Summer tip: travel with your baby to the Austrian mountains

"Gigigaga," I hear from the baby carrier. Our eight-month-old daughter Maeve enjoys the view from my back. Giant gray mountains with snow-capped jagged peaks, flowering alpine meadows and turquoise lakes stretch out around us. It is the first time we are in the mountains as a family: the mountains of the Zugspitz Arena : a beautiful green valley with seven villages in the Austrian Tyrol .

The Zugspitz Arena is surrounded by high mountain peaks, with the 2,962-metre-high famous Zugspitze, on the border with Germany , as the literal highlight. In winter, the valley is a well-known winter sports resort, but in summer it transforms into a green outdoor paradise, where you can enjoy hiking, swimming and climbing. We went on an adventure with our daughter Maeve: hiking, delicious food, great viewpoints, some more hiking, relaxing in mountain huts and some more food. These are my tips for a great family holiday in the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena!

1. Nice family walking routes

Rugged mountain peaks, cute villages, flowering meadows and more than 150 hiking trails. The Zugspitz Arena is a wonderful area for hiking with children. Are you hiking with a child carrier or are your children old enough to walk on their own? Then definitely hike the Water Adventure Trail Zugspitzi am Gaisbach , a family hiking trail along the Seeben waterfall, through a landscape reminiscent of Yosemite National Park. Along the way, children can play and solve riddles at various stations. Discover all family adventure trails here >

Another route you don't want to miss is a walk around the turquoise blue Heiterwanger See . The route starts and ends at the hotel Fischer am See, with a lovely restaurant, view over the lake and a large outdoor playground. You can walk around the lake surrounded by mountains in about an hour and a half. Finally, I really recommend the three-lake walk near Biberwier. You walk along a narrow forest path past water sources towards the Mittersee: a green lake where you can have a picnic, swim and play. Want to walk further? Then hike along a steep path to the Blindsee, a deep blue lake with a snow-capped mountain peak in the background. Quite challenging with a child carrier on your back, but worth it for the view alone. Do you prefer to go out with a stroller? The Zugspitz Arena also has dozens of buddy-proof hiking trails.

2. Breakfast in a gondola

This is a bucket list tip, ideal for early birds (read: people with children): breakfast in a mountain lift that goes up and down the mountain with a constant view of the 2,962-meter-high Zugspitze. At 9 am you can board at the Almkopfbahn in Bichlbach, where you will be welcomed with a glass of prosecco and a table full of goodies that is carried into the gondola. Bread rolls, coffee, tea, cheese, cold cuts, a huge fresh fruit salad, orange juice, yogurt… what a treat.

The lift slowly creeps up the green, wooded mountainside. Grey, jagged mountains rise high behind the seven pretty villages in the Tyrolean Zugzpitz Arena . In about ten minutes we reach the 1620-metre-high Heiterwanger Hochalm, where hikers get off for a hike to the top of the Almkopf, which is another 200 metres higher. Are you still having a leisurely breakfast? You can go up and down as often as you like. At the bottom, coffee, tea, prosecco and food are refilled as desired. A wonderful way to start the day and easy to do with a baby.

3. Relaxing in a mountain hut

Like the rest of Austria, the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena has some fantastic mountain huts to put your feet up while looking out over the impressive surrounding peaks. For example, take the Ehrwalder Almbahn to Tirolerhaus. On the sun terrace of this mountain hut, you can enjoy a plate of kaiserschmarren or käsespätzle, while the kids do endless laps on the go-kart track. Just a five-minute walk from the hut is a turquoise lake from where you can look out over the deep green valley.

Another great mountain hut to visit with the family is Gamsalm, located at 1,278 metres at the foot of the famous Zugspitze and Gamskarsberg. After a relaxing hike through forests and flower meadows – about 30 minutes from the valley station of the Zugspitze cable car – you will reach this cosy family mountain hut, with a large playground for the little ones and a spacious sun terrace from where you can look down on the green lake below.

4. To the top of the Zugspitze

Look out over snow-capped Alpine peaks of two to four thousand metres high, spread across four different countries. With the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn, a gondola lift from Ehrwald, you can reach the top of the 2,962-metre high Zugspitze in just 10 minutes. This mountain, with three glaciers on its flanks, lies on the border of Austria and Germany and the summit can be reached from both countries.

The forests in the green valley quickly make way for the snow-covered flanks of the Zugspitze . Let your baby or child take sips of water regularly along the way, so that he or she does not suffer from ear problems. You do not need to worry about altitude sickness, that only occurs if you stay above 2,500 meters for a longer period of time. At the top you look out over white snow-covered mountains, and lakes in green valleys far below. You can easily walk from one viewing platform to the other, across the border from Austria to Germany and vice versa. Dress warmly, because even in summer the temperature here is often around freezing point.

Are you interested in traveling to the mountains with your baby(ren) or child(ren), but have questions? Ask them below, and I will give you tips on how to best prepare your trip.

Tip: At the end of August, the Zugspitz Arena celebrates the 200th anniversary of the first ascent of the Zugspitze . A great time to explore the region and of course go to the top of the Zugspitze. With the Z-ticket advantage card, you benefit from many discounts on (family) activities and free access to all cable cars and gondolas, including the Zugspitze.

Also read: ' A relaxing mountain holiday with a baby: this is how you do it! '

This trip was made possible by the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena and Visit Tirol . Do you also want to go on an adventure in this holiday region?  Then read more here >