Üble Schlucht, Protected canyon in Laterns, Austria

The Üble Schlucht is a 500-metre-long gorge in the Laternsertal where the Frutz has cut through Kieselkalk limestone. Its steep rock walls and fast-flowing stretches alternate with pools that form behind the rock. The protected area covers 7.59 hectares between 615 and 813 metres above sea level.

The gorge served as a vital transport route for log floating between Laternsertal and the Rhine Valley. This dangerous passage allowed timber workers to move resources across the region over centuries.

The name uses "übel" in the old sense of harmful or dangerous, not "bad" as a moral judgement. It recalls the time when the gorge was a narrow, feared pinch point on the route from the Laternsertal to the Rhine Valley. In 2022 the gorge placed third for Vorarlberg in the television show 9 Plätze – 9 Schätze.

Access is via a marked alpine trail from Laterns-Thal, or via the Netschelweg from Rankweil. The path demands sure footing and good hiking boots. The gorge is usually closed in the winter months, and rockfall danger persists even after the spring rock clearing.

In 2022 the gorge placed third in the television show 9 Plätze – 9 Schätze for Vorarlberg, behind the Liechtensteinklamm in Salzburg and the winning Friedenskircherl on the Stoderzinken in Styria. The Swiss mouse-ear, a cushion plant of high mountains, grows on the cool, damp limestone walls here.