Bike
MTB
St Moritz is where flow meets wild mountain trails
All the reasons why the iconic Swiss winter resort should be on your 'must ride' list.
The Swiss resort of St Moritz is perhaps best known for its thermal spas, curling, ice-polo and skiing, but hidden beneath this glitzy veneer is some very down-and-dirty, world-class mountain biking that should be on every rider’s bucket list.
Riding up near the Bernina Pass
© Dan Milner
St Moritz sits at a lung-challenging 1,856m altitude in the Engadin valley, just over the Maloja pass from Italy, and is dominated by the nearby 3,015m Piz Nair and the Piz Bernina glaciers.
St Moritz is a very real mountain town
© Dan Milner
A network of seven cable cars and mountain railways, all covered by the same lift pass, give access to hundreds of kilometres of trails that crisscross the flanks of Piz Nair and thread their way through the neighbouring valleys.
Riding with the clouds
© Dan Milner
St Moritz’s 10-year investment in mountain biking is clear to see in both a bubbling bike-vibe that's centred on Corviglia and a vast trail network of both bermed flow trails and natural singletrack, all well signed and delivering big adventure rides or quick gravity hits alike.
Flow and wild mixed into one
© Dan Milner
A few days riding here will take you across lunar landscapes and beneath vast glaciers, through loamy forests and past trippy, fairy-tale palaces that wouldn’t be out of place as the secret lair of a James Bond nemesis. Simply put, St Moritz is unique, in a good way.
The riding
A taste of the endless singletrack
© Dan Milner
St Moritz’s home trails are spread across the mountains of Corviglia, Piz Nair and Las Trais Fluors. The main trail hub lies on the 2,486m-high Corviglia, accessed by a two-stage mountain railway that has half its carriages fitted with bike racks. This alpine stop accesses the three bermed flow trails, each of which has their own character and feel. The WM flow trail links a series of steeper berms then connects via a traverse to the Foppettas flow trail back to town to make an 11km-long ride.
3 min
POV Clip WM Flow Trail
POV clip of St Moritz's WM Flow Trail
Meanwhile the Corviglia flow trail is a 4km-long gravity-assisted pump track that drops 480m back to the lower Chantarella station (and the now legendary Alto Bar and café). It’s a mind-blowing piece of trail sculpting, whose twists and turns will leave you dizzy.
3 min
Corviglia Flow Trail
POV Clip of the Corviglia Flow Trail above St Moritz.
For a taste of all-mountain riding, taking the cable car to the top of Piz Nair lets you drop into several different enduro trails, each following old singletrack paths that meander across, around and down the mountain to end up back at the Engadin valley floor.
3 min
POV Clip Piz Nair ridge footpath
POV Clip of the Piz Nair ridge footpath.
The II trail is a 20km-long singletrack route with an epic feel, tracing its way from Piz Nair across an untamed moonscape to the Trais Fluors peak and on to Samedan village. By the time you reach the valley floor for the easy pedal back to St Moritz, you’ll have rewarded 400m of climbing with over 1,600m of descent.
Start a ride at glaciers and end with palm trees
© Dan Milner
From Piz Nair you can also turn off the II trail to drop down to the Corviglia flow trails, or go backcountry by descending to the Suvretta pass and into the wild, remote-feeling Suvretta da Samaedan valley. Turning left at the Suvretta pass instead, will lead you onto the natural singletrack playground that is theSuvretta da San Murezzan valley trail to Champfèr just outside St Moritz. Its an epic, fun ride.
2 min
Suvretta San Murezzan Trail
POV clip of the Suvretta San Murezzan Trail outside St Moritz.
For a taste of adventure jump on the Bernina Express, a 107-year-old UNESCO World Heritage railway line, and jump off at the 2,253m Bernina Pass for a constantly evolving singletrack descent back to Pontresina.
The Bernina Express train is a unique uplift
© Dan Milner
During this 15km-long downhill, this trail packs in everything from high alpine singletrack, a newly built flow section and forest-shaded rock gardens. You can also descend from the Bernina pass to Val Poschiavo on the other side of the pass and return to the pass on the train before riding to Pontresina.
2 min
Bernina Express Trail
POV Clip of the Bernina Express Trail outside St Moritz.
The Bernina pass descent, like the Suvretta da Samedan trail from Piz Nair form parts of three distinct long-distance, way-marked mountain bike circuits, called ‘Highlight tours’, that pass through St Moritz. These offer 60km+ routes for those wanting a big day out.
Bernina Express trail is part of a longer route
© Dan Milner
You don’t have to like glitz to ride in St Moritz, but whatever you ride you’ll finish a lot richer for the experience.
Riding the lifts
The Corviglia lifts run June 24 to October 22
© Dan Milner
The Corviglia lifts operate from June 24 to October 22, running every 20 minutes between 8:20am and 5:20pm. On alternate Fridays in summer the lifts stay open until 9pm (July) and 8pm (August) for late evening laps of the flow trails, finishing with a BBQ and a pint of IPA at the Alto Bar.
The Alto bar is the perfect place for a refuel
© Dan Milner
A one-day lift pass for you and a bike costs CHF69, rising to six days for CHF342 and covers use of the railways and buses too (additional fee for a bike on the Bernina Express). Lift passes are free if staying at many participating hotels for two nights or more.
Getting here
There's also plenty of backcountry riding
© Dan Milner
St Moritz is 200km from Zurich, 175km from Milan, Italy and 190km from Innsbruck, Austria. Swiss efficiency means you don’t need a car in St Moritz, or to reach it, and public transport is possible from Venice, Milan, Lugano, Friedrichshafen and more. Its railway station is well connected to most mainline stations in Switzerland and can be reached in three hours by train from Zürich.
Where to stay
St Moritz and its stunning lakeside location
© Dan Milner
Needless to say hotels are plush in St Moritz and budget options are rare. But factor in the free lift pass when staying two nights or more and the St Moritz deal is comparable with many other resorts. We stayed at the three-star Hotel Laudinella, complete with Thai restaurant. You could also try one of the many bike hotels, the Youth Hostel (from CHF41 per night), or one of the campsites on the edge of town.
When to go
Flow trails in Corviglia are open late in summer
© Dan Milner
St Moritz’s high altitude location means its mountain trails stay snowy until June and winter can arrive in late October. The Corviglia lifts’ opening period from June to October pretty much captures the best ride window, but you can ride any of the backcountry trails, and those accessed from the Bernina Express, at any time, snow and stamina permitting.
With thanks to our friends at www.stmoritz.ch
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