I found myself craving a summer holiday with our three small children and began searching what we could possibly do that would be fun for the kids, the least amount of hassle for the adults, where we would ALL be entertained for multiple days on end, and is stroller friendly. Does this magical formula exist? I am happy to say a resounding YES, it does! I present you the Austrian alps and their glorious alpine playgrounds.

Austrian Alps with Kids

The Austrian alps have entered the chat! Let me tell you that the Austrian alps are the most kid friendly holiday I can think of. Does this surprise you? It did to me, at first. But after two summers and three alpine holidays with our family, I can assure you that you will enjoy (most) every second. We’ve found that hotels are incredibly kid friendly, restaurants have outdoor play for children, you’ll see tons of animals – cows, horses, goats, bunnies, chickens – and the best part is the epic alpine playgrounds at the top of the gondola lifts, full of fresh mountain air, usually a 1 km walking loop, and good Austrian food.

Where to Go

When planning our holiday, I searched for alpine playgrounds (alpine spielplatz) and our favorite so far are in Söll, Austria in the Wilder Kaiser area and Pitztal Austria, specifically Zirbenpark, which is another phenomenal playground ‘world’.

Let’s get to it!

Söll Austria

Söll is our favorite alpine destination. It’s a quick drive from Stuttgart, the village is small and easy to navigate with littles yet offers plenty, and there are two excellent alpine playgrounds in the immediate vicinity. We’ve been in July and September, both times are great. We timed our September trip with the cows coming down the mountain festival, highly recommend! But first, let me tell you about the alpine playgrounds.

Hexenwasser Söll

Once you take the gondola up the mountain, you’re greeted by a beautiful outdoor playground full of ziplines, swings, water play, and more. There is an alpine restaurant and it’s possible for the kids to play immediately surrounding you while you enjoy your meal. You’re very likely to see cows close by, which are always a hit. We typically spend a few hours right in this immediate vicinity, letting the kids play to their hearts content.

After playing for a while, you can take a 1+ km loop walk around the mountain. There are stations throughout that are fun to stop and play along the way. It says it’s a barefoot path or barfußweg but I recommend taking your shoes with you as only the first portion is really barefoot. We did this last year with our stroller, and this year we left the stroller down by the ziplines and all three kids walked slash we carried some of them for the whole time 🙂

You can walk in a fresh mountain stream (this was really fun), then walk on a path with stunning views, and through a mountain forrest.

One year later, what a difference a year makes! Also looking back, I’m slightly in awe we originally did this with 2x six month olds and a two year old, haha.

Ellmi’s Zauberwelt

About a 10 minute drive from Söll is the village Ellmau, and up the gondola lift is Ellmi’s Zauberwelt. Ellmis might actually my favorite because there is just so much to do.

When you exit the lift, there’s a play car track for kids to drive around on and lots more to play. Then similar to Hexenwasser Söll, you can take a 1+ km loop around the mountain, but this is full of ropes courses, a magical forest, and tons of more surprises. If your kids are very small (like under 2), they would likely not do the mountain loop at Ellmis, but there is still plenty to keep them entertained.

We’ve been to Ellmis once in July, and once in the third week of September. In September there was a pretty big snow in the mountain just before we arrived, so we were somewhat shocked to see Ellmis was covered in snow when we got off the lift! It melted throughout the day and we still had a blast, but it’s a reminder to bring your hats and lots of layers for the mountain!

The ropes course is our son’s favorite. We did this multiple times throughout the day.

On the back side of the mountain there is a kugelbahn, or ball run. You can buy a wooden ball for a euro or bring your own if you have them. This is always a hit with kids!

Where to Stay

We love staying in Söll. There are two places that we’ve found to be very kid friendly and relaxed.

Ferienhotel Fuchs Söll

We’ve stayed at Ferienhotel Fuchs twice as it’s an excellent hotel, has an indoor kids playroom and tons of outdoor kids toys with a gorgeous backyard. The views from the room are excellent, and it’s in a very quiet location that’s still easy to access the town. They have a great breakfast, and the hotel is very affordable – even better!

The views from our room are just perfect, and we adore sitting out on the balcony. Our kids love to wake up and run straight outside to watch the cows grazing in the fields surrounding us.

Hexenalm Söll

Hexenalm is right at the bottom of the lift and has an incredible outdoor dining and play area, complete with a wooden playground, two trampolines, soccer net, and even a bunny area. The kids will have a blast while you enjoy the delicious food and drink. The hotel also has ski lockers, saunas, and indoor play area. Even if you don’t stay here, it’s worth it to eat dinner here one evening.

More Austrian adventures to come, including the Söll Almatreib and Pitztal’s Zirbenpark!

xx