Arosa is lovely mountain town with lots of hiking options, including several suitable for strollers. We did a hike from the Weisshornbahn middle station that included a fun “Squirrel” theme trail, with a squirrel story and lots of real squirrels running around.
If you stay in Arosa, you get a visitor card that includes free transport on all mountain transport and other leisure activities. We really like this area and hope to explore it more soon.
| Location: | Graubünden, Southeast Switzerland |
| Address: | Seeblickstrasse, 7050 Arosa, Switzerland GPS: 46°46’59.9″N 9°40’44.2″E |
| Car: | 2hr10 from Zurich to Arosa |
| Transit: | 2hr from Zurich to Arosa |
| Trail: | 7.5 km one way, about 3 hrs, shorter options available |
| Condition: | dirt |
| Skill: | easy |
| Open: | mid June thru October |
| Cost 2020: | Adult CHF 20, Child CHF 10. No discount cards. |
| More info: | arosalenzerheide.swiss |
Overview
Here is the Arosa panorama map. You can see this map and a hiking brochure with a list of hikes on their website.
When visited Arosa, my youngest was only a baby and we needed a trail suitable for strollers. So we first went to the top of Weisshorn to catch the view. Then we rode back to the middle station and hiked down, partly on dirt roads, partly on paths, down to the base station. The trail we took is marked below on the map.
The last part of the trail was the “Squirrel” trail, aka Eichhörnliweg, with a story told on signboards and lots and lots of friendly squirrels running around. It was a great day out and we plan to go back and explore the area more.
Getting There
This trail is accessed from the Weisshornbahn, which is adjacent to the Arosa train station.
You can drive all the way to Arosa, but the last 45 mins from the from the Chur valley to Arosa, the road is super curvy and narrow and made some of us car sick. To avoid this, I took the train back down to Chur where my husband picked me up with the car and we continued on to Zurich. The train ride was beautiful and smooth and from Chur to Arosa, it only took about 15 more mins than the same distance by car. But the train only runs once an hour, so time your trip carefully.
Tickets
Arosa has very affordable ticket offers, including an All-Inclusive family ticket, which in 2016 cost CHF 45 for 2 adults and unlimited children that belong to that family. If you stay overnight in Arosa with a participating hotel, the Arosa card is free. The card includes mountain transport, public transport within Arosa, and a variety of other attractions. See website for full details.
Trail Impressions
First we went to the top of the Weisshorn to check out the view.
Trail from middle station to Arosa village
Then we rode back to the middle station and hiked down. We started on the road.
Here’s the view down to Arosa.
Then the road turned into a dirt path, not designed for strollers but we managed fine.
There are several grilling stations (Feuerstelle) along the trails (indicated by a flame on the map), complete with wood, grill (so you can do steak, not just sausages on a stick), and picnic table. Lots of people were grilling this day, but we were lucky to find one where the previous party was just leaving.
To make things a little easier, we bring a firestarter, paper to help the fire get going, tongs, and fire gloves. Other grillers were excited to borrow our equipment instead of burning their hands trying retrieve burning brats off the grill.
One of the trails near the bottom is a “squirrel trail,” which tells a squirrel story on multiple picture boards (shown above) along the trail. They aren’t kidding – we saw so many squirrels! People take bags of acorns with them on the trail and the squirrels eat them right out of their hands. One squirrel even jumped on my husband’s leg – a little scary. But our 3.5yr old was fascinated. Definitely take the kids on this one.
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One Response
We visited Arosa this weekend and had a fabulous time. The squirrel trail really is lovely for children – we had squirrels and birds eating hazelnuts out of our hands. Another option for kids is the rope course – which is also free with the day pass or hotel stay – perfect for 4-9 year olds to have a go with full harness. It's located on the opposite side of the lake to the station. Our 5 year old had an absolute blast. Thanks for your recommendations.