Sparbach Nature Park circular hike

Description

Tip/Fun Fact: Sparbach Nature Park is Austria's oldest nature park. During a circular hike, you can observe wild boars up close. The park is a top excursion destination in Lower Austria!
The nature park also offers the option to grill and celebrate children's birthday parties; information and advance registration are available at the nature park office.

Starting point of the tour

Sparbach Nature Park visitor center

Destination point of the tour

Sparbach Nature Park visitor center

Route description Sparbach Nature Park circular hike

The hike through the nature park is an experience for the whole family. Right at the beginning, the animal enclosure magically attracts children, but especially the freely roaming wild boars with their piglets. The Lenauteich pond, with numerous aquatic animals, especially the large carp, also impresses. For many families, the hike ends at the adventure playground, as children are obviously reluctant to leave. Numerous thematic panels along our route provide information about nature and the history of the region. However, we decided to explore the entire nature park and continue hiking past the Raimund pine to our next destination, the Johannstein ruins, built around 1200. Ferdinand Raimund also left traces here and completed his play "The Alpine King and the Misanthrope" in 1828. We now choose the longer route to the Diana meadow, which we reach after about 45 minutes. Along the way, we repeatedly encounter genuine giant trees. The path runs in a curve around the Diana meadow; on a side path, we reach the Fürsten pine and the triumphal arch on the Diana meadow. Here we have a nice resting place to stay a while. Shortly after the detour to the Diana spring, the path ascends to the highest point of our round, the Köhlerhaus ruins at 571 m above sea level. This ascent is not suitable for strollers (detour via forest road possible). Like the triumphal arch, the Köhlerhaus ruins are ornamental buildings created during the garden design of the Biedermeier period. Today, it is used as a lookout point facing south and west. We march back the same trail and choose the return route towards Schacherplatz (a nicely covered resting place); the forest road now gradually descends to the Lepold mill at the Lenauteich and back to the starting point. Our hike is always very well signposted.