It takes courage to extend a legend. With the Hacklberg Trail in Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, however, the mammoth task has been 100% successful: the legendary Hacklberg Trail has really been perfectly extended without changing its typical character. Even in version 2.0, the single trail remains one of the oldest and best trails in the Alps.

Anyone who has ridden the Hacklberg Trail knows that you had to earn it hard in the past. The good news: You are now spared the steep uphill section between the east and west summits of the Schattberg. Since 2019, the Westgipfelbahn cable car has also been open in summer and since 2020, the Schattberg Sprinter has also been transporting us from the end of the first section of the X-Line directly to the west summit of the Schattberg in Saalbach.

Once we reach the top at 2,000 metres, a fantastic panoramic view awaits us from the typical Pinzgau grass mountain - from up here we can see

• to the Kitzsteinhorn,
• to the Hohe Tauern,
• the Steinernes Meer and
• to the Leoganger Steinberge.

"It seems that the natural flow trail was invented here."

We head straight into the first part of the Hacklberg Trail MTB single trail: it starts off smoothly - slightly undulating over alpine meadows and always in a constant up and down and back and forth. It seems that the natural flow trail was invented here. At least that's how it feels.

The gradient gives us a pleasant speed that suits the trail - the grins on our faces get wider and wider. We pass the small lake and gradually more and more trees grow around us. Nevertheless, the trail remains visible and open: A good feeling - especially for flow lovers. The trees slowly become denser, the trail a little more exposed and finally we follow a sharp left-hand bend that leads into a marvellous 180° right-hand bend. From here, it's only a few metres to the Hacklberg-Alm, where we first enjoy the view of the valley head from the terrace.

Having rested up, it's now time for the second part of the Hacklberg Trail: the shapers of the valley were actually faced with a daunting task here: after all, the upper part of the Hacklberg Trail had long since become a legend - and is still considered the benchmark for a natural flow trail today. The task was therefore to extend the single trail with its strong character in such a way that a stringent riding experience was created while still taking the terrain and new developments into account. We can only say: the experiment was a success!

Large waves and berms await us as if we were riding three-dimensionally through the dense tree population. The waves invite us to jump and we are completely focussed on our riding. But even this part has not been ironed out - roots and stones define the ground and the trail continues to blend naturally into the landscape. A successful extension of a legend.

We enjoy the ride for quite a while before we reach the forest path and thus the end of the Hacklberg Trail 2.0 in Hinterglemm. From here, we take the Buchegg Trail down to the valley station - a good 10 km and 1,000 metres of pure trail fun under our tyres. After this tour on the Hinterglemm promenade, the Home of Lässig comes alive once again:

• casual single trails
• casual MTB festivals
• casual atmosphere after biking

Rarely has a marketing slogan fitted so well as here in the Home of Lässig.