Lake Wörthersee longitudinal crossing

Level of difficulty 4 |  Gastronomy 3 |  Length 16.5 km |  Time 4 - 5 hours

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Carinthia's summer paradise also cuts an excellent figure in winter and invites you to paddle across still water. If you want to have the lake to yourself, dress warmly and do your winter sports here.

General information

• Woerthersee Plus Card
• Carinthia Card
• Lake Wörthersee Wikipedia
• Wörthersee tourist information
• Wörthersee SUP information
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

The lake is very busy in summer - motorized and non-motorized watercraft navigate in abundance. Therefore keep enough distance to bathers and watercraft. In winter you have the lake to yourself.

Of course, do not enter the nature reserves on the lakeshore and on the lake.

Dangers and risks

Apart from the usual dangers of winter paddling, such as cold water and cold air temperature, there are no significant hazards along the route.

In summer, on the other hand, you have to reckon with brisk ship and boat traffic and the corresponding waves, which is why a crossing outside the bathing season is safer, faster and requires less effort.

The start by the lakeside promenade (Strandpark Velden) is accessible via wooden walkways with a small difference in height to the water (approx. 50 cm). If you get into the lake via the so-called Kurpark Velden the water access is flat.

Directions

If you are coming from the east (Klagenfurt) or west (Villach) via the A 2 motorway, take the Velden West motorway exit and follow the course of the road straight into town. The town center is easily recognizable by the fork in the road in front of the Kurpark - Velden's central park. It's best to look for a parking space right there.

In Klagenfurt you can also flexibly get to Lake Wörthersee with an e-scooter if you wish to start the tour on the eastern bay of the lake.

National and international bus, train and flight connections can be found via the comparison portals Omio, Busbud as well as RailEurope. If you arrive by plane, you will either land in Klagenfurt or Ljubljana – the closest airports in the region.

Parking

There are plenty of paid parking lots along the access roads near the tour start (fees apply from May to December). However, finding a parking space can be a tedious task in summer, as Velden then becomes the overcrowded St. Tropez of Carinthia.

If there is nothing available there, you can go to the slightly further away but free Park & Ride at the main train station or to the car park P5 below (fees apply from May to December).

The car parks Velden Ost, Velden Süd and Marietta are also subject to a fee from May to December.

Swimming

With water temperatures of up to 28° C, Lake Wörthersee is probably the most popular bathtub in the state. That's why it's very heavily built up, but also has a number of free lake accesses. The Metnitz Beach in Klagenfurt, the Edelweis outdoor pools in Pörtschach, the Teixlbucht Bay near Maria Wörth and the free accesses to the lake in Krumpendorf (Kurpark, Berthastraße, Strandweg among others) are worth mentioning. However, if you are looking for more infrastructure, you are spoiled for choice with the countless bathing beaches around the lake.

Winter swimmers always find like-minded people in Velden, when on the first day of the year the traditional New Year's Swim takes place in the area of Villa Bulfon.

Strandbad Maiernigg
Süduferstrasse 116, 9020 Klagenfurt
Phone +43 (0)463 292389

Strandbad der Gemeinde Velden
Seepromenade 7, 9220 Velden
Phone +43 (0)4274 34150

Promenadenbad Pörtschach
Blumenpromenade 24, 9210 Pörtschach
Phone +43 (0)4272 2435

Strandbad Dellach
Süduferstraße 240, 9082 Maria Wörth
Phone +43 (0)676 3367034

Parkbad & Bewegungsarena Krumpendorf
Pamperlallee 35, 9201 Krumpendorf
Phone +43 (0)4229 2440

Strandbad Saag
Saag 11, 9212 Techelsberg
Phone +43 (0)4272 43501

Strandbad Maria Loretto
Lorettoweg 48, 9020 Klagenfurt
Phone +43 (0)664 805216350

Tour

From the promenade in Velden to the Metnitz Beach in Klagenfurt.

Length

16.5 km

Time

4 - 5 hours

Start and landing

Start at the waterfront in front of the Schlosshotel Velden or in the Kurpark Velden.

Land on Metnitzstrand Beach next to the lido in Klagenfurt.

SUP rental

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

Seesport 
(in the Parkbad Krumpendorf) 
Pamperlallee 35-37, 9201 Krumpendorf
Phone +43 (0)664 7661685

Reifnitz Sailing School
Uferweg 3, 9081 Reifnitz
Phone +43 (0)664 1858143

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

Wassersport Lex
Fischerweg 14, 9082 Maria Wörth/Dellach
Phone +43 (0) 676 3367034

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

Winter paddling on a lonely lake

Lake Wörthersee is not only located in the heart of Carinthia, but is also the tourist heart of the federal state - at least in summer. Things are very different in winter and the lake reveals its deserted expanses to us. Those who take advantage of the cold season for paddling will experience Carinthia's largest lake without passenger ships, motor boats, water skiers or fishermen. This means that the water is completely calm, apart from occasional light waves blown by the wind. You can move forward much faster and safer than in summer, when the boat waves in particular can always pose a challenge.

