Davos Klosters ski resort guide

Davos is a proper town, the highest in Europe at 1,560 m according to its tourist office, best known for the World Economic Forum and the Spengler Cup ice hockey tournament. Klosters, at the other end of the Parsenn, is a much smaller, quieter village. Between them sit the Davos Klosters Mountains: five separate ski mountains with 253 km of pistes, 81 runs and 19 freeride runs, topping out at 2,844 m on the Weissfluhgipfel.

It’s a different kind of ski holiday from a single linked resort. You pick a mountain each morning, and the train and buses, free with the guest card, do the linking.

Davos Klosters ski area: five mountains and how they connect

The key thing to understand is that only Parsenn links Davos and Klosters by lift. The other four mountains stand on their own.

• Parsenn is the biggest and the classic. The Parsenn funicular climbs from Davos Dorf, and the Gotschna cable car comes up from Klosters. From the top at Weissfluhjoch you can ski long runs down towards either side. It has roughly 100 km of pistes and the area’s longest run, at 12 km.
• Jakobshorn rises straight above Davos Platz. It’s the lively mountain, with the JatzPark freestyle park, signed freeride routes and the busiest après. At its foot, the Bolgen area has beginner slopes and ski schools.
• Rinerhorn, from Davos Glaris, is the quieter family mountain, with mostly blue and red runs, night skiing and a long sledge run.
• Pischa is a freeride mountain with no groomed pistes at all, just signed and, when open, secured descents.
• Madrisa, above Klosters, is the family mountain, with practice lifts for children, Madrisa-Land and an 8.5 km sledge run to Saas.

To move between them, use the Rhaetian Railway and local buses. With the Premium Card guest card, which you get when you book at least one night in a hotel, apartment or group house, local buses are free, as is the train between Davos Laret and Davos Glaris. Guests staying in Klosters also travel free on the railway from Saas to Davos Platz.

Skiing in Davos Klosters for beginners

Start in the valley. There are free magic carpets at Bolgen (Davos Platz) and Bünda (Davos Dorf), open daily from 10 am to 4 pm, with practice lifts nearby for the next step. On the mountains, Rinerhorn and Madrisa have the gentlest, least crowded skiing.

Skiing in Davos Klosters for intermediates

Parsenn is the place. Its wide, long reds and blues, including runs from the Weissfluhjoch down to Klosters, make for big days. Jakobshorn adds variety, and Rinerhorn is a good escape from the crowds on weekends.

Skiing in Davos Klosters for experts

Every groomed mountain has some black runs, and Parsenn has the timed Nordica Speed Run and a ski and boardercross course. But Davos Klosters’ real strength for experts is off-piste: Pischa is a dedicated freeride mountain, Parsenn has the 3-Bahnentour off-piste circuit, and from Madrisa a freeride day tour crosses into Austria towards Gargellen. Go with a guide and check the avalanche bulletin.

Parsenn and Pischa: Davos Klosters’ signature runs

Parsenn is the reason most people come. The funicular has been carrying skiers up from Davos since the early days of the resort, and the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) has its base on the Weissfluhjoch. From the top, the long descents towards Klosters feel like a journey, through open bowls and down into the trees.

A few other things to seek out:

• The Igloo Village at the fork of the Schifer-Parsenn and Parsennfurka runs, with igloos for two to six people, open from late December.
• The Furka Zipper, a six-seat chairlift with heated seats that links the Davos and Klosters sides of Parsenn.
• Pischa, for a powder day with a cheap lift ticket and no groomers.

Snow in Davos Klosters and the 2026/27 season

The 2026/27 opening dates are:

Rinerhorn and Pischa close during the World Economic Forum, from 18 to 22 January 2027.

The valley floor is already at 1,560 m and Parsenn tops out at 2,844 m, so snow is usually reliable. The operator describes Parsenn as having guaranteed snow from November to April. Klosters Platz is at about 1,200 m, some 350 m lower than Davos, so the bottom of the long runs down to Klosters is the first to suffer in a warm spell.

Is Davos Klosters good for a last-minute ski trip?

Yes, especially early in the season. Parsenn opens daily from 20 November, earlier than most resorts, and Davos is a direct, well-timed rail journey from Zurich with one change at Landquart. The town is big enough that there are always beds somewhere, apart from WEF week.

Two things to watch. First, avoid the WEF, from 18 to 22 January 2027: the town fills with delegates and two mountains close. Second, decide which mountains you’ll actually ski. If it’s only Parsenn and Jakobshorn, a two-mountain ticket is cheaper than the regional pass. Then find a place to stay in Davos Klosters.

Davos Klosters lift passes

• One- and two-day passes can be bought for a single mountain, or for Parsenn and Jakobshorn together.
• The regional pass covers all five mountains for 1 to 21 days. Any pass longer than three days is automatically a regional pass.
• Flexible tickets let you ski 3 out of 5 or 5 out of 7 days, which is handy when the weather is changeable.
• A morning ticket can be refunded at the ticket office until 1 pm if you change your mind.
• Children up to their 6th birthday ride free with their parents or a ski instructor. Child prices apply from 6 to 12, youth prices from 13 to 17, and seniors get 10% off regional passes.
• Hotel packages: the Davos Klosters Mountain Hotels and Ski Hotels sell passes at reception and offer discounted rooms with a lift pass.

Après-ski and things to do in Davos Klosters

Davos has the most going on. On Jakobshorn, the Bolgenschanze and Rotliechtli bars, plus Bolgen Plaza and Chalet Bello in the valley at weekends, are the après hubs. Klosters is calmer and more traditional.

Off the slopes:

• Ice hockey: watch HC Davos at the ice stadium, or come for the Spengler Cup at Christmas.
• Night skiing and sledging on Rinerhorn every Wednesday and Friday from 7 pm to 11 pm.
• Sledging on Rinerhorn (3.5 km, 24 bends), from Gotschna down to Klosters and from Madrisa to Saas (8.5 km).
• Cross-country skiing, winter walks, the Eau-là-là aquatic centre and the Kirchner Museum.

Who Davos Klosters suits, and who it doesn’t

• Great for: rail travellers, freeriders, intermediates who like long runs, groups who want a real town with shops and nightlife, and families who stay near Bolgen or Madrisa.
• Think twice if: you want to ski from your door across one linked area, you dislike buses and trains with ski boots on, or your dates clash with the WEF in January.

Skiing with children? Read our guide to Davos Klosters with kids.

How to get to Davos Klosters

Driving to Davos Klosters

From Zurich, take the A3 and A13 towards Chur and leave at Landquart, then follow cantonal road 28 through the Prättigau valley to Klosters and Davos. Allow about two hours from Zurich, depending on traffic. In heavy snow, chains may be needed from Klosters (four-wheel-drive cars excepted). The Vereina car train links Klosters with Sagliains in the Lower Engadine in about 18 minutes.

You need a Swiss motorway vignette (CHF 40), as an e-vignette or sticker. Switzerland has no general winter tyre law, but you can be held liable if unsuitable tyres contribute to an accident. All valley stations have paid car parks, which fill early in peak season.

By train and bus

Take the SBB to Landquart, then the Rhaetian Railway to Klosters or Davos. There are stations at Klosters Platz, Davos Dorf (for Parsenn) and Davos Platz (for Jakobshorn), with taxi ranks at all three. The Rhaetian Railway and SBB both offer luggage services. Once you arrive, the guest card makes local buses free.

Nearest airports

Zurich is the nearest major airport. St. Gallen-Altenrhein, Friedrichshafen, Basel-Mulhouse, Milan and Geneva also work, with onward travel by train, taxi or hire car.