Sattnitz Stream

Level of difficulty 2 |  Gastronomy 2 |  Length 3,8 km |  Time 60 minutes

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The inconspicuous Sattnitz Stream is the only outlet of Lake Wörthersee and as such it is a beautiful SUP paradise. The mix of nature and solitude on the outskirts of the city is unique in Carinthia.

General information

• Woerthersee Plus Card
• Carinthia Card
• Sattnitz Wikipedia
• Wörthersee tourist information
• Tour Video
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

You will pass private properties along the entire route, so paddlers should behave calmly and discreetly.
There are fish and birds everywhere, so please leave them alone, especially since they will be frightened by paddlers and swimmers anyway.
Do not enter the reed belt and give way to occasional swimmers!

Dangers and risks

According to our own estimates, the Sattnitz usually flows with a current of around 3 km/h, although it can increase after heavy rain and cause flooding. For this reason, plans have been underway since 2015 to replace locks and deepen the stream bed by up to one meter in order to dampen potential flooding. However, implementation will take until 2024.

The flow speed allows for a pleasant flow and is easy to manage even for SUP rookies. The information in this tour report is based on the following measures at the measuring station Weinländer: water level 141 cm, flow rate 3.4 m³/s.

Since there are a lot of fish in the water, fishermen can also be expected. Please always be careful and paddle with foresight, because the narrow stream does not offer many escape options if fishing lines block the way.

Low-lying branches and trees are part of the stream's normal appearance. Before the SUP tour, practice squats and all fours, because you will have to duck your head a lot. Many bridges, footbridges and pipelines require the paddler to maintain flexible postures.

Small jetties and railings repeatedly protrude into the water, which is not necessarily annoying, but still requires some attention. Especially if you are traveling in groups, you should paddle behind each other rather than next to each other so as not to get caught up in anything.

At the former so-called sluice beach (Schleusenstrand) the metal pillars of the barrage are still anchored in the ground. In this area, the Sattnitz flows quite quickly, even for its standards. Therefore, position the SUP in good time to paddle easily between the pillars. 

On nice days there can be a lot of traffic near the parking lot and directly on the bike path above the entrance to the water. Therefore, always keep your eyes open and make sure that no car or bike can hit you!

The access to the water leads from the bike path over slightly rocky and earthy terrain. It's best to wear shoes or sturdy sandals until you've overcome the almost one and a half meters downwards, as the flat stones can be quite slippery.

Directions

In under 10 minutes you drive from Klagenfurt's city center to the parking lot near the Sattnitz. Follow Villacher Straße street for about 3 km towards the lakeshore until you turn left at the large intersection at the Minimundus amusement park (signs: Wörthersee Süd/Lakeside Park). After 1.4 km you will find a free parking space on the right side of the road along Wörthersee-Süduferstraße.

To travel by bus from the center, ideally take line 8, 5310 or 5327. In all three cases, the walk to the start of this tour is only short.

In Klagenfurt you can also flexibly get to Lake Wörthersee and its surroundings with an e-scooter .

National and international bus, train and flight connections can be found via the comparison portals Omio, Busbud as well as RailEurope.

Parking

There is a free parking lot directly on the main road with space for around six cars. There is also plenty of seating and space on the adjacent lawn. You can also get your SUP ready to go on the meadow on the opposite side of the street.

Swimming

The Sattnitz is very popular as a bathing alternative to Lake Wörthersee because, after all, it contains its water. That's why the water temperatures can keep up with those in the lake. Everywhere along the stream you will find free, grassy bank access as well as places to lie down for sunbathers and bathers.

In general you have good footing almost everywhere because the water is no more than waist high in most places. But you shouldn't underestimate the current. Although it is very tame, it is easy to get carried away by it - water has tremendous power. If you want something particularly shallow, you can go swimming by the artificial island. The charming side arm of the Sattnitz that was created by the existance of the island is too shallow for SUPing anyway.

The (former) sluice beach (Schleusenstrand) now no longer has a lock and so the water no longer accumulates in this area. You can still find photos on the internet from before 2021, when you could still splash around standing in the small reservoir. Nevertheless, you can easily go into the water on both sides and let yourself drift in it for a while.

The Sattnitzpark East is known by locals as the people's bath and was Klagenfurt's lido for a long time. There you will find changing rooms, toilets, a playground and barbecue areas on 6,000 square meters.

Tour

From the lock on Wörthersee-Süduferstraße street to the weir at the inn Gasthaus zum Weinländer.

Length

3,8 km

Time

60 minutes

Start and landing

Start: at the lock on Wörthersee-Süduferstrasse street.

Landing: in front of the lock at the inn Gasthaus zum Weinländer.

SUP rental

Fanatic SUP Center 
(Strandbad Maiernigg) 
Süduferstrasse 116, 9073 Klagenfurt
Phone +43 (0)677 62963993

Click&Paddle Wörthersee
Self-service machine at the
slipway, Berthastraße street in Krumpendorf
Discount code “SUPAtlas” for 20% discount

SUP2GETHER
(in the Maria Loretto lido)
Lorettoweg 48, 9020 Klagenfurt
Phone +43 (0)463 20323020

SUP2GETHER
(in the lido Strandbad Klagenfurt) 
Metnitzstrand 2, 9020 Klagenfurt
Phone +43 (0)463 20323020

Feeling the flow on the lake's outflow

Anyone who comes to Lake Woerthersee to SUP has in mind Austria's most famous lake with its lively shores, beaches, beach bars and hotels. Who thinks about the artificial drain of the lake, which is so inconspicuous and hidden that you wouldn't even think of paddling it. But it is precisely in this secluded uniqueness that the appeal of this 9 km long body of water lies, which then flows into the river Glan a few kilometers further to the east.

