forest area. We ride through the ‘Langholz’ and leave Upper Austria and enter the countryside of ‘Salzburg’. After lunch we cross an ever changing countryside and reach Brunn at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. From the terrace we have a great view over the Upper Austria lake district. If you like we can organize a boat trip on the ‘Mond Lake’ or you can go for a swim in the ‘Irrsee” lake. Of course you can also just relax for a few hours before we all meet for dinner at the ‘Brunnerwirt’.  Tonight a few of our friend from the local riding club will visit and usually make for some nice conversations.
Day 7   After breakfast we start our last riding day. First our trail leads us to a small high point and through a small woodland to the end of the hill country and we enter the plateau.  Nice long canters await us passing the villages of Lengau and Aug. After lunch we ride along the ‘Schwemmbach’ stream and through the Munderfing village , then across the ‘Hohenruecken’ we return to the ‘Kobernhausser Wald’ Forest. We traverse the ‘Kindstale’ to the village of Hoeh. From here we ascend and get back to the riding center where we started our journey.
Day 8  Departure after breakfast.

Accommodations: You stay overnight at the cozy guesthouses and at the riding center with private bath.