The Pizol “Höhenweg” circular winter hike is one of the best near Zurich for mountain views. To reach the trail, you ride a gondola and chair lift to the top of the Pizol ski resort at 2222m. This mountain area is part of the Sardona Tectonic Arena, where the folding rock strata dramatically illustrates how the Alps were formed over thousands of years.
The hike is relatively easy with minimal elevation gain, suitable for non-hikers and families. We also love this trail because it’s so close to Zurich and more affordable than most other winter hikes in the region.
| Region: | Eastern Switzerland, Heidiland region |
| Starting point: | Bad Ragaz Pizolbahnen gondola Loisstrasse 50, 7310 Bad Ragaz (47°00’59.7″N 9°28’32.4″E) |
| By car: | Metered lot next to gondola station From Zürich 1hr |
| By public transport: | Bus stop: Bad Ragaz, Pizolbahn From Zürich 1hr30 |
| Trail: | 3.7 km loop |
| Time: | 1hr15 |
| Difficulty: | easy • 80m up & down |
| Condition: | groomed snow |
| Elevation: | highest point 2251 m |
| Open: | mid Dec through early April. Check trail status. |
| Price 2024: | mountain lifts CHF 52/adult discount with Swiss Travel Pass, SBB GA or Half-fare |
| Extras: | restaurant & WC at both ends of the loop |
| More info: | Pizol website • webcam • weather forecast |
Gallery
Location
Pizol is a mountain resort in eastern Switzerland, southeast of Zurich. See Pizol on Google Maps. This winter trail is high up in the mountains, accessed by a series of gondolas and chair lifts.
Trail overview
This winter trail is a “lollipop” loop at the top of the Pizol mountain resort (thick pink below). The trail goes between the Pizol hut and Laufboden chairlift, both of which have restaurants.
You can access this trail with lifts from either the Bad Ragaz and Wangs side of the resort. But we find it much easier to ride up the Bad Ragaz side, which only requires one change from the gondola to chair lift at the Paradiel middle station.
On the Wangs side of the resort, you have to change lifts twice and the short walk between the lifts is steep in parts, making it bit difficult to walk both up and down.
Hiking map
My hiking map below is a rough approximation of the winter trail, based on my Garmin watch tracking our last visit. It may vary when you visit depending on how they decide to plow the trail through the snow. So just follow the marked path.
We suggest starting at the top of the Laufböden chair lift, but you can start on either end of the loop.
View interactive trail map on Komoot • SchweizMobil • OutdoorActive
The snowy path is groomed by machines, so it is possible to walk on it without snowshoes. But we suggest wearing waterproof hiking shoes. We wore traction cleats, which helped on the steeper sections with can be slippery.
The trail is safe with no cliffs or scary sections. It is suitable for non-hikers and children.
How to get there
As noted above, you can access the trail from either the Bad Ragaz or Wangs side of the resort. We prefer the Bad Ragaz side, but I will give directions to both gondolas below.
By car
To Pizol Bad Ragaz gondola, drive to Loisstrasse 50, 7310 Bad Ragaz (47°00’59.7″N 9°28’32.4″E). There is a large metered lot next to the gondola station. You can pay for the parking at the ticket office or automat, CHF 5/day. Then ride the gondola up to Paradiel. Then change to the chair lift up to Laufboden, where the trail starts.
To Pizol Wangs gondola, drive to Schiggstrasse 30, 7323 Vilters-Wangs (47°01’47.0″N 9°26’03.0″E) and park in the large lot below the gondola station. There is an elevator from the parking lot up to the ticket office and gondola. To reach the trail, ride the gondola up to Furt. Then change to the chair lift up to Gaffia. Then a short walk to the next chair lift, that takes you up to Pizolhütte.
By public transport
If you are taking the train from Zurich, you’ll see that it is about 25 mins faster to reach the Pizol Wangs gondola than the Pizol Bad Ragaz gondola. However, it takes longer to ride up the mountain from the Wangs side than the Bad Ragaz side, about 45 mins compared to 30 mins. We prefer the Bad Ragaz side, but both sides will get you to the trail.
To Pizol Bad Ragaz gondola, take a train to Bad Ragaz, then bus 456 to Bad Ragaz, Pizolbahn. The bus drops directly at the gondola station. Then ride the gondola up to Paradiel. Then change to the chair lift up to Laufboden, where the trail starts.
To Pizol Wangs gondola, take a train to Sargans, then a bus to Wangs, Pizolbahn. The bus drops you off at the gondola parking lot. Walk across the parking lot and take the elevator up to the gondola station. To reach the trail, ride the gondola up to Furt. Then change to the chair lift up to Gaffia. Then a short walk to the next chair lift, that takes you up to Pizolhütte.
Planning your day
Ticket prices
For this trail, you need the “Retourfahrt Panoramaweg” ticket, which includes a ride up and down the gondola and chair lifts necessary to reach the Panorama trail.
In 2024, this ticket costs CHF 52 for adults. Discount for children (6-17) and adults with SBB GA, Half-fare or Swiss Travel Pass.
Free for children with SBB Junior Card or under age 6. See current prices.
Dogs are allowed on the trail and may ride the mountain lifts (with a leash). Large dogs with a shoulder height above 30 cm require a gondola ticket for CHF 5.
When to go
This winter trail is usually open from mid December through early April. The trail may open or close early, depending on snow conditions. The lifts may not run due to bad weather and high winds. Check the Pizol lift and trail status.
