Flurina Storybook Trail

This short panorama trail on the mountain above Scuol has signboards telling the story of Flurina and a Wild Bird, a kids picture book set in the Engadin, by the same author as slightly more well-known Schellenursli. The panorama views are very nice and the playground good for kids. But we didn’t love this trail, mostly because it was on a dirt road, very busy with other hikers and too short even for my 5 year old. But if you are staying near Scuol and need a short, easy mountain activity for little kids, this might be a good choice. I’m including the info here in case you are in the area and considering it.

Overview

The Flurina trail starts at the top of the Ftan-Prui chair lift and follows a wide dirt road slightly uphill to the Motta Naluns cable car. It took us an hour with a five year old walking very very slow and time spent reading every signboard.

The trail has very nice views, but we had a few complaints:

1) The “path” is a well-traveled dirt road, good for strollers but not so charming.
2) Too busy! There were so many people on this trail on a Tuesday morning, I felt like I was in Yosemite valley. And several farm vehicles passed by going so fast, crowding us off the road.
3) All slightly uphill, annoying and unnecessary. You could do the trail the other way, walking downhill the whole time, but the story would then be told backwards.
4) Too short. It took less than an hour walking super slow and then there wasn’t much else to do. There was a nice playground at the end, but it was so overrun by a big group of teenagers that we just went back down to the valley to find something else to do for the rest of the day.

Getting There

This is too far to be a day trip from Zurich, better as an outing while you are staying in the Engadin. Since this is a one-way trail, it’s best to start at the train station in Scuol (there is metered parking) and take the PostAuto to the Ftan lift.

From the Scuol-Tarasp train station (shown above), take the bus to Ftan, cumün (runs hourly, check sbb.ch for schedule).Buses wait in those marked yellow spots.

The bus lets off in the middle of pretty Ftan, then a short walk up on a paved road to the Ftan-Prui chair lift (follow signs).

Now a chair lift to Prui. The lift operators can load your collapsed stroller on a chair for you.

Tickets

The price list was difficult to decipher, but just tell them you want to do the Flurinaweg and return on Motta Naluns cable car to Scuol and they’ll sell you the right ticket. They accept SBB Halbtax and Junior card, which makes it more affordable.

Trail Impressions

It’s not necessary to be familiar with the story before doing the trail. The full text of the story with accompanying pictures is included on each of the 12 signboards. The storyboards are in German and Romansch, but not English. So be prepared to translate or make up your own story as you go along. It gives both the original rhymed couplet text and a story version (in Deutsch) which was a little easier to understand if your German is not so good.

Nice flat road, easy with strollers. There are also trottinet bikes to rent and roller down this trail.

Looking up the mountain with lush meadows and wildflowers.

It’s a panorama trail, with wide open views of the valley and surrounding mountains.

Here’s looking down at Scuol in the Unterengadin valley.

The trail ends at Motta Naluns cable car. There is a restaurant and playground here. You can take the cable car back down, which drops off right next to the Scuol-Tarasp train station. If you want to grill your lunch, there is a Feuerstelle about half-way through the trail, shown on this map.