Level of difficulty 4 paddles |  Gastronomy 1 pitcher |  Length 16 km |  Time 3 - 4 hours

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This tour offers a beautiful and quite challenging combination of reservoir and river. The dreamy Rosental Valley is also pretty charming on the water and inspires stand-up paddlers with a mix of idleness and challenge. If you are looking for solitude, this is the right place to be.

General information

• Carinthia Card
• Rosental Valley Wikipedia
• Rosental tourist information
• Feistritz Reservoir
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather
  

Navigation rules

The reservoir is the habitat of rare birds and amphibians and should therefore be navigated with respect. Be cautious of reeds and only paddle on obviously passable paths. Avoid fishing boats and fishermen on the shore and pass them by in a wide arc.

Dangers and risks

Depending on the water level, you can still come across clay banks 10 - 20 m from the shore, where you can easily get stuck with paddles and fins. Therefore keep enough distance from the shore as long as the current is low! 

Every now and then a motorized boat cruises along the route. Then make way accordingly! The last 1.5 km before the weir in Rosegg (approx. from km 6.5 upstream) the current picks up strongly and you primarily paddle along the bank. There can always be increased driftwood along the entire route.

Directions

From Klagenfurt take the Rosentaler Straße B91 south towards the village of Lambichl by car and from there to Ludmannsdorf. Follow the course of the road to Franzendorf and finally to a village called Selkach. The water entry at the so-called Zikkurat-Drauwelle is located at the bend in the river south-east of the village.

However, it is time-consuming to reach this location using public transport especially since longer walking distances have to be planned.

Parking

At the fork in the road to the so-called Zikkurat-Drauwelle there is a small free parking lot with space for a few vehicles. The small harbor begins on the opposite side of the street with enough open space for tour preparation.

Swimming

Those who like the cool river water will find plenty of free access here, especially along the south bank. Nevertheless, one should not stray too far from the shore, as even weak currents can have a great effect.

If the river is too cold for you, you can visit the 50 m long natural swimming pond or the pool in the EuroParks Rosental (formely known as Wahaha Paradise).

EuroParcs Rosental
Feriendorf 1, 9181 Feistritz im Rosental
Phone +43 (0)4228 37733

Tour

From the Drauwelle turn right and upstream along the bank to the Rosegg/St. Jacob power plant. From there back to the start.

Length

16 km

Time

3 - 4 hours

Start and landing

In Selkach at the Drauwelle ‘Zikkurat’.

SUP rental

Drau Paddelweg
Dahlienweg 14, 9161 Maria Rain
Phone +43 (0)463 2032 30100

SUP & Smile
Gregorweg 15, 9536 St Egyden
Phone +43 (0)650 6733945

Fels & Wasser
Flurweg 20, 9524 Villach
Phone +43 650 6161327

Slalom paddling through the driftwood

The Feistritz Reservoir is the backwater of the Drava River by the Feistritz-Ludmannsdorf power plant and stretches from the village Feistritz im Rosental in the east to Sankt Jakob im Rosental in the west. The reservoir, which is around eight kilometers long, forms a number of bays and harbor basins and is a popular fishing paradise in the region.

The Drava - Carinthia's longest river - offers paddlers a unique natural experience along the floodplain landscapes on the banks of the reservoir. Although the first few kilometers of the stretch ahead of us have little current, you shouldn't let that fool you. After about 4 km the water picks up speed, so you should bring along at least a little river experience for this tour.

We drive through the picturesque Rosental to Selkach and enter Carinthia's water vein at the so-called Zikkurat-Drauwelle. The spot turns out to be a real insider tip, because as soon as we arrive we are greeted by a small flock of sheep grazing here in their freely accessible enclosure. Man-made by artists Edmund and Tomas Hoke as well as Armin Guerino, the harbor spirals like a snail to the river and is home to countless small jetties and boat docks.

However, before we go into the water, we climb up the viewing hill that rises in a wedge shape above the harbor and from there we have an enthusiastic view of the extensive Rosental. The artists wanted to explore new horizons and play with the perspectives and forms of this extensive cultural landscape with this work. This gives us an idea of the forthcoming tour along this leisurely flowing section of the river. The entry proves to be very pleasant, especially since the sufficiently high water level prevents paddles and fins from getting stuck in the loamy ground.

