St Moritz in October – 5 Best Hikes for Fall Colors

Engadin St Moritz in autumn might be the most beautiful place in all of Switzerland. If you visit at the right time, the golden larch trees will cover this region and absolutely knock your socks off!

Here are the best places to enjoy autumn and the fall colors near St Moritz. Since many mountain lifts and services in this area close in mid October, I’ve suggested lower elevation hikes that do not rely on mountain transport.

1. Lake Staz

You can walk directly from St Moritz to this small lake surrounded by a forest. The wide dirt path starts along the larger St Moritz lake right in front of the train station. You can do a long loop around both lakes or just go there and back if you are short on energy and/or time. 

If possible, try to visit the Stazersee at sunrise for a special experience, as the sun lights up the peaks while the mist hangs over the water. 

Late afternoon is also a great time for a stroll, when the fading light hits the trees and grass, turning everything a deep orange.

The path is obstacle free, suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. Possible year round, even with snow.

• Location: Parking at Via Dimlej, St Moritz (46°29’51.1″N 9°50’53.5″E) • train station: St Moritz
• Hike stats: easy • 7.5 km loop • 90 m up/down
• Cost: free
• Open: year round

See details for Lake Staz walk

2. Plaun da Lej on Silsersee

If you prefer not to hike, driving along the Silvaplana and Silser lakes west of St Moritz is a great way to enjoy the fall colors. A nice stop along the way is Plaun da Lej, where you’ll find a restaurant and small forested knoll along the water. 

From the parking and bus stop, you can walk just a couple minutes into the forest and get such fantastic views that looks like you hiked miles to earn them. You could quickly snap some pics and be out of there in 10 minutes. Or you could wander around to all the little corners for a good hour like I did.

We saw at least two picnic areas with fire pits and benches, completely empty on a weekday. But perhaps busy on the weekends.

• Location: parking at Via dal Malögia 14, 7517 Plaun da Lej • bus stop Plaun da Lej
• Hike: 5 mins to viewpoint with benches
• Cost: free
• Open: year round

3. Lake Cavloc

From the Majola pass, this circular hike takes you to the large Lake Cavloc shown below, surrounded by tall mountain peaks on all sides. While I took a million photos, my kids enjoyed breaking the ice along the water’s edge. If the weather is too chilly for a picnic, you could eat at the lakeside restaurant, which in autumn serves traditional wild game dishes.

After the first lake, you head into the forest, passing many beautiful trees and peaks along the way.

The trail leads to this second little lake, which has super clear reflections of the trees on a calm day.

• Location: Parking Maloja Val Orden (46°23’38.0″N 9°41’35.3″E) • bus stop Maloja, Cad’Maté
• Hike: moderate • 2 hrs • 7 km loop • 190 m up, 200 m down
• Cost: free
• Open: best hiking May to October (also a winter hiking trail)

See details for Lake Cavloc trail

4. Morteratsch Glacier Trail

This easy hike leads up a valley toward the glacier that shaped this area. In October, many of the trees here turn bright yellow, making for a spectacular scene and postcard worthy pics. The wide dirt path, suitable for strollers, parallels a rushing river flowing from the glacier ice. 

We suggest hiking up one of the paths that lead a little higher, so you can get a bird’s eye view down the valley. 

Along the way, there are signposts with information about the glacier and it’s rapid decline. Children can pick up a free activity booklet to stamp at various posts along the way. 

• Location: Morteratsch parking (46°27’12.1″N 9°56’28.8″E) • train station Morteratsch
• Hike: easy • 2 hrs • 6 km out and back • 155 m up/down
• Cost: free
• Open: best May to October • also a winter trail

See details for Morteratsch Glacier Trail

5. Val da Camp alpine lake hike

This is my absolute favorite hike of the bunch. The beauty of these two alpine lakes surrounded by dense forests and tall mountains is indescribable. Best on a calm sunny day so you can capture the reflection of the golden larches in the super blue water.

You’ll need to plan your day carefully for these short autumn days, when the shadows are long and chilly. But the low light makes for lots of drama and lovely photos.

If you manage to reserve a spot on the small shuttle bus, the hike is much shorter, hiking to the first lake in only 20 minutes. But the shuttle fits about 20 people and only runs a couple times a day. Plus it only runs through the third weekend of October. So to see these trees at peak yellow, you may have do the long hike.

