Groppensteinschlucht
Walking through a gorge with dog
Walking a gorge is not always possible with a dog, especially if the dog has small legs. We came across the Raggaschlucht on the internet and this gorge looked beautiful. However, when we arrived at the gorge, there was a big sign saying that it was not recommended to walk the gorge with dogs.
Reading more about the Raggaschlucht on the internet, we indeed decided not to walk the gorge. It was written that the paths could be extremely slippery for dogs and if it is narrow, you cannot walk alongside your dog on the path.
So the groppensteinschlucht...
Fortunately, five minutes before we arrived at the Raggaschlucht, we saw the Groppensteinschlucht signposted on the road. We decided to drive to this gorge to see if it was more manageable for dogs.
The site lists the gorge as dog-friendly, and someone from the staff also indicated that it is good for dogs, provided they can walk stairs. We thus decided to actually walk the gorge.
What to expect
The gorge is actually doable for dogs. You walk from bottom to top through the gorge and then walk down along the road and through a forest.
The path up is just flat in some parts with then sloping sections up over wooden planks. Anti-slip strips are still stuck on the planks. Shampoo did not like these very much, but he is used to all kinds of surfaces, so he made the best of it.
Besides these wooden paths, there are also some stretches on a forest path, interspersed with stone ‘steps’. Some of these stones can be quite high. We chose to lift Shampoo on those bits because he cannot jump high enough and because it is better for his paws. I think most dogs are capable of jumping over the boulders themselves.
Besides, if it had been up to Shampoo, he would have just walked everything himself. He loved the gorge and loves running along the trails and climbing. He had a great time!
Up and down
You walk up in about an hour. We went through the gorge at a murderous pace because Shampoo enjoyed running and jumping so much. Along the way, you get beautiful views of the waterfall. By the way, your dog must be used to the sound of rushing water, because the river flows really hard and this naturally makes noise.
In half an hour, you walk down along another path. The first part is over a road (not a busy road) and this is a walkable path. However, the last part is down through a forest and this is quite steep. If it has rained, it can be tricky walking down.
We always take a walking stick with us to keep balance, so I would definitely recommend doing this. This last stretch was actually the trickiest of the whole gorge. In hindsight, I think we would have preferred to walk around so that it was less steep, but well: we are still alive 🙂
On the way down, you’ll also pass Burg Groppenstein. You can check beforehand whether the castle is open for a drink. This was not the case with us, so we had something to eat and drink downstairs at the car park.
I would recommend not arriving at the gorge too late. At the Raggaschlucht, it was actually already quite crowded when we arrived, while the gorge had just opened then. The Groppensteinschlucht became busy when we returned from our hike around half past 1 in the afternoon.
Currywurst at the parking lot
When you finish the walk: make sure you treat yourself to a delicious curry sausage at the food truck next to the car park. This one is scrumptious!