We plan to paddle the section between the main road Wörthersee-Süduferstraße and the popular inn Gasthaus zum Weinläder and find a free parking space directly by the street diagonally opposite the water entrance. Regardless of whether you prepare your material here around the parking lot or directly by the cycle path above the stream, you should definitely be careful, because both are heavily frequented on nice days.

From the bike path to the water you overcome a height difference of about one and a half meters and you should be sure-footed because it is a bit earthy and rocky. Although the Sattnitz is not a major obstacle for river rookies, at the beginning of the tour you should pay attention to the lock canal flowing in quickly from the right. Once you have overcome the initial waves, you head straight through the bushes and, at a pleasant flow, past the weekend houses of well-heeled locals.

Lake Wörthersee's drainage channel is a dreamy stream with a water depth of one to two meters and a width of ten meters. It is officially called Glanfurt, but the people of Klagenfurt affectionately name it Sattnitz, whose Slovenian name (Jezernica) means “river from the lake”. To maximize the confusion, it should be mentioned that there is also a mountain range called Sattnitz, which rises south of the Sattnitz aka Glanfurt.

The only measuring station, which is located directly at the end of our tour at the inn, today has a water level of 141 cm and a flow rate of 3.4 m³/s. According to a rough estimate, the flow speed is probably around 3.5 km/h - pleasant for being pulled along in an smooth way and just okay for possibly paddling back against the current later.

We already know the first section of the Sattnitz on the eastern shore of Lake Wörthersee, which must not be paddled and comes to an abrupt end at the road due to a lock. On the other side, along our current route, the face of the only lake drain changes radically. Although there are still countless boat, bathing and weekend cottages, these are much smaller and are sometimes hidden behind dense vegetation.

Longer sections are reminiscent of many of the rivers in Eastern Styria and give the feeling of paddling through the wilderness. Nevertheless, you are still in the Klagenfurt's city area and paddle past, among other things, the Wörthersee Stadium, which with its 30,000 seats was originally built for the 2008 European Soccer Championship.

It is always important to duck your head when bushes, trees or branches protrude across the narrow stream. Countless small bridges and pipelines also make the SUP fun full of ups and downs, and as long as you stand, you can marvel at the playful schools of fish in the crystal clear Wörthersee water. Surprisingly, however, we only meet a single fisherman.

Since the tame water is so comfortable, I keep my camera dangling around my neck all the time so I don't miss a snapshot. And then it happens: I lose my lens cap and see it floating on the water for a few seconds before it sinks and is washed away by the water. Luckily there is perfect visibility down to the ground and the water level is no more than waist high. The problem, however, is that even the very low flow speed exerts strong forces and it is impossible to catch the moving lid with the paddle blade while standing on my SUP.

At some point I lose sight of the lost piece and give up my search. I already see myself buying a new lens cap at the first photo shop I come across next Monday when suddenly my fellow paddler behind me calls out that she sees the cap floating in front of her again. We now have to take advantage of this opportunity and lo and behold, the Sattnitz miraculously forks in the area of Sattnitz Park to develop its only branch along the route and thus slows down the water. We've covered half the distance of way and the lens cap actually stops moving on the sandy bottom.

We park our SUPs in the shallow side arm and wade over to the plastic lid on the bottom. A grip with the toes and the lid we thought was lost is saved again. The 14° C warm water offers pleasant refreshment at the beginning of May and, due to its visibility, reveals not only lost things, but unfortunately also rubbish that has run aground again and again. Cleaning the waterway would be very worthwhile, but would probably only be possible with divers.

Although the route always goes straight, it is anything but monotonous because you can never see further than the next hundred meters anyway. So we paddle straight ahead with a constant attitude of expectation and also pass countless open grassy areas on the bank that invite us to relax. In fact, the unforested banks of the Sattnitz with their lush meadows and inviting parks are very popular among bathers in summer. Of course, it helps that there is a cycle path close to the shore and there are always benches and small steps leading to the water

We actually expect a small damming of the Sattnitz, as some photos on Google Maps indicate this. The so-called sluice beach (Schleusenstrand) is probably a popular free outdoor bath in summer, where we would have to carry our SUPs. However, we have already paddled past it long ago and apart from three metal pillars, not much of the former dam remains. But we only realize this looking back after the tour and asking ourselves why, contrary to expectations, we didn't have to carry out a portage.

As soon as we pass a small stone bridge, a lush meadow with tennis courts behind it appears on the left and the parasols of the Gasthaus zum Weinländer become visible, we have reached the other end of the tour. There are several stone steps to the meadow on the left, and after paddling there is a lot of space to sunbathe. If you need to strengthen yourself, it's best to stop by the inn Weinländer and enjoy the ambience near the weir.

After the tour you either drive home by car or take the bus back to the city. The next bus stop is just under 900 m away on Sattnitzgasse street and can be reached on foot within 10 minutes. From the terminus of line A the buses run through the city center to the north of Klagenfurt.

Alternatives: If you want to put in a little effort, you can paddle the route back upstream, like we do. At times you have to paddle quite hard, but given the water measurements described above, it is not an extreme challenge for experienced paddlers. The way back then takes one and a half to two hours and reveals to the paddler many details along the route that were previously overlooked.

On the other hand, you can paddle another four kilometers until the Sattnitz flows into the Glan River coming from the small town of St. Veit. To do this, you have to carry the SUP board about 450 m around the weir at the inn and get on the water on the other side. A possible landing would be near the bus stops for the lines 7, 52 und 54.

The last option is of course to start the tour at the launch point behind the Gasthof Weinländer and paddle the remaining 4 km to the mouth of the Glan. Again, a possible exit would be near the bus stops for lines 7, 52 and 54.

You can find many other SUP tours on Carinthian lakes in the SUP Guide Carinthia.