Nockalmstraße by Motorcycle: 52 Hairpins Through the Nock Mountains

The Nock Mountains in Upper Carinthia look nothing like the rest of the Austrian Alps. Instead of jagged rock and glaciers there are rounded, grassy summits, larch forest and wide high pasture, and through the middle of them runs the Nockalmstraße: a toll road of around 34 kilometres with 52 hairpins, two high points above 2,000 metres and hardly a building in sight. It is a road made for riding rather than for getting anywhere, and it is the best excuse to spend a few days in Carinthia's lake country.

Planning the loop

The Nockalmstraße runs north-west to south-east between Innerkrems and Ebene Reichenau. The best day loop starts from Gmünd, the small walled town at the foot of the Malta valley, or from Bad Kleinkirchheim. From Gmünd, ride the Nockalmstraße south-east, come back past Bad Kleinkirchheim and the Millstätter See, and you have a loop of around 130 kilometres. With stops at the huts and the lake it is a relaxed full day.

The route, section by section

Gmünd to Innerkrems (about 25km). From Gmünd ride north up the Lieser valley to Kremsbrücke, then turn east up the Krems valley to Innerkrems, a small ski village where the toll road begins. The valley road is a gentle warm-up through forest and farmland.

Innerkrems over the Schiestelscharte (about 15km). From the northern toll station the road climbs in a sequence of open hairpins to the Schiestelscharte at 2,024 metres. The bends are well cambered and the views open up quickly over the soft, green Nock summits. In the middle section the road drops to the Karlbad area and the Glockenhütte before climbing again.

Over the Eisentalhöhe to Ebene Reichenau (about 20km). The second climb takes you to the Eisentalhöhe at 2,042 metres, the highest point of the road, where a hut serves food on a terrace facing the main Alpine ridge. The descent to Ebene Reichenau is the most fun part of the road: a long series of hairpins and linked bends through larch and spruce. The road was built for tourists in the 1980s and is wide and well surfaced, with good sightlines on most bends.

Ebene Reichenau to Bad Kleinkirchheim and the Millstätter See (about 40km). From Ebene Reichenau ride south to Patergassen and Bad Kleinkirchheim, a spa and ski town, then on through Radenthein to the north shore of the Millstätter See. The lake road through Millstatt and Seeboden is easy riding with plenty of places for a swim or an ice cream in summer.

Back to Gmünd (about 30km). From Seeboden head north past Spittal an der Drau and up the Lieser valley back to Gmünd.

Riding tips

The Nockalmstraße rewards a smooth, steady pace rather than a fast one. Many of the hairpins are wide and open, which makes it a good road for practising tight turns on a big touring bike, and there are lay-bys at most of the viewpoints so you are never tempted to stop on a bend. Ride it in both directions if you have time: the climb and the descent feel like different roads. Ask at the toll station whether your ticket covers a return run. If you plan to stop at the huts, remember that you are still riding home afterwards, and Austrian alcohol limits for riders are no looser than for drivers.

Extensions

From Ebene Reichenau, the Turracher Höhe climbs east to a lake on the border with Styria, on a steep road with some of the sharpest gradients on any Austrian pass. From Gmünd, the Malta Hochalmstraße is a dead-end toll road up the Malta valley, past waterfalls and through narrow unlit tunnels with traffic lights, to the Kölnbrein dam, the highest dam wall in Austria. To the north, the Katschberg pass (1,641m) takes you over to the Lungau.

Tolls and rules

The Nockalmstraße is a toll road with a motorcycle rate, paid at the toll stations at either end. It is closed to motorcycles overnight, roughly from early evening until the morning, so do not plan a sunset run. Check the current toll, opening times and any closures on the official site (nockalmstrasse.at) before you set off: landslides have closed sections of the northern approach in the past. The Malta Hochalmstraße is tolled separately and has its own opening hours.

Austria's motorways need a vignette or digital vignette for motorcycles, but you do not need a motorway for any of this loop.

When to go

The Nockalmstraße is usually open from early May to the end of October, weather permitting, and can close for snow early and late in the season. June to September is the reliable window. June brings the alpine flowers on the high pasture; September and early October bring the larches turning gold, the best time of year in the Nock Mountains. The road is popular on sunny weekends; on a weekday you will have long stretches to yourself.

The roads

This is one of the easier toll roads in the Alps: wide, well surfaced and with few nasty surprises. Watch for cattle and horses grazing freely on the high pasture, cyclists on the climbs and slow cars stopping for photos on the bends. Temperatures at the Eisentalhöhe are much lower than at the lakes. There is no fuel on the toll road: fill up in Gmünd, Bad Kleinkirchheim or Radenthein.

Where to stay

Gmünd, Bad Kleinkirchheim, Millstatt and Seeboden all make good bases, and the Carinthian lakes have a long tradition of riders' hotels. See all biker hotels in Austria. The Nock Mountains are about an hour and a half from Heiligenblut and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, and the Dolomites and the Sella Ronda are a day's ride south-west through East Tyrol. Riders crossing west into Tyrol can browse places to stay in Tyrol.