Zwei Skifahrer vor verschneiter Alpenkulisse an der Schmittenhöhe bei Zell am See, Skiurlaub

Zell am See-Kaprun: Our winter tips

The Zell am See-Kaprun Winter Card opens numerous doors to winter delights. Discover here how you can make your winter vacation with us unforgettable.

We would like to give you some suggestions for activities that you can experience directly from our house during your winter vacation.

Skiing on the Schmitten & Kitzsteinhorn

We are passionate skiers ourselves – and the Schmitten, our home mountain, is right on our doorstep. In the mornings, we prefer a leisurely start on the Sonnenalm, later we are drawn to the Trass, Standard, and Nordabfahrt slopes – depending on our mood and snow conditions. The beauty of it: the conditions change continuously throughout the winter, and that’s exactly what we love.

If you’re looking for high-alpine terrain, the Kitzsteinhorn is the perfect place: snow-sure, impressive, with excellent freeride routes and fun parks. And for those who can’t get enough: the Glemmtal with Saalbach-Hinterglemm is just a train ride away with the zellamseeXpress – perfect for a ski day with a change of scenery.

Also ideal for families:
The beginner lift starts right outside our door – it doesn’t get any better for your first turns. Two ski schools are very close by and easily accessible on foot. This ensures a relaxed start to the ski day for both parents and children.

Winter hike: Snowshoe hike to the Schmiedhofalm

A hike to the Schmiedhofalm is also a real highlight in winter. Equipped with snowshoes, you can enjoy the snow-covered landscape and experience the tranquillity of nature. The hike offers wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and the frozen Lake Zell.

Cross-country Skiing: Trails in Schüttdorf and Kaprun

Discover the extensive cross-country ski trail network in Schüttdorf Kaprun. The well-prepared trails are suitable for both classic cross-country skiing and skating and offer fantastic views of the winter landscape.

Ice Skating in Zell Am See

Ice skating is simply part of winter – and Zell am See offers several options for it. In the ice rink, you can skate regardless of the weather, and a small, fine ice rink in the city center awaits big and small skaters.

Our personal highlight is, of course, Lake Zell itself – when it freezes over, it transforms into an impressive natural ice rink in the middle of the mountains. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen every year anymore, but when it does, it’s a real experience.

These winter activities offer just a small insight into the variety that Zell am See-Kaprun has to offer in winter. We look forward to welcoming you during the cold season and making your stay unforgettable!

Familie genießt Panorama auf grüner Schmittenhöhe nahe Pension Margarete, Sommerurlaub Zell am See

Zell am See-Kaprun: Our summer tips

With the Zell am See-Kaprun summer card you already have a whole host of holiday advantages in your hand. You can read here what you should definitely experience with the summer menu.

Here we would like to give you a few suggestions for obvious things that you can experience directly from our house during your vacation.

Hike: Sonnenalm, Schmiedhofalm

The Sonnenalmbahn is more or less right next to our house and the Sonnenalm area is a particularly beautiful corner of the Schmittenhöhe in summer and winter. The high promenade was laid out as early as the end of the 1950s, shortly after the Sonnenalmbahn was built. This connects the summit of the Schmittenhöhe with the Sonnkogel and is considered one of the most impressive high-altitude hiking trails in Austria.

Take the trassXpress or the Schmittenhöhebahn to the summit of the Schmittenhöhe. The high promenade leads along the ridge towards the Sonnkogel and is not stingy with a magnificent panorama of the surrounding mountains and above all the beautiful view of the city and Lake Zell. The route is easy to master in around 45 minutes and is also suitable for families with children and inexperienced hikers. When you arrive at the Sonnkogel, you are spoiled for choice: you can either take the chairlift to the Sonnenalmbahn station, or you can go there directly on foot (another approx. 50 minutes).

Our favorite route, however, leads past the Sonnkogel lift over the eastern slope towards the Schmiedhofalm. This is a particularly worthwhile stopover. The following hike to the Sonnnenalmbahn takes about 45 minutes again and leads comfortably through woods and meadows to Blaickner’s Sonnalm, right next to the cable car station. If you haven’t hiked enough, you can replace the Sonnenalmbahn with a one-hour walk to get back to Pension Margarete.

This route can of course also be hiked in the opposite direction. But then things will go uphill!

Bike tour: With the e-bike to Maria Alm

Our pension was always a challenge for cyclists, as the road to our house is very steep, especially in the last third. With the development of ever more powerful e-bikes, this problem has been put into perspective. If you don’t fully rely on the electrically assisted drive, you should still have a few electrons in the battery at the end of the day in order to get back to Pension Margarete from the center of Zell!

A very nice tour leads from Schmittental along Lake Zell towards Maishofen. You turn off on the north shore of Lake Zell in the direction of Schloss Prielau. The following route leads in absolutely fantastic surroundings along various cycle paths to Saalfelden and on to Maria Alm. The beautiful little mountain village against the backdrop of the Stone Sea and the Hochkönig is worth a trip! It is worthwhile to choose different routes for the outward and return journey. A popular and beautiful resting place is the Kammer Castle in Maishofen. If the battery has reached a critical level on arrival in Zell am See, it can certainly be sufficiently recharged at one of the e-bike charging stations. In the meantime, you can enjoy an ice cream or dinner before heading back to Pension Margarete.

Walk: Köhlergraben promenade and forest promenade

The easiest way to get from the rear Schmittental at Pension Margarete to the center of Zell am See is by bus. But if you want to combine the way to the center with a short forest hike, you have two attractive options.

The shorter variant is the route over the Köhlergraben promenade. Behind the parking lot of the Schmittenhöhebahn a path leads to the former Waldgasthof Köhlergraben. A legendary ski jumping hill was located here until the end of the 1960s. Unfortunately nothing of that can be seen anymore, but there is a beautiful pond in front of the abandoned forest inn. If you take the forest path towards the middle station, after a few meters you turn left into the forest. At the point where the toboggan run begins in winter, a small path opens up to the right that leads above the toboggan run through the forest to Zell am See. The destination is the cityXpress right in the center of the village. A nice hike especially for warm days with rewarding views of the city and the lake!

The somewhat longer hike leads over the forest promenade to Zell am See. Those who choose this path are practically moving along the other side of the valley. First it goes from the Pension Margarete along the road towards Jaga-Alm. Where this road makes the first bend, a path leads into the forest. Follow these until you come out of the forest again. Here you have one of the most beautiful views of the lake and the peaks of the Hohe Tauern. Over the Sonnberg it goes along the road back to the town center.

A variant would be to follow the path to the Pfefferbauer. The restaurant is located with a magnificent view of the lake and offers excellent regional cuisine. From there you can walk along the street to the Zeller Friedhof, from where a path along the lake leads back into the city.

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from the Pension Margarete

Our tips for the winter