We let ourselves drift gently onto the reservoir and be carried upstream (to the right) by the light easterly wind on the open water. The Karavanks which are part of the Southern Limestone Alps, stretch out before our eyes with their dominating mountain called Mittagskogel (2145 m). This all-round view along the reservoir gives us the feeling of being tiny.

The slight tail wind whirls up the water a bit and neutralizes the hardly noticeable current and so our 16 km long tour begins under easier conditions. The river will always be between 100 and 200 meters wide along the route and the few boats that we encounter will be swallowed up on the horizon as much as we are. Apart from a few visible reed beds, swans, ducks and seagulls, we are alone and enjoy the sounds of nature this magnificent river and meadow landscape. However, the biodiversity in this area is much greater: around 20 species of fish, beavers, otters and even North American signal crabs find their home here.

The water is cloudy because clay and sand are whirled up in it and now and then rotten tree trunks and all kinds of other branches drift past us, which we enjoy driving around. There is also said to be a beaver population here, but we cannot confirm this due to the time of day. For that you would have to paddle here at dusk.

In front of us the small bridge we had to cross by car coming here comes closer and shortly afterwards the mouth of the slim Rosenbach Stream extends to the left. Along the gravel bank you can see sun worshipers working on their tan and you can also get into the cool and crystal clear mountain water that feeds the Drava.

Thanks to the tailwind, the first two kilometers to get here were a breeze, but we know it won't stay that way forever. From here the reservoir, which is 8 km long, takes on more and more the character of a typical rivering water: the river speed increases gradually.

The reed landscape reminds us a little of the canals and lagoons of the Upper Adriatic and so we paddle meter by meter through the meandering river in glorious weather. Nature offers us all its colors in different shades and tones and we enjoy every moment of ist.

Shortly before the village of Dreilach we notice that the water is picking up speed again and the current is clearly visible. But no problem, because we are still making good progress and skilfully avoiding the driftwood, which is sometimes drifting towards us in larger clusters. We paddle around the small wooden slalom and look for the ideal line. The paddle blades pierce every second and the rhythm is optimal.

In between, however, this is interrupted because we have no choice but to stop for a few snapshots, even if the water carries us back a few meters again. Full of expectation, we leave one bend in the river after the other and wonder why the Rosegg power plant is still not in sight.

We ask a family who is coming towards us in a canoe how far it is, but they don't know either, especially since they started their tour only a few minutes ago. So we continue hopefully and we hold back so as not to take a look at the internet map. We can't be wrong, especially since there's only one direction we can anyway.

We notice that with every bend in the river, it becomes more difficult to work against the current. The current is visibly and noticeably increasing, which is an indication that we are getting closer and closer to the intermediate goal. The last 1,500 m before the weir are tough: we move even closer to the bank and sometimes paddle under the overhanging bushes in order to be confronted with as little water resistance as possible.

But the drudgery has an expiry date after we pass the village of Pulpitsch and shortly after see the dam. After a net travel time of almost exactly two hours, we have earned a timeout in the eddy under the weir which we enjoy with pleasure.

The way back promises to be faster and more energy-efficient due to the flow speed of the water. But first we land 600 m below the weir on the right hand side to fill our drinking bottles with fresh water at the small waterfall at the end of the Mühlbach Stream. The estuary bed is also the ideal spot for a quick dive before swinging back on the board and letting the water pull you downstream.  

The previously hard-earned last few kilometers now pass quickly and we put our paddles aside and sit on our boards. Every paddler should once in their life have leisurely navigated a rivering body of water, gliding along with the power of the water is incomparable.

Unfortunately, this feeling doesn't last until the end and sooner or later you have to put your paddles in the water again to make progress. In a much shorter time we approach the Rosenbach Stream again, come to the bridge and after about an hour of downstream paddling we are back in the small harbor on the Drauwelle.

You should plan about a third of the total time for the way back, although of course you will have to paddle more towards the end of the tour. A demanding tour is coming to an end, but the Drau still has a number of beautiful areas to offer. For example, the rest of the reservoir up to the next dam in Feistritz, about 6 km from today's water entrance.

Find this and many other SUP tours on Carinthian waters in the SUP Guide Carinthia.