FEBRUARY 2026

Over the Christmas break of 2025 I went skiing with my four year old son. We chose the Lungau region as our base, as I wanted to ski near Salzburg. I was a bit hesitant on whether it is worth it to go skiing with a 4 year old, but ended up loving it! I have never felt more proud than when I watched him go down the slopes. This trip truly renewed my love for skiing and winter holidays. Overall, this trip went really well, so I am sharing our experience so you can use it to your advantage. The Lungau region still is an undiscovered region and I have loads of recommendations and hidden gems for you 🙂

Skiing with a 4-year old

Skischule Mauterndorf

We thought a long time on whether to enroll Hugo in a ski course or not and ended up enrolling him in a course of Skischule Mauterndorf. He joined a 5-day course with 2 hours of skiing a day, which was perfect for his age. We had a very cold week, with temperatures around -8 Celsius and strong winds. 2 hours of skiing hit the sweet spot, as he didn’t get bored or cold.

His class was on top of the mountain at the Sonnenbahn in St Michael. This meant we had to take the lift everyday, to bring him to class. We ended up really liking it, because it gives full on wintersports vibes. Little kids are allowed to use the lifts for free, as long as there is a paying adult. We went skiing ourselves when he was in his class and we could ski by and say hi. The Skischule had some games to entertain the kids, when they took a break from skiing. They had a carroussel, a slide and an iglo.

Our experience skiing with a 4 year old in the Lungau region

As the Lungau is an up-and-coming region, the skischool is not that big. Hugo wasn’t assigned a Dutch speaking instructor, which he struggled with initially. However, on his fifth day he was able to ski the blue slopes with us! He immediately loved skiing and wanted to go as fast as possible. A downside to the Sonnenbahn area, is that there are no pancake lifts. This meant I had to take Hugo with me in the drag lift, which was a challenge. So for young kids, this is not ideal, as they cannot independently go in a lift. Even though it was Christmas, it wasn’t crowded in this small skiing area. This gave us the confidence to bring Hugo out on the slopes. The skiing school also did a race on the last day. Hugo was awarded a medal and was super proud of this. Overall, we were really happy with how great everything went. If your kid is a big complainer, or does not like being outside, I would not bring a 4 year old to the slopes.

Skiing in the Lungau region

The Lungau region covers some villages, such as St Michael im Lungau and Mauterndorf. If you buy a ski pas, you get access to most lifts in this area. There seems to be a snowy and a sunny side, so you can opt for what’s practicle. Most villages are located at about 1000 meters and you can take lifts up until 2000-2500 meters. The snow reliability is okay, but not great during Christmas. We found it just enough to enjoy our skiing holiday. The area has some gondolas, but mainly unheated chairlifts. It is just gaining popularity and they are still expanding. We chose this region as it is pretty close to Salzburg and I wanted to visit the Christmas markets as well. I was super surprised at the lack of crowds, sometimes you had the slopes to yourself, such a luxury! Even though the restaurants were quiet, the service was good and we loved the value-for-money. It felt like the restaurant owners are not spoiled yet with tourists and we loved the hospitality. Especially as you are skiing with a child, I loved being in such a quiet area.

Other activities in the Lungau region

Each day we did a different activity in the afternoon and we found that there was plenty to do in the region:

Burg Mauterndorf

In Mauterndorf you can do a castle tour. There is an audioguide which learns you a lot about the region and the significance of the castle. We especially loved dressing up in the medieval theme, which was included in the ticket. The castle was equiped with dolls, that did historic professions. This really made you understand what life was like in the castle. Underneath the castle, there is a slope where you can go sledding. Very scenic place! The restaurant looked amazing as well, but the opening hours are somewhat limited. Please check the official website if you want to visit.

Erlebnis-Therme Amadé

About 30 minutes of driving outside of St Michael you can find a great swimming pool/spa. It was slightly expensive to enter though, check the options here. The slides for adults were great and they even had a looping slide!

Salzburg Christmas markets

The Salzburg Christmas markets are on until January 1, so if you are here at the right time you can bring a visit! I wrote a separate blogpost with all my recommendations!

Mauterndorf

Mauterndorf was our favorite village in the area and the most lively one. It even has a cute light show and a small Christmas market. Definitely worth checking out for one afternoon!

Where we stayed

We booked an apartment at Gästehaus Schwaiger. The pictures don’t do it justice, it was super comfortable. It even had a kitchen with kitchen utensils in which you could actually cook. And the most comfortable beds ever!

Restaurant recommendations in the Lungau region

We were able to try lots of restaurants during our week stay. These are the ones I would recommend:

Peterbaueralm: This is the restaurant at the top of the Sonnenbahn. Gets quite busy when the ski schule is on its break. There is a lovely slide outside for the kids. One of the best meals at the piste I have ever had, try the knödel!

Landgasthof Hubertusstubn: Very old-school, owned by a lovely family. We had the traditional kasnocken in a little pan, absolutely amazing. The side salad was great too!

FEINSPITZEREI: This is the restaurant at the entrance of the Sonnenbahn. It is part of a luxury hotel. We had the best cordon bleu we ever had and the icecream had actual vanilla in it.

Restaurant Die Metzgerstub’n: Lovely spot in St Michael. The restaurant is partly located in a sunroom, offering great views. It offers the typical classic Alpine meals as well as more modern options.

WILFER’s 1619: WILFER’s 1619 is pretty popular, so make reservations. It features authentic Italian cuisine and we had a delicious pinsa in an historical building.