The snowiest town in Switzerland
pistenplan-arosa-lenzerheide-en 2023
Arosa is a ski resort in the Canton of Graubünden, aka Grison, in Eastern Switzerland.
Since the construction of the Urden Aerial Tramway in 2014, the contiguous ski area of Arosa has been extended.
Previously just 70 km, the ski area now boasts 225 km of connected ski runs,
thanks to the connection of Arosa with the ski resorts of Lenzerheide, Valbella and Parpan.
The creation of the new Arosa Lenzerheide ski area has made it one of the largest in Switzerland.
Arosa centre
In this item:
You will read and see the most important things you need to know before booking a vacation in Arosa.
If you read through until the end of the article, you will get some great tips that will help you
make better decisions, save time and money and have a more enjoyable vacation.
Inner Arosa and Arosa from Hoernli express gondola
How to get to Arosa?
There are 3 main airports near the ski resort. The major Airport, in Zurich, is located at a distance of 173 km, and it will take you almost 2 hours and 10 minutes to reach Arosa by road.
The second Airport, Friedrichshafen in Germany, is located 153 km away from the ski resort with a total drive time of 2 hours 7 minutes.
The closest airport, however, is St Gallen in Switzerland. It is located 117 km from Arosa and has a driving time of about 1 hour and 37 minutes on the road.
Here’s a link to the best online flight engine.
Here’s a link to the best online car rental website.
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The train to Arosa. The recommended way to arrive here during winter. Fantastic views.
The train to Arosa. The recommended way to arrive here during winter. Fantastic views.
If you’re flying into Zurich airport, we recommend that you take the train from the terminal with changes in Zurich central station and Chur.
This route has fantastic views and will get you to the resort in less than 3 hours, directly to Weisshorn cable car in downtown Arosa.
train in – train out
Arosa Lanzerheide ski area
Tchuggen peak from the northwest. Arosa ski area
Arosa Lenzerheide has 225 km of ski slopes and 43 lifts that make it the largest continuous ski area in Graubünden, a Canton in Eastern Switzerland.
The total lift length is 50.8 km, and it has an impressive passenger capacity of 64,736 passengers per hour.
Carmenna fast chairlift. Good runs for cruising and carving in the Arosa bowl.
The ski season at Arosa Lenzerheide runs from late November to mid-April.
Slope elevations here sit between 1,229 and 2,865 meters in height.
Churwalden on the right at the altitude of 1229 m. The lowest slopes in the ski area. Valbella is straight ahead.
At a height of 1,740 meters, the town of Arosa gets an average of around 7 meters of snowfall per year, making it the snowiest town in Switzerland!
Seven meters of snowfall per year. More than any town in Switzerland.
7 meters snowfall per year. More than any town in Switzerland. We shot this picture in April!!
The well-maintained ski slopes of the Arosa Lenzerheide ski area include 12% black, 39% red, and 49% blue runs.
The 6-day ski pass prices are 401CHF for adults, 339 CHF for 18 to 26-year-olds,
245CHF for 13 to 17-year-olds, and 120CHF for 5 to 13-year-olds.
The ski area of Arosa itself is an eastern-facing bowl. However,
the north side is dominated by the enormous 2,653-metre Weisshorn peak, the highest point in the Arosa area.
Weisshorn peak. The highest mountain in the Arosa side of the ski area.
From its summit, you’ll enjoy a thrilling 360° panoramic view from the restaurant, where you can see the city of Chur.
360° panoramic restaurant on Weisshorn peak. Views to Chur.
From Weisshorn peak, you can take run 10, the longest in the ski area, which begins on the north side,
the bowl’s outer rim, and then turns south to the middle of the ski area.
run 10 red.
On the southern side of the bowl is the Hoernli peak, the most enjoyable off-piste at late-season because it is the most shaded area.
In Hornli peak, of course, is the connection to Lenzerheida, Valbela and Parpan.
The Urden cable car between Hoernli peak and the Lenzerheide side. More than a mile of Cable!!
In the ski area between these two peaks, you will enjoy cruising red and blue runs fits for carving, served by a selection of good chairlifts.
The peak In the middle east part of the ski area is Tchuggen Mountain, a hub of the Arosa ski area,
Tchuggen peak. Weisshorn in bkgd
where you can find the largest snowpark in all of Arosa- Lenzeheida area.
half pipe in arosa snowpark
Where to stay in Arosa?
Here are the most important lifts in Arosa:
The Weisshorn system will lift you to Weisshorn mid-station and peak if you stay in the lake area.