• Location: Parking at Sfazù – 46°23’25.6″N 10°04’43.1″E • bus stop Sfazù, Fermata
• Short hike with shuttle: moderate • 2h • 5.3 km loop • 260 m up/down
• Long hike: moderate • 5h30 • 15.2 km • 660 m up/down
• Cost: shuttle CHF 16/adult • free without shuttle
• Open: best June to October

See details for Val da Camp lake hike

Bonus: Lai da Palpugna lake

If you drive to the Engadin area, make sure to drive over the Albula pass so you can stop the Lai da Palpuogna lake on the way. It was once voted the most beautiful lake in Switzerland and many photographers would definitely agree. 

We were in a bit of a hurry, so we just parked on the side of the road near the lake and spent about 30 mins walking along the sunny side taking pics. But if you want to stretch your legs, it’s an easy 1.6 k around the lake. 

You’ll want to stop the car every few minutes as the views just get more and more beautiful the closer you get to St Moritz. 

On your way back home, drive over the Julier pass instead for a different view, but also gorgeous.

• Location: Albulapassstrasse, 7482 Bergün – 46°35’00.9″N 9°46’53.8″E
• Hike: 2 mins from parking to lake, optional 1.6 k around the lake
• Cost: free

See details for Lai da Palpuogna

Planning your October trip

When to go

The golden larch trees typically turn yellow around mid October, though it varies slightly each year. I would suggest the third week of October, but no guarantees.

Where to stay

Many hotels and restaurants in this area close in mid October, taking a break before ski season. So we had a little trouble finding open hotels in late October. It’s probably best to choose a hotel in St Moritz (shown below), which has more services open during the shoulder season.

My favorite hotel was Waldhaus am See (shown below), which is right on Lake Moritz and a short walk from the St Moritz train station. Since the hotel is so close to the lake, we could easily walk directly from the hotel to Lake Staz for sunrise.

The rooms had been recently renovated, very modern and comfortable. We paid a little extra for a lake view room and I think it was worth it. Their restaurant has big panorama windows overlooking the lake. We lingered a long time at breakfast, soaking in the sun and view from our cosy table. 

As a family, we stayed at Hotel Bernina in Pontresina, a short drive south of St Moritz. The rooms were a little old fashioned but comfortable and had a beautiful view, as shown below. The breakfast was above average and really good. I was sad we weren’t staying longer, but we were there the third weekend of October and they closed for the break the day we left. 

At both hotels, I had the traditional “wild” menu, which has wild game, gravy, spätzli, red cabbage, chestnuts, figs or pears, etc. Both we good but I preferred the meal at Hotel Bernina (first pic below).

How to get there

If you are coming by car, I suggest driving over the Abulapass or Julierpass because they are so beautiful at this time of year. But if they are blocked by snow or if you prefer to skip the winding mountain roads, you can drive to Klosters and ride the car transporter train through the mountain. It drops you in Sagliains, about a 40 mins drive from St Moritz. Learn more.

Travel time by car: from Zürich 2hr40, from Lucerne 3hr

If you are coming by train, simply travel to St Moritz. Bahnhof, which is centrally located to all hikes mentioned above. 

Trail time by train: from Zürich 3hr, from Lucerne 4hr

What to wear

St Moritz is at a rather high elevation. So in October, it can get very cold, with temperatures dropping to 0C, especially in the shade. It can snow in October, but often the snow melts after a couple days (long term snow usually starts late November). However, if the sun is out, it can feel quite warm in mid-day, perhaps up to 15 C.

During our October trips, we generally wore long sleeve shirts with fleece and down jackets, taking layers on and off as needed. We brought warm gloves, beanies, and scarves. We wore waterproof hiking shoes with thick wool socks. I brought thermal base layers, but we didn’t need them.

Suggested weekend itinerary

If you do this as a weekend getaway, I would suggest arriving Friday night and hiking Val da Camp on Saturday. Then sunrise at Lake Staz, leisurely breakfast, then Lake Cavloc hike before driving home.

If you have small children, I would do the Morteratsch Glacier Trail one day and the Lake Staz walk the second day.