The gondola starting running at 8:15. The last ride down from the trail is at 16:00. See current operating times.
Make sure to check the weather forecast and webcams before heading out. This trail is best done on a sunny day so you can see the views.
What to wear and pack
For footwear, you should wear waterproof hiking shoes with good traction. I would suggest boots to prevent snow from falling into your shoes. You don’t need snowshoes, but 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. See also What to pack & wear on a winter hike.
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 a bottle of water and snacks.
Where to eat
There are two mountain restaurants along the Panorama trail. We suggest the Pizolhütte restaurant, near the Pizolhütte chair lift. It has table service with typical Swiss alpine dishes like Rösti. It can be very busy from 11:30 – 13:30, as many skiers have lunch here. So you may have a long wait for a table.
Near the Laufböden chairlift, there is the Laufbödenstübli café, which is more suitable for coffee and a snack than for a full meal.
Where to stay
If you want to stay on the mountain, we enjoyed our stay at Berghotel Gaffia near the Furt chair lift. It’s a rustic mountain hotel, almost 100 years old, in a beautiful stone building. The mountain views from the hotel are spectacular, particularly at sunset and sunrise.
This hotel has double rooms, family rooms (4 & 6 person) and dormitories like a mountain hut. We had a family room, which had a double bed for us and bunk beds for the kids. We had shared toilets and showers across the hall from our room and a sink in our room. It’s simple lodgings, as is the case with most mountain hotels, but comfortable and a fun atmosphere as the hotel is filled with other hikers and mountain lovers.
In the valley, we can recommend Boutique Hotel Bellevue or Boutique Hotel OchSen, both in the center of the Bad Ragaz village a few minutes from the gondola station. For a luxury stay, stay at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, which has excellent restaurants and thermal baths, which are not exclusive to hotel guests.
Note: our stays at Gaffia and Bellevue were hosted by Pizol and the local tourism board.
Photo story of trail
Now for some photos of the trail. On this visit, we rode up the chair lifts on the Wangs side and started our hike at the Pizolhütte. The picture below shows us riding up the chair lift from Furt to Gaffia.
The chair lift drops you next to the Pizolhütte restaurant shown here. The trail starts directly in front of this restaurant.
The trail is easy to follow, bright pink poles as shown here. Some of the poles have the trail name “Panorama Höhen-Wanderweg.” You’ll sometimes also see the yellow summer hiking signs, but these don’t necessary correlate to the winter trail.
My family starting the winter trail, hiking towards Laufböden.
Looking back at the Pizol peaks near the Pizolhütte.
The start of trail goes a bit uphill to the top of that hill shown in this picture.
You’ll pass a frozen lake near this bench. But usually it’s covered in snow, so you can’t tell that it’s a lake.
Up ahead you can see the trail split near the ski lift. We did the trail counterclockwise, hiking uphill to the right. We returned on the split to the left.
Here is the split, shown with the pink trail sign.
The uphill part here was a bit steep and had us breathing a bit harder. I was happy to have traction cleats here as sometimes the steepness made the trail a bit slippery. My boys didn’t have cleats and it didn’t seem to bother them.
The highest part of the trail is this viewpoint. The circular signboard lists the many mountains you can see from this point.
At the viewpoint, there is a Grand Tour photo frame if you are collecting these. From there, we were able to spot a mountain goat grazing below us. Very exciting!
After the viewpoint, the trail leads back down into this field. The summer trail is on the ridge to your right and we noticed many footprints leading off trail to the ridge.
The snow conditions were quite compact and not dangerous. So we hiked over to the ridge for a short detour.
We set up our fondue picnic here.
Hiking along the ridge, where you’ll find the trail in summer.
Almost to the Laufböden chair lift, the far end of the loop (or start if you are hiking the other direction).
Looking back on the official trail through the field. To the left you can see the short section of the ridge we walked on.
Before you reach the Laufböden chair lift, the winter hiking trail splits and you can turn left to continue the loop back to Pizolhütte. You don’t have to hike up to the Laufböden chair lift to continue the trail.
Now walking on the east side of the loop, looking down into the valley and across to Liechtenstein.
Looking back on the trail towards the Laufböden chair lift.
Enjoying the fading winter light around 15:00. Remember the last chair down is at 16:00, don’t miss it!
Looking back along the trail. You can see how easy the path is, wide and smooth.
Almost back to the Pizolhütte.
The last stretch back up to the Pizolhütte and chair lift.
Video of trail
Hope you enjoy this winter hike!
3 responses
Hi! I would like to ask how you accessed the Berghotel Gaffia if you did not use skis, because the hotel is directly in the middle between the Furt and Gaffia stations. I suppose you took the lifts all the way up, did the hike, and then hiked down to the hotel? Is that allowed?
My plan is to buy a panorama ticket in the afternoon, stay overnight, and then do the hike in the morning. But I’m not sure how I’m going to access the hotel. It’s a 300m ascent from Furt, and I don’t think people will be pleased if we hike down the ski piste from Gaffia. Would love to know how you did this. Thanks!
You make a very good point! It would only be practical to stay at the Berghotel Gaffia if you are sledding or skiing. My understanding is they will transport your luggage with a snowmobile, but you would need to ski or sled down. We stayed there in summer but they no longer stay open during summer season. So I wanted to highlight them in this post. But on second thought, it doesn’t make sense if you are only winter hiking.
Hi Keith, Another thought, it would be better to stay at one of the hotels at Paradiel instead, which you can easily walk to.