This easy winter hike has nice mountain views and several restaurants where you can lounge in the sun with refreshments. About a third of the trail was in the shady forest, so make sure to bring layers even on a warm day.
The trail starts near the ski piste, so helpful if you want to walk while your kids are in ski school or practicing on the beginner slope. For more entertainment, you can add-on the 5km sled run down to the middle station. We really enjoyed this trail as a family, but more experienced hikers might find it bit too short and easy.
| Location: | Chur, Graubünden, southeastern Switzerland |
| Address: | Brambrüesch cable car |
| Car: | Kasernenstrasse 15, Chur 1hr15 from Zürich |
| Train: | Chur, Brambrüeschb./Stadthalle bus stop 1hr25 from Zürich |
| Trail: | 5km, about 1hr15 |
| Difficulty: | easy, safe, groomed snow |
| Elevation: | highest point 1690m, 140m up/down |
| Prices 2021: | gondola return: CHF 30/adult Discount for children, SBB GA & Half-fare |
| Open: | winter season: mid Dec to mid March cable car daily: 8:30 – 16:40 |
| Services: | 5 km sled run, restaurants |
| More info: | www.chur.graubuenden.ch • webcam • piste map |
Location
The Brambrüesch resort is in eastern Switzerland near Chur. The trail is accessed with a cable car, which is easily accessed by car or public transportation.
Overview of ski resort
Here is the winter map of the Brambrüesch ski area. To access the hiking trail, you ride a big cable car from Chur to Känzeli, then a 4-person gondola car from Känzeli to Brambrüesch. (FYI, the lift above Brambrüesch is a drag-lift, not possible for hikers).
The winter hiking trails are solid pink, the snowshoe trails are dotted pink, the sled run is the thick purple line. See an interactive version of this map.
Trail Map
Here is the trail map for Edelweiss Rundweg. It took us about 1hr15 to do this hike, walking slowly. The path is groomed snow, so you only need hiking shoes, not snowshoes.
From the top of the Brambrüesch gondola, you walk a couple minutes to the ski hill (there’s also a train shuttle taking skiers to the hill). The winter hike starts near the parking lot at the ski hill. It’s a loop trail as shown on the map. We hiked clockwise, but it doesn’t really matter which direction you walk.
See trail map on Komoot • Schweiz Mobil • OutdoorActive
Sled run: You can optionally add on the 5km sled run from the top of the gondola at Brambrüesch (where you can rent sleds) to the Känzeli middle station. We did it once at the end of the hike. If you want to do it multiple times, make sure to buy the sledding day pass so you can ride the gondola back up after each sled run.
Snowshoe hike: This area also offers a variety of snowshoe trails. We’re interested in trying the one-way tour from Feldis that ends in Brambrüesch.
Getting there
By public transport: Take a train to the Chur main train station. Then take bus 1 to Chur, Brambrüeschb./Stadthalle bus stop, which runs about every 10 mins. The bus drops directly in front of the gondola station.
By car: From the A3 freeway, take exit 17 – Chur-Süd and drive to the gondola station at Kasernenstrasse 15, Chur. There is a parking lot next to the gondola station. Parking here is free for customers, but you must write your license number on a list inside the station. If this lot is full, you can park at nearby Parkhaus Lindenquai (Lindenquai 22, 7000 Chur), about a 5 min walk from the gondola station, along the main road.
Alternatively, there is a parking lot at the top of the mountain, directly at the start of the winter hike and ski hill (46°49’19.0″N 9°30’54.5″E). It’s metered parking for CHF 5/day, much cheaper than gondola tickets. However, it requires driving on a narrow winding road about 20mins up the mountain. But warning – I couldn’t find any info online about this mountain road, so it’s possible that only locals are allowed to drive on it.
Ticket prices
For this winter hike, you’ll need a return ticket on the Chur-Brambrüesch cable car & gondola. In the 2021/22 season, this cost CHF 30/adult, CHF 15/adult with GA or SBB Half-fare, CHF 9/child. Children with a SBB Junior Card or under 6 ride free. See current ticket prices.