Another advantage of winter paddling is already evident in the run-up to the tour, because the otherwise completely overcrowded municipality of Velden offers enough free parking spaces near the shore outside of the bathing season and so you can be on the water in just a few steps. The waterfront in the areas of the beach park (Strandpark) and the spa park (Kurpark) is best suited for getting started, since the remaining parts of the shore are mostly built up and privately owned. So I choose the empty boat docks in front of the famous and legendary Schlosshotel Velden and pump my board up on the promenade next to the Roy Black Memorial. Since the weather is spring-like, it is even possible to set sail in shorts and tee-shirt.

I start off with a light north-east wind of one Beaufort and with motivation I catch the miniature waves below me. The wind can't be felt, but the waves slow down my speed a little at first. Since I only have a window of about three hours until sunset, any water resistance is crucial.

The sun shines flat on the lake from the south and guarantees me pleasant warmth, even though it's only been a few days since New Year's Eve. The sixteen kilometer long lake stretches out in front of me and I can already see the Parkhotel and the Flower Island (Blumeninsel) near the municipality of Pörtschach far out across the water. I should be there in a little over an hour and thus have completed the first half of the crossing.

Until then, I can relax and listen to my podcast through the headphones on my MP3 player and at the same time enjoy the absolute solitude in the middle of the lake. The cool air revives the spirits and is a pleasant change from sitting indoors over the past holiday season. The inns and hotels around the lake shore seem completely deserted, and the bare trees reveal a view of the southern highway A2 to my left, which runs across the north shore of the lake.

After a few kilometers the wind calms down and the lake is smooth as glass in front of me. I immediately notice that I can make better progress and cover more meters with the same stroke frequency. My GPS tracker provides proof of this, because my kilometer time suddenly improves by around twenty seconds. Without changing the paddling frequency, this is a difference of about forty meters per kilometer. In total, this means a time saving of about half a kilometer for the remaining distance. I quickly do the math and realize that I can easily manage to reach Klagenfurt before the sun sets.

To be on the safe side, I have a long change of clothes and a towel in my drybag, but with such great water conditions, falling off the board is very unlikely. I try to paddle in an ideal line as straight as possible over the bend in the lake around Pörtschach, which is why I paddle south around the tiny so-called Capuchin Island (Kapuzinerinsel) while almost touching its shore. Opposite of this island, by the lakeside, there is a free parking lot and one of the few public lake accesses, which offers a good starting point for paddling tours, especially in summer. It's quiet and in both directions it's the same distance to Velden as to Klagenfurt. Half time! But without a break.

Meanwhile, the rays of the low-lying sun are behind me and shielded by Mt. Pyramidenkogel to my right and I paddle across the shady lake in the direction of Krumpendorf. Enjoying the view from the observation tower on the Pyramidenkogel is a must, because the world looks completely different from a height of one hundred meters. On my right I find the little village of Reifnitz, which is well known to GTI car fans in particular. Several times a year, GTI drivers from all over Europe used to meet here, but also around the lake, with their tuned cars for the so-called GTI Festival. In 2023, the GTI events were discontinued due to increasing criticism over the years (noise, environment, etc.).

It's getting harder to keep up the paddling cadence and I switch from podcast mode to music mode for an extra boost of adrenaline and motivation to keep going. The clear view of the Klagenfurt lido in front of me gives me more energy and I try to get the last three kilometers over with as quickly as possible. Little by little I get ahead and can still feel the last rays of sunshine on my back before the waterfront promenade Metnitzstrand Beach takes shape.

Upon getting there, I am immediately greeted by onlookers and only recognize the blood-red sky behind me when I dismount. The great photos that are taken are from the blogger iTraveler Guide, who I get to meet when landing in Klagenfurt. Since I've been paddling in a trance for the last few minutes, I'm not even aware of how quickly the sunset set in. A short dip in the six-degree cold water and a successful day is over.

As far as the return journey to Velden is concerned, you can either be picked up on site or you can take the public transport back. From here you can take the bus to Klagenfurt, where you can hop on a return train or bus from the Lend station or from the central station. On Omio or RailEurope you find convenient train connections to any destination.

Meanwhile, I'm already thinking about the next adventure, because the lake should also provide wonderful paddling impressions in a deep winter snowy landscape.

Alternatives: If you have to rent a low-priced hardboard via Click&Paddel and want to save a whopping 20% on your booking with the discount code "SUPAtlas", start at the slipway in Krumpendorf, where the self-service machine is located. From there you can shorten the lake crossing by 2.5 km and paddle in the opposite direction, hence towards Velden.

If you want to experience a real SUP marathon, simply go around the lake shore. If you paddle around all the bays fairly accurately, you'll cover a distance of around 38 km, which you can easily split into several stages. If you want to do the whole thing in one day, you should go with a hardboard race board, start very early and expect at least 6-7 hours of pure paddling time.

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