Brunni-Alpthal Ski Resort near Zürich • Good for beginners

We like Brunni Alpthal for beginners and families with different ages and skill levels because you can buy tickets just for the lifts that meet your needs. This makes family skiing much more affordable, especially when you’re just learning. It has a magic carpet for beginner skiers and sledders. It also has a 600m sled run, suitable for families. It’s relatively close to Zurich, so possible even on a Wednesday afternoon.

Location

The Brunni Alpthal ski resort is located in central Switzerland near Einsiedeln. You can access the ski lifts directly with a car or bus without having to take a gondola to reach the resort.

Getting There

By car: Drive to Einsiedeln, then follow signs to Brunni Alpthal. There are two large parking lots next to the lifts, but on busy days they can fill up early. Best to arrive before 10:00 on weekends.

By public transport: Take a train to Einsiedeln, then bus 554 to Brunni SZ, Talstation LBH. The ski lift is directly adjacent to the bus stop.

Ticket Prices

Brunni-Alpthal offers a variety of ticket packages: full resort (all lifts), Brunni-Haggenegg (the two long drag lifts), or Skilift Brunni (beginner drag lift and magic carpets). 

In 2021/22, the full resort ticket costs CHF 38/adult, CHF 26/child (6-15), CHF 10/children under 6. They offer morning and afternoon tickets and a family discount for minimum 4 family members. See current prices for all ticket categories.

Winter map

Brunni Alpthal has three main lifts from the valley. On the left is a beginners T-bar lift, a short easy run. On the right is a very long T-bar reaching steeper slopes, with blue and red runes. In the middle is a cable car to Holzegg, where you’ll find a restaurant with great views. There is a short T-bar lift at the top, nice for beginners. From Holzegg, it’s a more difficult red run back to the valley.

Our experience

I took my kids to Brunni Alpthal when they were 8 and 5. We spent a couple afternoons just on the Skilift Brunni. This was a good fit for us because my 8 year old was happy doing lots of faster runs with a friend while I helped my 5 year old slowly down the same hill.

Another day, we rode up the Holzegg cable car and did the short T-bar runs at the top, which my 5 year old liked but a little boring for my 8 year old. My 8 year old liked the red run down from Holzegg but it was a little tough for my 5 year old. Holzegg has great views on both sides of the mountain. We ate at the restaurant up there, typical Swiss food and typical Swiss prices, nothing special.

Practice hill & sled run

You can buy a ticket for just Skilift Brunni (T-bar) and the magic carpet, which is great for beginners. The magic carpet is used both by beginner skiers and sleds, though the ski and sled runs are separate.

The sled run (aka Schlittelbahn) is 250m, suitable for small kids, not like the long, steep sled runs of other resorts. You can rent sleds at the Brunni-Sport shop or at the bottom of Skilift Brunni, both next to the sledding hill.

Photo from www.brunnialpthal.ch

Photo from www.brunnialpthal.ch

The Brunni Haggenegg lift which has steeper, longer blue and red runs for advanced beginners to intermediate. However, it has two ridiculously long T-bars, which is a deal breaker for me on my snowboard but it doesn’t bother my kids much. My son skied on this side and liked it but I haven’t yet and likely won’t give the T-bar situation.

You can also buy a day pass for the whole resort as shown below (8 lifts). All lifts are T-bars except the Brunni-Holzegg cable car.

Below is the short T-bar run at the top of Holzegg, beautiful view of the Mythen peaks from here.

Brunni-Alpthal offers a family discount on the day passes, when purchasing at least 4 tickets, but make sure to ask for it. They also offer discounts for both morning and afternoon tickets. Little kids are often freshest in the morning but can’t last the whole day. So it’s very nice not have to pay a full day. Last time I was there at Skilift Brunni, they only accepted cash. So be prepared just in case.

See current prices here.