If you want to do the 5 km sled run, you can rent sleds at the Brambrüesch gondola station for CHF 10, cash only. The website says you need to leave a deposit of CHF 50 but we weren’t asked to do that. We just sled one time to the middle station.
If you want to do the sled run more than once, you’ll instead need a “Schlitteln” gondola ticket so you can ride the gondola back to the top of the sled run each time. In the 2021/22 season, a 4hr sledding ticket costs CHF 30/adult, CHF 23/youth (age 13-24), CHF 15/child (age 6-12). No discounts for travel cards.
Opening times
The Chur-Brambrüesch lifts are usually open for winter season from mid December to mid March, depending on snow conditions. The cable car and gondola are open from 8:30 – 16:40. Lifts and trails may close due to poor weather or snow conditions. Check the current lift and trail status.
What to wear & bring
For footwear, you should wear waterproof hiking shoes with good traction. You don’t need snowshoes. If you have traction cleats, bring them just in case parts of the trail are icy. I would suggest bringing hiking sticks for balance. You should wear warm layers appropriate to the weather forecast and waterproof outer layers to stay dry in the snow.
It’s a short hike with restaurants at both ends. So you don’t need to bring a lot of supplies. But I would bring 1L of water/person and snacks. See also What to pack & wear on a winter hike.
Where to eat
There are multiple restaurants along the trail. After about an hour of walking, you’ll reach the Edelweisshütte restaurant, which is quieter than the restaurants near the ski hill and has a nice view. If you don’t mind a short detour, you can walk up the hill from the Edelweisshütte to reach the Älplibar, which is a small ski bar.
Near the ski hill, many people were eating at the Bergbaiz, which has a large terrace overlooking the ski area (you might want to make a reservation here if you want to eat around 12:00). Near the gondola station and top of sled run, you’ll find the Battaglia Hütte, which also has a restaurant, a bit quieter since it’s not as close to the ski lift.
Photo story of the trail
Riding up cable car & gondola
Looking down at Chur as we ride up the cable car.
At the Känzeli middle station, you exit the cable car and get onto 4-person gondola cars as shown here.
At the top of the gondola, you’ll see sleds that you can rent – CHF 10/sled, cash only. You can come back and rent these after the hike. We also asked the lift operator if we could stash some of our equipment in the gondola station and pick it up after our hike.
Walking over to ski area
When you exit the gondola station, you’ll see these pink winter trail signs. Most of them are for snowshoe trails. You’ll follow the small pink sign with the black hiker symbol.
Everyone has to walk from the gondola station to the ski slope, even skiers.
If you prefer, you can take this shuttle that goes back and forth between the gondola station and ski hill.
Since we were hiking anyway, we just walked over on this path. You can see the purple sled run sign on our left. We’ll do that later.
Here’s Battaglia Hütte, a restaurant near the gondola station.
Here’s the ski area. To reach the winter hike, you walk past this area.
Here is the parking near the ski area. As I mentioned before, you could drive up the mountain about 20 mins from Chur to reach this parking.
On the winter hike
We were a little confused as to where the winter trail was. But just look for the groomed path just below the ski hill.
The path was marked with these “Edelweiss Rundweg” pink signs.
Gorgeous views along the way.
Great for a sunny day. Even though the forecast was for about 1C, we were warm enough to wear T-shirts in the sun.
About 30% of the trail was in the shade, not my ideal winter trail but I still liked it.
This trail has a little story for children on these colorful signs scattered along the way.
Making happy memories together – mission accomplished!
Slight uphill, but not too difficult.
Looping back into the forest.
Looking back on the trail, leaving the big mountains behind.
At this crossroads, you can follow a detour uphill to your right to the Älplibar, which is a small ski bar. You have to go up and back, so we didn’t feel like making the effort.
At the crossroads, there is also the Edelweisshütte restaurant, which was very quiet the day we were there.
Back into the forest until you reach the ski piste again.
Ending the trail back at the ski piste. You still need to walk back to the gondola.
Sledding
After the hike, my husband and older son rented sleds at the gondola station and did the 5 km sled run down to the Känzeli middle station.
Nice views from the sled run.
Most of the sled run is shady, some in the forest.
A steeper section of the sled run.
My other son and I rode the gondola down instead and met up with the sledders at the bottom.
