Amden Arvenbüel • Ski and sled with kids on the same slope

This small ski resort near Zürich is a good open with small children and beginners. We particularly like that the Arvenbüel chairlift allows both skiers and sledders.

We found Amden helpful when our 6yr old was a beginning skier. I needed a small hill where he could ski “by himself” while I sled with my 3 yr old and could still see my 6 yr old and rescue him if needed.

I’ve tried a few other places but usually the hill was too big so I couldn’t see him as he came down and there was no place near the ski hill for me to sled with my little one. This slope was just what I needed at the time.

This is a small operation and a small hill, but a good option for families with a both beginning skiers and non-skiers to entertain.

Piste map

Arvenbüel is a small ski resort, about a 45 min drive southeast from Zurich. There are two ski areas as shown on the map below, Amden Mattstock and Arvenbüel, but they are not connected and are not covered by the same ticket. In this post, I’m referring to Arvenbüel on the right, specifically the Arven chair lift.

How to get there

By public transport: Take a train to Ziegelbrücke, then a bus to Arvenbüel, Arven.

From the bus stop and parking lots, walk down the street to the middle of the slope. You ski/sled down to the bottom of the ski lift and buy your ticket (with cash) at the booth at the chair lift.

Overview

This is very small operation. We only used the Arven chair lift, which was plenty for my 5 year old beginner skier. There are two T-bars in the Arvenbüel area but I didn’t try them. My small boys were perfectly satisfied with this one slope.

On this particular slope under Sesselbahn Arven, you can ski and sled on the same hill. While my husband skied with my 6yr old, I sledded down the same hill with my 3yr old on the 500m sled run. We could kinda stay together as a family and see each other as we passed each other on the hill. Plus, I didn’t have to drag my sled up and down the hill; I could just take the lift up (requires a paid lift pass). Sledders take a slightly different path down the hill as noted by the signs, but you are never far apart and you can ride the lift together.

It’s a chair lift, but the operator will help your little ones get on and will hook your sled to the side of the chair, as shown in the below picture. I found everyone to be very helpful. You can also see in the photo that even though they had very little snow, they kept the ski run covered and we had a very fun day just on this one little run.

Services

There’s a small cafe at the top of this slope.  The services are very minimal. Bring cash for parking and your ski pass.

You can rent skis and sleds at Gmür Sport near the parking lot and bus stop.

, as well as a couple places in Amden, listed on their website.