A themed wooden adventure area delights visitors with water features, a motor skills course, and panoramic swings
Following the completion of the family-friendly mountain restaurant “Hirsch & Maus” in December 2025, Gasteiner Bergbahnen AG invested approximately one million euros in the redesign of the adjacent recreational area at an elevation of about 2,000 meters above sea level. The overall concept, which won out in an ideas competition, as well as the playground equipment supplied, were provided by Sunkids’ partner Almholz.
“With the opening of the new adventure area, we’re offering an attractive experience for young and old alike and bringing new target groups to the mountain. It’s important to us that we continuously develop our offerings and provide new impetus for the people and the region.”
—Andreas Innerhofer, CEO of Gasteiner Bergbahnen
(Source: Press release, July 2026)
As part of a comprehensive modernization, a high-quality and sustainably designed adventure area was created on the site of the former mountain restaurant, blending harmoniously into the alpine surroundings.
Gasteiner Bergbahnen describes it this way: “At the heart of the new adventure world is the water play area for balancing, playing, and cooling off—suitable for all age groups. The offerings are complemented by a motor skills course, panoramic swings, a large bouncy cushion, and play structures shaped like a marmot and a gentian—inspired by the alpine nature of the Schlossalm. A special feature of the concept is the wooden ball, which can be used in ball tracks and a ball-track tower. The new panoramic swing area includes a total of ten different types of swings and offers impressive views of the surrounding mountains. Many of the features invite not only children but also adults to actively participate.
Using the Archimedes wheel, visitors (like in a “human hamster wheel”) pump water themselves from the small lake—to feed the channels and pools of the fun water play area. The double raft setup invites visitors to engage in an exhausting tug-of-war. A wide variety of motor skills elements and platforms provide the shortest—but wobbliest—route across the lake—getting wet is explicitly allowed!
The huge “Deer and Mouse” motor skills course offers perfect training conditions for improving your balancing and climbing skills. Here, on both sides of the two tall towers, there are hanging and swinging elements (logs, ropes, climbing walls, rings, etc.)—designed to resemble the two animals that give the course its name—that you must navigate. You eventually make your way from one tower to the other by crawling through a mesh tunnel at a dizzying height.
The overall look of the new adventure area is defined by the oversized play elements—custom-designed for the client—in the shape of a gentian and a marmot, which is also nibbling on the blossoms of the blue mountain flower. In addition to climbing and exploring, the focus here is on the fun of sliding down.
In addition to the swing and carousel attractions already described, a variety of seating options rounds out the overall experience for young and old alike. Planted flower troughs, which also come from Sunkid’s Wood’n’Fun portfolio, complete the charming and nature-inspired overall look.
We congratulate Bergbahnen Gastein on the grand opening of the new adventure world on July 10, 2026, and on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the first visitors. Thank you very much for allowing us to be part of this special showcase project.
