Flachau resort guide & reviews Ski area, apres-ski, things to see & do in Flachau
Reviews
Flachau ski resort is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Salzburg province with a population of just over 2600. It is part of the huge ski Amadé area that is divided into 5 regions and 25 resorts covered by a single lift pass.
In the early days, Flachau was a small mining town but those days have long gone having been over taken by a thriving tourist business. Fluchau hosts various international skiing competitions including the annual men's giant slalom. It is also the birthplace of the downhill champion Hermann Maier.
Après-ski
For a small resort, the après-ski in Flachau can be lively and there is a good party atmosphere with live bands and DJs playing in the 4 nightclubs. There is a wide selection of cafes, bars (30) and restaurants (40) plus a good variety of shops around the pedestrianised main street (Hauptplatz). However, it is not like Ischgl or St Anton so if you love skiing, a quiet drink, dinner then bed, this is the place to go.
Wellness & spa
Flachau caters for those bad weather days with a fantastic water park complete with a slide, lazy river, whirlpool and heated outdoor pool.
Children
There are several day care centres and ski kindergarten clubs for your children starting from the age of 3.
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 920m |
| Top lift | 2200m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 860 |
| Longest run | 6 km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 150 km |
| Season | Dec - April |
| Snowboard parks | 1 |
| Heli Skiing | ✘ |
| Summer skiing | ✘ |
| Glacier skiing | ✘ |
| Babysitting | ✔ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Relaxed & Lively |
Flachau ski area guide
Flachau ski resort is part of the Salzburger Sportwelt ski area, which itself is part of the larger Ski Amade system with 860km of pistes covered by 1 lift pass!
This sounds like the ski terrain is far larger than say Les 3 Vallees which is true but the problem is that not all the pistes and ski resorts are linked - thankfully, there are ski buses to ferry you to the various lift stations. In terms of scale, Ski Amade is similar in size to the resorts that make up the Super Dolomiti area in the Italian Dolomites that includes resort such as Val Gardena and Canazei.
However, only the following ski resorts are linked by lift.....
- Flachau and Wagrain (Grießkareck area)
- Flachauwinkl (Mooskopf area) and Kleinarl
- Flachauwinkl (Roßkopf area) and Zauchensee
- Alpendorf and Wagrain (Grafenberg area)
- Altenmarkt and Radstadt
Beginners
The local skiing in Flachau gives you 16 pistes and trails covering around 56km with plenty of gentle beginner areas and blue pistes.
Intermediate
The whole Salzburg Sportwelt ski area is geared towards intermediate skiers especially if you like touring.
Advanced
For the advanced skier, there is not much on-piste to challenge you with most of the terrain suited to intermediates. The most difficult piste is the 4km Gamskogel Nord run with a gradient of 40% - compare this to the Harakiri black in Mayrhofen - the steepest in Austria with a maximum gradient of 78 degrees! The off-piste is far better with many back-country routes best explored with a guide.
Snowboard
For snowboarders, there are 4 major parks featuring rainbow boxes, moguls hills, easy kickers, straight boxes and more.
Cross country
For snowboarders, there is a terrain park and 2 half pipes.
Things to see & in Flachau
If you don't fancy skiing or the weather is not that great, then there are plenty of other activities to keep you occupied. One of the good fun places to check-out is the ice palace up at 2700m on the Dachstein glacier where you can also look deep inside of one of the magnificent crevasses!
- Night skiing every Tuesday and Thursday
- Winter walking and snow shoeing trails
- Dog sleighs
- Tobogganing
- Parapenting
Our view on Flachau ski resort
Ski holidays in Flachau are ideal for families with lots of green and long cruising blue pistes. For the ski touring enthusiasts, Ski Amade is heaven - not all lift linked but if you dont mind jumping on the ski bus, the options are unlimited. A few suggestions for your ski holiday in Flachau...
- Try cross-country skiing on the Dachstein glacier up at 2700m - a bit different from motoring around the valley floor with spectacular views of the surrunding 3000m peaks
- In the winter season, one of the most sought after trips is a visit to the Dachstein Ice Palace where you can go right inside the Dachstein glacier. It's just 3 minutes walk from the Dachstein Bergstation, and well worth a visit, whatever the weather
- Visit the historic village of Schladming
If you like being in a stunning mountain valley and being able to go skiing on a glacier, you may also want to look at Zell am Ziller and Gerlos in the Ziller Valley where you can also visit the Hintertux glacier and ski at over 3000m.
