By Markus Stehbock

If you think of paddling in Austria, maybe rivers like the Ötz and Inn will immediately come to mind – as these rivers provide you with everything a white water kayaker dreams of. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll find many not so well known rivers of various character with differing types of difficulties.

Quick guide to the rivers of the German/Austrian border

I run a white water paddling school in the very south of Bavaria on the Austrian border and I invite you to discover some of the lesser known creeks and rivers in my home area between Munich, Innsbruck and Salzburg. You’ll always find enough water on the bigger rivers like Saalach, Lammer, Salzach and Inn – so you can consider them as an ‘all year run’.

The sections on these rivers offer anything between class I-V (VI) depending on the water levels. Being at the right spot at the right time you will find some very nice playspots on Salzach and Inn. Also with some of them it doesn’t matter if you cannot decide between a SUP or a kayak for surfing – the waves are perfect for both’

These bigger rivers are fed their additional water from smaller side valleys, which carry the tributaries and many of them offer plenty of interesting runs as well.

The Strubbach is a comparatively small but very fast and heavily blocked river of class IV white water. It can easily be scouted as it runs besides the road for about four kilometres before it flows into the Saalach just upstream of the classic slalom course at Lofer. The slalom course leads into the Devil’s Gorge IV (V), which is well known and frequently paddled over the whole year. After this section the classic raft section begins II (III), nice white water in an open river bed, which is well suited for beginners.

Crossing the border

Crossing the Bavarian border on this section you will get to the confluence of a small and unimpressive left-handed creek, apparently uninteresting for paddlers. In this case the first impression is misleading. A brief look at the gorge of the Weißbach makes it clear there is not much water needed to make it runnable. Even a thunderstorm on a hot summer day is likely to re-awaken it – you just need to be fast as the level drops again pretty fast, too.

At the put-in, the level might seem poor, but after a few metres the Weißbach narrows and disappears into an impressive gorge. That’s where the fun begins: smaller and bigger drops up to five-metre in height provide you with an exciting run in a very picturesque gorge. It’s recommended to scout for trees before paddling, which can easily be done from a hiking path that runs through the gorge. The Weißbach offers class IV (VI) white water but be careful with higher water levels – some of the drops can become pretty retentive and dangerous.

The Salzach area south of Salzburg is well know for some classic box canyon runs – like Salzachöfen and Lammeröfen, which are only a few kilometres apart. The Salzachöfen becomes more difficult and dangerous with bigger flows, so the best time is in summer or autumn. Though the difficulties don’t rise above class III+ white water, swimming is not an option as there are many dangerous undercuts.

The Lammeröfen offers nice class IV-IV+ white water in a deep and very impressive box canyon. During late afternoon runs, you can enjoy dramatic changes between the darkness and bright light. Both gorges can be scouted by a tourist foot path for a small fee. At a nearby playspot on the Salzach in Kuchl, you will find good surfing opportunities just 10 minutes away from the get-outs.

Brandenberger Ache

Checking the eastern parts of northern Tyrol, in several side valleys of the Inn you can find perfect white water adventures. One of the most famous is probably the Brandenberger Ache, offering four different sections of various difficulties ranging from white water class II to V (VI).

Extraordinary beautiful Canyons like the Kaiserklamm (V) and the Tiefenbachklamm IV (VI), cut through the limestone of the northern Alps and form a perfect white water playground for experienced paddlers.

There are nevertheless, sections for intermediate paddlers as well. The Pinegger-Canyon starts with a drop into a class III and the section of the Saugraben are perfect possibilities for paddlers less skilled The Upper Walchen

Not far from the Brandenberger Ache, a little creek is hiding – perfect for creeking rookies. The Upper Walchen is always worth a visit when the water levels in the region are high for the main rivers. It impresses with various drops and slides in a small but beautiful gorge. As the paddling distance is not very long, you can do the run several times testing the different lines of the Walchen. The road is just a few metres above the river so the shuttle is really short.

If you are more into canoes, SUP or you prefer less adrenaline fuelled runs in your kayak, the whole regions offers some interesting rivers and lakes with the possibility for some cultural exploration as well.

The Entenloch Klamm on the Tiroler Ache, is a kayak school classic for the first days on a river, offering perfect class II white water with many eddys in a breathtaking gorge. It’s perfect for paddling with any kind of watercraft, as long you have some white water experience, or a guide.

Chiemsee Lake

The Tiroler Ache leads to the Chiemsee, the biggest lake in the area with three little islands (Frauenchiemsee, Krautinsel and Herreninsel) within it. Here, the famous ‘Schloss Herrenchiemsee’ on Herreninsel can be visited. One of the best paddling trips leads from Felden to the island, a 90-minute guided tour of the castle and then another two-kilometre paddle to the Fraueninsel, where you can enjoy the ‘Biergarden’ with a perfect view to the Alps. Don’t forget the way back takes another 90 minutes.

In Bavaria, the Inn and Salzachriver used to be the ‘Saltstreets’ so you can enjoy them on any watercraft. The fast current makes it easy to paddle 30km and more. Both rivers pass through Italian influenced towns like Burghausen and Wasserburg. They don’t offer white water, but the fast current requires some paddling skills, nevertheless.

There you go – take your pick – happy paddling and exploring.