Weisshorn lift system
Next to the Weisshoren cable car, Tchuggen east chairlift will take to the top of Tchuggen mountain, the snow park and a 5 minute run to Hornli express lift.
If you want to stay here, we recommend Arosa Vetter Hotel***. It is a ski-in hotel just by the Chairlift. 50 m from the cable car and the train station and 50 m from the overtime bar.
The hotel is new and beautifully wood-decorated. Click here for the best deals on Arosa Vetter Hotel***.
Tchuggen chairlift
If you stay at inner Arosa – Kulm gondola, Located next to the ski school meeting point, and will take you to the top of Tchuggen mountain as well.
Kulm gondola base station
In Inner Arosa, you can find 2 of the best hotels you can find in ski resorts. Tschuggen Grand Hotel***** is one of them. This amazing hotel has its own private Funicular
Leads to Kuhbar on-mountain Apres ski bar and is a ski-in hotel. The service here is exceptional, even for a 5-star hotel. Click here to find the best deals for Tschuggen Grand Hotel*****.
We also recommend Arosa Kulm Hotel & Alpin Spa*****. The Hotel got the Best of the Best Traveler’s choice award from Trip Advisor.
It is located on the main street opposite the end of the slope and the ski school. it is 3 minutes walk to the Kulm gondola and 5 minutes walk to the Hotnli Express gondola.
Click here for the best deals for Arosa Kulm Hotel & Alpin Spa*****.
In Inner Arosa, the Hornli express gondola will take you to Hornli peak and Urden cable car.
Hornly express gondola
And last, but by no means least, is the Urden cable car, which stretches more than a mile over the Urden valley and connects Arosa to Lenzerheide, Valbela and Parpan ski resorts.
urdan cable car
You can ski directly from the Urden cable car to these three villages.
However, to cross to the other side of the valley, you must take the Obertor chairlift,
On the left side of run blue 28, just before arriving at Parpan.
obertor chairlift
Later in this article, I’ll give you an essential tip regarding the Urden cable car, so keep an eye out.
Arosa is nestled on the upper end of a narrow valley and surrounded by mountains from all sides.
It sits on the peripheries of a lake, Obersee, that ideally becomes a natural ice-skating rink in most of the winter. The lake and town centre altitude is 1,740 metres.
Obersee from the north
The south side of Arosa extends west and south of the Tchuggen mountain into inner Arosa while climbing to an elevation of more than 1,850 metres at the western tip.
Inner Arosa
Inner Arosa is located the closest to the connection to Valbela and Lenzerheide.
Inner Arosa. The closest location to the Lanzerheide side.
Inner Arosa has a lot of ski-in accommodations.
Inner Arosa. Ski in – Ski out accommodation
If you want to stay in the centre, and still close to the lifts, stay south of Obersee on the feet of Tchugen mountain.
Obersee and Arosa Centre
Apres-ski activities in Arosa
Like most Swiss resorts, Arosa is rich in traditional winter sports: Ice skating, sledging on the 6 kilometres of sledge runs in the Arosa region,
You’ll even find almost 40km of cross-country ski trails and many walking trails here, too. Non-skiers can reach all peaks and most of the mountain restaurants.
Arosa has a reliable 12-hour-a-day free ski bus service.
The most unique attraction here is the Bear Sanctuary, located near the mid-station of the Weisshorn cable cars system.
Brown bear at the bears sanctuary next to weisshorn mid station.
best Apres ski bars in Arosa
The two most recommended Après-ski bars at Arosa are KuhBar on Tschuggen peak.
Kuhbar apres ski bar on the Tchuggen mountain in Arosa
and Overtime bar, in the downtown near the lake.
overtime bar in downtown
Ratings of Arosa ski resort by criteria:
Here are our scores for Arosa:
snowboarders: 8
beginners: 8.5
intermediates: 8
advanced skiers: 7.5
freestylers: 8
free-riders: 7.5
nightlife: 7
apres ski: 7.5
Resort Charm: 8
The total score for Arosa is 7.9
Insiders tips for Arosa
If you are heading to Arosa by car, a cheap option to stay and still be close to the slopes is the village of Pratchli, a 10-minute drive from Arosa’s town centre and is part of the ski bus system.
Pratschli. cheaper option.
Our 2nd tip is that there are big winds in the area in mid-march and April, which force the Urden cable car to close many times, causing problems for connection to Lenzerheide.
Urden cable car(on the right) can be closed during the strong local winds in April
If you want to ski in Switzerland in a great ski resort other than Arosa, check out our Zermatt amazing review
