Sleigh Ride in Raten

One year, we treated our family to a horse-drawn sleigh ride a few days after Christmas. It was just as magical as it sounds and my kids loved every minute of it. I’ve been singing “Jingle Bells” my whole life and finally, I knew what it meant to be “dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh.” Well, maybe three horses. Anyway, it was wonderful and I definitely recommend it. 

Overview

Here is our sleigh, so adorable and cosy. The ride was about 45mins, “over the hill and thru the woods” in a loop on a snow covered road. Although they provided heavy, warm blankets, it was a cold ride and you should definitely bundle up.

We squeezed 6 adults, 4 kids, and 2 babies into ours, with one adult sitting up front with the driver. It was a tight squeeze! Three adults or four skinny kids can fit in a row, only if they are friendly. If you have a larger group, they will split you between two sleighs.

Here we are going over the hill, then through the woods.

Booking

Many towns have horse-drawn sleigh rides, but often they are not well-advertised. Since I first wrote this post, the webpage that mentioned the particular sleigh ride we went on in Raten, no longer exists. However, the barn where we started the sleigh ride has the phone number listed below, which also matches the Pferdefahrten promoted on the Raten website. You should call to find out the current prices, availability and make a reservation. We made our reservation two weeks in advance.

In 2009, it cost 20sfr/adult and 10sfr/school-aged child.

Hansruedi Nussbaumer 041 750 19 56  /  079 341 59 82  /  pferdefahrten@bluewin.ch

Getting to Raten

The sleigh ride starts on the Raten pass, at the barn directly across from Restaurant Raten. The address is Ratenstrasse 1 6315 Oberägeri, GPS: 47°08’30.2″N 8°39’50.6″E

By car: Drive to Raten pass. Park in the big parking lot next to the restaurant.

By public transit: Take a train to Zug, then a bus to Oberägeri, then a bus to Raten. The bus stop is right next to the barn where the sleigh ride starts.

Other Winter Fun in Raten

Raten is a good choice for families as there are other attractions besides the sleigh ride, including a small ski hill, a sledding hill, a big playground, and a restaurant. See my Sledding with Kids: Raten post for more details.

More sleigh ride options

We have also done a sleigh ride in Davos Dischmatal, which I can highly recommend.

I have friends with holiday homes in Klosters and they warmly recommend the sleigh ride from Klosters to the Alphütte Garfiun, which has the option of sledding back from the restaurant instead of taking the horse sleigh. This is on the top of my list.

Here are a few others in Switzerland that I’m considering. Most also offer a moonlight ride at night, which sounds magical.

• Any of these in the Engadin near St. Moritz
• Rosegtal near Pontresina
• Lauenen near Gstaad

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