The best traffic-free bike rides in Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park

Podersdorf am See is located directly on the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl and is the only place in the region with reed-free access to the water. The market town is considered a well-known center for water sports such as windsurfing, kitesurfing, and sailing, thanks to its thermal conditions, boasts a large lido, and offers a landmark with its distinctive lighthouse. Furthermore, Podersdorf serves as an ideal starting point for cycling tours and nature explorations in the adjacent Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park.

The Zicklacke (also called Illmitzer Zicksee) near Illmitz is one of the best-known and largest salt lakes in the Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park. These shallow bodies of water are characterized by their high salt content and regularly dry out during hot summer months, leaving behind characteristic whitish salt efflorescences. They serve as an essential habitat for rare, salt-adapted plants (halophytes) and as a central resting and breeding ground for numerous protected bird species, making them a popular destination for nature observations from viewing towers.

The slightly saline shallow waters in the Seewinkel – such as around Illmitz and Podersdorf – together with the surrounding salt marshes form a unique habitat throughout Austria. On these highly specialized soils, the purple-flowering sea aster thrives in late summer and autumn as a typical indicator plant for extremely saline locations. However, this habitat in the Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park is severely threatened by the persistent drying out of the salt pans and the sinking groundwater level.

It serves as an ideal observation point for the rich birdlife and, thanks to an accessible ramp, also accommodates visitors with prams or wheelchairs. Due to its location directly on regional cycle paths and hiking trails, the tower is a popular stopover for nature observation in the Seewinkel.

The observation tower offers a first-class panoramic view of the salt pans, reed zones, and the vast steppe landscape of the Seewinkel. It is a central observation point for the species-rich water bird world of the national park (such as avocets, herons, and ducks) and serves as a popular stopover along the flat cycling and hiking routes around Illmitz. Since only the Upper, Middle, and Lower Stinkersee lakes are geographically located on Lake Neusiedl, the local population usually refers to the observation tower directly on the Lower or Upper Stinkersee as this observation point.

The Zicksee near St. Andrä am Zicksee is a typical, extremely shallow salt lake in the Seewinkel region, which depends significantly on precipitation and groundwater levels. Due to persistent droughts, the lake almost completely dried up in the summer of 2022, after which the fish population had to be caught. In the meantime, the water level has recovered due to abundant rainfall, which means the Zicksee continues to be an important biotope for rare steppe birds and a popular excursion destination in the region.

Die Lange Lacke is the largest and best-known of the more than 40 shallow salt lakes in Burgenland's Seewinkel. As it depends solely on precipitation and groundwater, it often dries out completely in hot summers, leaving behind a distinctive, white salt crust. As a strictly protected nature reserve, it offers a vital resting place for tens of thousands of migratory birds, which is why you can observe a unique natural spectacle there, especially in spring and autumn.

The historic shaduf wells are a defining landmark of the Pannonian cultural landscape around Lake Neusiedl. Originally, they were used to supply drinking water to livestock on the vast steppe pastures by simplifying drawing water with the long lever beam. Today, the remaining wells stand as protected cultural monuments in the landscape and also serve many birds of prey as popular vantage and resting points.