Mur River – Weinzödl Barrage

Level of difficulty 1 |  Gastronomy 1 |  Length 4.6 km |  Time 1 - 1.5 hours

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Between the closely spaced power plants of Gratkorn and Weinzödl lies a small reservoir that, despite its proximity to a highway, offers a surprising amount of nature. Here, you can paddleboard amid the noise of engines and the chirping of birds.

General information

• Styria Card
• GenussCard
• Styria tourist information
• Graz tourist information
• Graz Wikipedia
• Tour video
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

Even though it is not a nature reserve, please avoid littering and making noise. Also, give fishermen and other water sports enthusiasts plenty of space. A safe distance of several hundred meters from the weirs should be maintained as far as possible.

Dangers and risks

The Mur also presents classic flowing water hazards on this calm section of the river, so it is important to always monitor the water level and assess whether your own abilities allow you to undertake a tour. The flow rate can increase significantly, especially after heavy or prolonged rainfall.

The water access at the slipway is generally not slippery, but you should be careful at the edge so that you don't slip on the wooden slat attached there. At normal water levels, it is usually submerged.

This water access is located just a few meters above the Weinzödl power station, which always poses a potential hazard under certain circumstances. However, the Gratkorn power station at the turning point of the tour can be avoided by starting the return journey several hundred meters before it.

When preparing for the tour, keep a sufficient distance from the road and, above all, do not leave anything on the road. It is best to find a suitable spot on the crest of the dam for inflating SUPs and packing dry bags.

A lot of trees hang or grow into the water along the banks. There are also many dead trees and tree trunks in the water. The closer you paddle to the shore, the more careful you have to be not to get caught on anything.

From the high-voltage power line onwards, there are many boulders just below the water surface, especially on the north bank. Either steer towards the middle of the river or paddle over them, regularly looking down and observing the water.

Anyone wishing to paddle up the artificial channel streaming down from the Gratkorn power station will encounter a lot of water plants that slow down progress. The water depth is also quite shallow in some places and, together with the occasional boulders, can lead to contact with the bottom.

Directions

You can get to Graz via all conventional transport routes. Once in the city, you will also enjoy a great public transport network.

From the center of Graz, for example, you can take the street Wiener Straße to the Weinzödl power station. But it is also quite easy to get here from the north, for example via the A9 motorway, taking exit 173 Gratkorn Süd.

It is easy to get here by bus too, especially since the bus stop Graz Weinzödlkapelle is only 350 m away from the start of the tour at the slipway.

Parking

In Weinzödl there are plenty of parking lots available at the roadside directly in front of the slipway. The parking spaces are free to use and there is usually always something available.

Swimming

Despite the dam, the Mur River remains significantly cooler than swimming lakes, even in summer. There are some easily accessible paths to the water, especially from the walking trail along the north bank. You could also cool off by jumping from a SUP, especially as the flow rate is quite slow. However, we do not recommend this.

Alternatively, you can relax in the water at Graz's indoor and outdoor pools or at the artificial lakes Schwarzlsee and Copacabana in the south of the city. There are also other outdoor pools and swimming lakes north of Graz.

SUP rental

SUP Sports Club Graz
Phone +43 (0)677 62398706

Tour

From the slipway in Weinzödl upstream to the highway bridge and back again.

Length

4.6 km

Time

1 - 1.5 hours

Start and landing

At the slipway near the Weinzödl power station.

Natural paradise next to the expressway

With the commissioning of the power plant in Gratkorn, the greater Graz area has gained another reservoir. In addition to the damming power plants in the south of the city, since 2024 it has also been possible to paddle comfortably on almost still water in the north. The newly created section of river between the power plants Gratkorn and Weinzödl now makes the river Mur easily navigable even for SUP beginners. It offers everyone who comes here an interesting panorama between expressway, highway, and seemingly untouched nature.

The starting point for this short SUP tour is not only easily accessible by car, but also by bus, as the nearest bus stop is only 350 m away from the water. However, we arrive by car and park on the generous roadside directly in front of the slipway at the Weinzödl power station. From here, it's just a few steps up to the top of the dam and back down to the water via the slipway. Be careful at its end, as the wooden slat attached to the edge is a little slippery.

