Sanna River

Location: 45 minutes west of Innsbruck in Tyrol, Austria

There is a very short, 7-kilometer, navigable section of the Sanna River between the power station at Tobadil and the city of Landeck.

Level of Difficulty: Class V / Advanced

Unlike most other Alpine rivers, the Sanna is an extremely technical river, with less volume in a very tight and steep canyon. The river is rated Class V, which is true for most times that the dam is spilling. However for planned releases, which is an even lower amount of water, the river is considered by some to drop back to Class IV+.

The Canyon: Narrow, Sheer-walled and Steep

The Sanna River’s pure glacial waters flows through an incredibly tight, winding gorge, packing an incredible amount of cascading rapids into 7 kilometers. In one section of the river, called the “Deep Green Room”, the Sanna is squeezed into a width of only about 4 meters, barely wide enough get through. Boats that commit to this intimate gorge are forced to deal with rapids like “Shark’s Fin”, “Sharp Corner” and “Hackl” before flowing under the last bridge before take-out.

Season: May through September

Because it is dam-controlled, the Sanna River is the perfect place to go for an adventurous summer holiday.