Ochsengarten: History, High-Altitude Trails and Winter Tours

Ochsengarten lies in the Nedertal, a side valley of the Ötztal. When looking for a hotel in Ochsengarten, you can start by deciding what you would like to focus on during your stay: the village combines a history dating back to the Middle Ages with seasonal hiking and winter activities. In summer, high-altitude hikes around Hochoetz take centre stage; in winter, the gondola connection, valley run and guided evening snowshoe hike offer quite different experiences. The time of year you travel therefore affects which details about the village and routes are most relevant to your planning.

Church and Local History

Ochsengarten was first mentioned in writing in 1288; a Schwaighof farm in the village is recorded in 1315. Ochsengarten Parish Church was built between 1778 and 1783 as a complex comprising the church, the vicarage and a schoolroom. It is located right on the Kühtaistraße (L 237), making it a useful landmark along the road. The history of the complex adds a later chapter to the village’s early written records.

The history also includes the Bruder-Klaus Chapel in Marail, consecrated on 1 October 1961 at an altitude of 1,750 m. As of 23 June 2026, it was protected as a historic monument by ordinance in Tyrol. The first reports of ski tourists in Ochsengarten date back to 1909. The farms are arranged in small clusters of settlements, surrounded mainly by steep agricultural land. Historic buildings and early links with winter sports thus sit alongside a landscape shaped by farms and agricultural land.

Summer: Hikes around Hochoetz

In summer, the Ochsengartenbahn provides direct access to the Hochoetz hiking area. The summer offering includes extensive high-altitude hikes in the family-friendly hiking area around Hochoetz. The gondola connection and hikes give the season its own planning priorities. Check the gondola’s current operating days before your trip.

Winter: Gondola Lift, Valley Run and Snowshoe Hike

In winter, the modern 8-person gondola lifts operated by Bergbahnen Oetz take you from Ochsengarten to the family-friendly Hochoetz ski area in eight minutes. Ochsengarten has the ski area’s only valley run that leads directly to accommodation. A free shuttle bus runs seasonally every half hour between Ochsengarten and Kühtai. The gondola lifts and bus connect different destinations; check the seasonal operating times of the lifts and the current bus timetable before your trip.

Along the Ochsengarten Winter Loop – No. 420, Ötztal Nature Park offers guided evening snowshoe hikes. This guided evening activity is different from the connections to the ski area. Another option is the 2.2 km Ochsengarten – Feldring Alm toboggan run: it descends from the serviced Feldring Alm at 1,888 m to Sattele at 1,690 m. From the Sattele car park, a forest road leads through the woods to Feldring Alm. These destinations and routes offer different ways to plan a winter stay in Ochsengarten.

Discover more destinations: Ötztal Bahnhof.

Go to the main travel overview: Haiming.