The Weinzödl power station is already 130 meters to our left, so we have no choice but to paddle upstream to the right for now. The decibel level of the adjacent expressway (Judendorfer Straße) bounces off the mirror-smooth, dark green water of the Mur, as does the birdsong we hear on our side. Visually, too, the area presents an interesting scene, especially as the banks are covered in dense vegetation, while at the same time traffic on the road unleashes itself unrestrainedly.

However, we immediately take a liking to this unusual paddling environment and, not least because of the many dead trees protruding into or out of the water, we feel as if we are in an untouched green landscape. We are particularly taken with the northern bank of the river, paddling upstream on the right-hand side. Here, you can paddle wonderfully under the trees hanging over the water and escape the barely noticeable flow of the calm Mur.

Until we reach the first high-voltage power line, it makes little difference whether we paddle in the middle or close to the shore, as we are making good progress and enjoying the lively reflections in the water. From the power line onwards, large boulders can be seen in the water, mainly on the right bank, some of which reach up to fin level from below. This means that visual contact downwards is required if you want to glide over them. Today the water is clear enough to have two or three meters of visibility downwards, and we can navigate past the rocks easily.

Meanwhile, the expressway has receded into the distance and will reappear a little later on the left-hand side together with the A9 motorway, providing a corresponding background noise. Until then, we paddle uphill along the long river bends and don't miss the views above us. After all, the limestone cliffs of the 608-meter-high Mt. Kanzelkogel are reminiscent of a small Wild West landscape, while the Göstinger Ruinenberg (Gösting Ruin Mountain) provides the foundation for the Gösting Castle Ruins. It is a popular destination for the locals, not least because of the great view down to our paddling destination.

Shortly before the highway bridge, we discover an artificial side arm to our left (south bank) and head towards it. We don't want to wait until we can paddle it downstream from the other side, so we decide to paddle upstream instead. The water level of this canal, which is no more than five meters wide, is quite low, and its bed is covered with underwater plants, which we can see floating on the water surface in the gentle current.

My amateur guess is that it is Canadian water weed or a type of milfoil. In any case, these little oxygen producers spread like carpets in the water, and we try to navigate around them as best we can. Would it have been better to turn back? However, we have already progressed so far into the channel that we are under the motorway bridge and face clearer water and a freer passage. Therefore, we decide to paddle the remaining short distance.

This turns out to be a very good idea, because after the bridge we end up in a small pool fed by two water pipes. We would never have been able to reach this side arm from the main stream because it does not originate from it. So we have to turn around and flow down the channel again. This is naturally much faster because the water carries us pleasantly back down to the river. This return trip also gives us a great view of Mt. Kanzelkogel, whose rock formations rise like a head from the forest below.

At the lower end of the small canal we take a sharp left turn. After that, we paddle a little further until we moor at a gravel bank just before the motorway bridge and take a break. Caution! The stones are slippery and there is a risk of injury once you step ashore. You can leave your SUP on the gravel bank and take a break while sitting on your board. The water flows a little faster here, about 300 meters from the Gratkorn power station, but it is still very calm and easy to navigate, even for SUP beginners.

From here, we drift downstream towards Weinzödl, but now we are more oriented towards the south bank (right bank of the Mur). The late summer sun is already casting its first shadows on the water, and we now have a great view of the Gösting Castle Ruins, which tower about 200 meters above us. However, we can't do without paddling entirely, as the already weak current quickly slows down again. So we have to work a little to make our way back.

After about an hour and a half we reach the slipway again, which is also easy to navigate from the water. However, when the water level is higher or in wet weather conditions, it can be a little slippery here too. This little tour was definitely not a slip-up, as the new area created by the two power stations significantly enhances the SUP destination Graz.

Alternatives: Theoretically, you could also paddle down the Mur to Graz on the other side of the Weinzödl power station. However, since 2017, this area has been part of the Weinzödl Bird Sanctuary, which extends approximately 2.5 km to the Pongratz-Moore-Steg footbridge. Only from this footbridge onwards are water sports enthusiasts permitted to go on the Mur, allowing them to paddle continuously a from the north of the city to its southern districts.