I’m traveling to Switzerland (flying into Zurich) to do some riding (solo for now) for my 50th.
My list of possible riding spots includes;
Davos
Lenzerhiede (for the bike park)
Zermatt (possibly)
I’m looking for a combination of tech trails, preferably long ones that I can link with lifts/cable cars/etc. Also prefer advanced trails.
Riding a Yeti SB 165. I enjoy climbing, as well.
I’m looking for suggestions on spots to hit (within my list above, or recommendations for better spots), and specific trails/routes.
I don’t want to travel too far between spots (Zermatt feels kinda far already), so spots concentrated around a single region preferred.
Also, wife is going with me, so I also want nice access to nice hotels and dinners.
Thanks so much for reading, and for any tips you may have.
DR
I'm moving to Zurich in a couple of weeks so also interested to hear suggestions! Particularly some all day loops with good descending.
Go to Davos, it’s awesome. Best part of Switzerland my wife and I rode in.
If u wanna see a lot in a day i suggest this tour
https://maps.arosalenzerheide.swiss/mobile/de/tour/mountainbikerouten/biketicket-to-ride-schwarz/3508125/#caml=7ps,1l4q7q,7qji1w,0,0
Its very doable with alot of nice trails and u get around quite a bit. I always start in chur.
„Lenzerhiede (for the bike park)“
you go to lenzerheide for everything BUT the bikepark…
I would say look through Trail Trackers videos. He's about your age. He has links to trailforks and komoot.
https://www.youtube.com/@TrailTrackerSwitzerland
That should help with trail scouting.
Then provide some help and guidance to the gentleman with all your abounding wisdom.
all the other, non bikepark trails in the bikekingdom? the bikepark is a tiny area between the rothorn middle station and the bottom, with a blue, red and a black option and some variations. nothing groundbreaking. i like the more natural and scenic options higher up more.
else: i wouldn’t got to zermatt either. so many fucking tourists and you can’t even use the gornergrat train anymore with bikes. VERY expensive for a few trails you are still allowed on, but very scenic. i‘d rather spend time in bellwald and the aletscharena, especially if op is more interested in tech enduro trails
davos is a good spot and not too expensive when you use the biking packages some hotels offer.
when there is a car option, i‘d combine davos, lenzerheide and reschenpass area. maybe spend an extra day in livigno. all in the same area.
can be done with public transport too, but needs busses all reachable with swiss public transport tickets
Wait, no more bikes on the gornergrat? That so lame. That, far and away, was the best part of Zermatt. There’s 100% no reason to go back and bike there again. Can you still take the train up to Grindelwald down to Interlaken?
https://www.gornergrat.ch/de/stories/einstellung-biketransport
Where best to find out about the non bike park trails in lenzerheide? Are they well mapped?
yes
I wouldn't do Zermatt either, but there is plenty to do in the Valais region. Good starting point is Visp, Sierre or Martigny. Lots of small cable cars will get you half-way up the mountain. You can then add more vert by pedaling. We've got looooong descents after 👌
Lemme know if you choose Valais, I can give you info on the tracks here, or I'll even show you around.
The whole Lenzerheide–Arosa–Chur region is great for trail riding. you can easily spend a couple of days there. The bike park in Lenzerheide, however, is a bit meh.
If you’re there, check out the bike park in Chur instead. It’s much better and only about 20 minutes away. You’ll find plenty of videos on YouTube.
Another great area is Valais. You can take a direct train from Zürich to Visp, which makes it super easy to get there. From there you’ve got:
Verbier, Aletsch, Bellwald, Crans-Montana, Leysin, Morgins, Zermatt — plus lots of smaller regions.
Everything is within about 1.5 hours by car and also accessible by public transport.
WOW!
So much good information! Based on the feedback and further research, I’m leaning toward 3 days in Verbier and 3 days in Aletsch. Now just trying to nail down places to stay in those 2 areas. It’s hard to determine which areas can be connected by lifts/trails. So, not sure if I should stay in Verbier (at the ski resort) or in one of the surrounding towns. Will most likely rent a car, so we should be able to get around. But, I want access to good restaurants and hotels, and don’t want to have to drive to trails EVERYDAY. I’m having the same issues with the Aletsch area (stay in Bellwald or Fiesch or???
Long post. Apologies. If anyone has insight, it’s much appreciated. I’ve traveled a lot, but never to this area of the Alps, so I’m unsure of a lot!
i‘d stay in Fiesch for Aletsch, you can pedal over to the small gondola taking you up to Bellwald (best bikepark in Switzerland in my opinion) or you can use the cable cars in town to get up to Aletsch Arena (and back with the train)
(look up the last EDR stage for your way down from Bellwald. Top trail!)
I would stay in Verbier in this case. While it's on the expensive side, it offers all the perks. The food is excellent, the accommodation is great, and the beer is top-notch. It also provides most of the convenience you could ask for.
So you can easily ditch the rental car if you only stay in two places. And honestly, public transport is just fine if you need to get around.
I also vouch for Bellwald being the best bike park in Switzerland. Chur is great if you don't mind big jumps and features.
The further down this rabbit hole I go, the more questions that come up.
I'm now looking into bringing my e-bike instead of my Yeti analog. Reason being... with my wife killing time while I ride, I'd like to be able to get in longer rides without being on the trail for 6+ hours a day.
Obviously, I'm running into the battery issue. I can't fly with the battery, so I need to try and get access to a battery for use while I'm there. I know renting an e-bike is an option, but I'm hoping to ride advanced trails, and I prefer the confidence that I'll have on my own bike, with my own set up.
I have a Gen 3 Turbo Levo S5, so that's the specific battery I'm looking for. I've called the Specialized Store in Zurich, and they do not offer any sort of rental program. I'm considering my options, and so far, none of them are "ideal".
One solution is to BUY a new battery in Switzerland, then try and resell it before I depart. That's a pretty big investment, with no guarantee that I can resell it before I leave. I don't hate the idea of having an extra battery, but figuring out how to ship it back is the snag.
Another option is to ship my battery ahead of time, and ship it back, but I'm having trouble figuring out if this is even feasible, and at what cost.
Maybe someone has a compatible battery that they'd rent to me?
If anyone has any other suggestions, or know of a battery rental service somewhere in the Valais area, I'd appreciate the info.
Crans Montana is right around the corner, and they have a great specialized shop there. The guys are really friendly and helpful, and they've been a big help to me more than once. And i don't even owe a specialized 😄
The guys at Rodeo bike are really nice too. They have a shop in Bellwald just at the bottom of the bike park and one on the valley floor in Brig. They rent out Spesh bikes, so maybe they'll rent you a battery too.
https://rodeobike.ch/
I also vouch for a visit to Bellwald. If you're staying in just 2 locations I'd also forego the car as busses and trains will get you almost anywhere and definitely from Fiesch to Verbier.
for aletsch arena: imho it's not worth it to get their day pass. all the uphill systems in the valley that go to the middle stations can be used with a sbb (train) ticket too, saves a ton especially if one has a half tax pass that gives you 50% on almost everything in switzerland (breaks even when you intend to spend more than 380chf on transportation. 2 of the ews stages are above the middle stations (Fierschalp, Riederalp, Bettmeralp), all the long runs down the valley go down from the middle stations so you can still do 5000-10000m of downhill each day. and you can still get the views on the glacier when you take the right after going up from Fiesch and then go though the tunnel at the end of the dual track
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