Ski Chäserrugg in Eastern Switzerland • Tips for Families

The Chäserrugg ski area in eastern Switzerland has something for everyone, but is best suited for intermediate skiers. We like the extra long runs and spectacular views over the cliffs.

Families will appreciate the discounted beginner’s ticket which covers just the practice hills. For non-skiers, there is a gorgeous winter walk along the cliffs at the top, nice snowshoeing areas, and a long sled run. We also loved that its northern exposure meant most of the resort was lit by the late afternoon sun instead of icy over in the shade. 

Location

The Chäserregg ski resort is located in the Toggenburg region of eastern Switzerland.

How to get there

Chäserrugg is nestled in the mountains, requiring a long drive on two lane roads winding through little villages. It’s a pretty but tiring drive after a long day of skiing. The ski area is best reached from Unterwasser. On your way, you’ll pass the Sellamatt gondola, another part of the ski resort.

By car: Drive to Alt St Johann and follow signs to the Unterwasser-Iltios funicular. Frühweidstrasse, 9657 Alt St. Johann (47°11’41.8″N 9°18’31.6″E). There are multiple free parking lots adjacent to the funicular station.

Ski area overview

Here is the winter map for Chäserrugg. The main area of the resort is access by a funicular from Unterwasser. You can also access the resort with the At St Johann gondola, but it’s less convenient. 

Lift pass prices

Chäserrugg has a dynamic pricing system, so the ticket price varies based on demand and how far in advance you purchase. In 2022/23 season, the day pass ranges are Adult CHF 49-62.50, Teen CHF 41.50-53, Child CHF 24.50-31.50

You can buy a “Beginner ticket”, which covers the funicular from Unterwasser-Iltios and practice T-bar and Kids’ Village snow garden at Iltios. In 2021/22 season, this cost CHF 27-40/adult, half that price for children aged 6-15.

If you are not skiing (just accompanying your children to the slope), you only need to pay for the transport from the valley. In 2021/22, an adult return ticket for Unterwasser-Iltios cost CHF 24, discount with SBB Half-fare and GA cards, Junior cards accepted. More info about Chäserrugg prices.

Photo story

Arriving at Iltios

The Chäserrugg ski area is reached by a funicular train from Unterwasser to Iltios, which is the main hub of this area. Most skiing is above Iltios. You can ski back down to Unterwasser, but sometimes there is not enough snow to do so. Most people take the cable car from Iltios up to the top of the mountain, accessing intermediate and advanced runs. For a short, easy beginner run, you can use the T-bar next to Iltios, covered by the beginner ticket.

At Iltios, there is a snow garden with a magic carpet. The ski school office is right at Iltios. So you can sign up your little beginner for a drop-in class at the snow garden, morning or afternoon for 2 hours. Our friends did this for their 4 year and they were quite happy with the teacher and class.

At the top of Chäserrugg

The first thing you should do at the top of the cable car is walk out and look at the view over the cliffs.

These cliffs have a groomed winter walk as shown below, about 3 km. We love this hike in summer and it’s sure to be fantastic in winter as well, a great option for non-skiers. You are not allowed to drag a sled on the winter walk, presumably for safety so you don’t accidentally sled off the cliff. So if you are taking little ones, plan to have them walk or carry them.

After enjoying the view, turn around and ski the other direction on the long, very wide plateau. It’s marked red on the map, but it’s quite easy.

An advanced beginner could stay on the plateau all day and be quite happy.

At the end of this plateau, you can either take a T-bar back to the top and do it again, or continue skiing toward Stöfeli, then all the way down to Iltios on trail 21. But after the plateau, there are some steeper sections that are definitely intermediate level.

Instead of ending at Iltios, you can ski over to the Espel gondola shown below, which takes you halfway up the mountain for a shorter run. It also services the sled run.

Another long run – Trail 19

Instead of taking the wide open trail 20 at the top, you can take trail 19 to your right. We were curious from hiking this same trail the previous summer and having to cross snow patches. First, it’s insanely gorgeous!

It starts off steep with a weird upward curve shown below. My dad thought this was too much and decided to skip it. I tried it with my boys and it wasn’t as bad I initially thought.

It was a bit steep at first, but then is a fun, pretty easy trail the rest of the way. Lots of the trail was wide open like the pic below, with fun powder bits on the sides and lots of little jumps.

Race Course at Sellamatt

We also tried the Sellamatt area, the smallest part of the Toggenburg resort, west of the Chäserrugg area. These areas are connected by a long trail through the forest, which required a bit of annoying walking for snowboarders. This is the start of the trail 24 from Stöfeli to Sellamatt.

At the end of this trail, you ride the Ruestel chair lift, the only lift in this area. There is a T-bar below this lift, but it just for a little practice hill.

The main attraction on this side is the race course with jumps.

The regular run along the Sellamatt chair lift looks like this. This would be a good area if you want shorter runs.

You can ski down from Ruestel to the top of the Sellamatt gondola, where you’ll find a restaurant.

From Sellamatt, you take a T-bar and tow rope to get back to the Ruestel (shown below). Then a long trail through the forest back to Iltios. There were 6+ flat spots on the trail where I had to take my snowboard off and walk briefly, which made me not want to go back to the Sellamatt area.

Sledding

The Chäserrugg area has a 5.6 km sled run, as shown in pink on the map below. The sled run is accessed with the Unterwasser-Iltios funicular and Espel-Stöfeli gondola. You can do the whole sled run or just ride the top section from Stöfeli to Iltios or just the bottom section from Iltios to the valley at Unterwasser. The sled run is clearly marked with signs and is mostly on a narrow trail.

If you want to start at the top of Stöfeli, you first ride up the funicular to Iltios, then sled downhill over to Espel, where you can ride the gondola up to Stöfeli. Many people just do this loop and don’t do the lower section of the sled run.

You can also sled from Iltios to Epsel then down all the way to the funicular valley station at Unterwasser. This lower part of the run is sometimes not open due to lack of snow at this lower elevation. It also requires a bit of walking at the end of the path to reach the funicular station.

You can buy a day pass for sledding for the whole run (CHF 48/adult) or just the Iltios-Unterwasser section (CHF 34/adult). Sled rental is CHF 17 for the day. See current sledding prices here.

Where to eat

We ate at the Iltios restaurant, which is full-service, which can sometimes mean a long wait for your server and food. But our service was fast and friendly. There is indoor and outdoor seating.

We sat indoors and had this great view across the valley.

In addition to typical ski food, the menu had a few interesting regional dishes. I had the polenta with chicken, which was quite nice. My dad had the Toggenburger hamburger, which was more like meatloaf. My son had the Aelpermagroenen (mac-n-cheese), which was a bit better than average.

And a more reasonably priced kids menu.

At the top of Chäserrugg, you’ll find a modern styled panorama restaurant, very cosy, with both a self-service kiosk and a full service restaurant. I’ve only eaten from the self-service which is typical fast ski food. The restaurant is set back from the cliffs, so at most tables you don’t get the super amazing views right from the windows. Better to walk out to the edge.

Near Espel there is a casual kiosk serving drinks, snacks, and easy lunch options.

See also Ski Wildhaus Toggenburg , which is the ski resort next door

Video of our ski day at Chäserrugg

In this video I show you lots of the ski runs and also walk through the piste map in detail.