Holidays in Arosa: this is how you can experience varied mountain days

Like many of you, this year’s travel and vacation plans have been completely thrown out the window. Starting with booked city trips in spring, to an actually planned trekking week in the Triglav National Park in Slovenia in June, to our “big” holidays, which were scheduled for mid-August and where we wanted to go on safari (this time in the Pantanal) like last year. And so, at the beginning of August, we were confronted with a situation that was unknown to us until then: 3 unplanned vacation weeks. Fortunately, we were not short of ideas and it was also clear to us that we wanted to limit ourselves to Switzerland and the surrounding neighboring countries. And so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and replan the holidays bit by bit.

It quickly became clear which Swiss holiday destination we would like to take a closer look at first with the “time we have gained” – Arosa! In summer, the well-known holiday resort in Schanfigg scores with numerous inclusive services, a wide range of hiking opportunities, a top bike infrastructure, a lively restaurant scene (which goes beyond the classic cheese slice, fondue, raclette program) and interesting hotels. And after four days on site, we can confirm: Varied mountain days are guaranteed in Arosa.

To simplify your holiday planning, I have four ideas for varied hikes, a hotel recommendation and other practical tips for successful, active mountain days in and around Arosa in this article.

Our base – the Valsana Hotel & Apartments

For more than 100 years, the Sporthotel Valsana shaped the gateway to Arosa, until the Tschuggen Hotel Group, to which the Valsana has belonged since 1982, decided in 2015 to completely renovate the hotel after intensive investigations. Less than two years later, the new Valsana Hotel & Apartments opened its doors with 40 hotel rooms and 9 apartments open all year round.

In the new concept, special attention was paid to sustainability. The aim was not only to create a contemporary new hotel building, but also to lay the foundation for a new generation of hotels with a forward-looking energy concept and the use of resource-saving building materials. However, as a “normal” guest, you can’t keep up with the sophisticated building technology system with an impressive ice storage system at its heart. At first glance, the Valsana presents itself as youthful, fresh and at the same time cosy. The reception, lobby, bar and restaurant are designed to be permeable and flow smoothly into each other – a special highlight here is the wine vending machine with a selection of regional wines.

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The rooms have a spacious floor plan and score with me especially with the wonderful parquet floor, skilfully placed color accents and a spacious balcony. A hotel for those who appreciate a stylish place to stay as well as an eye for refined details. For example, room cleaning can be reduced to a necessary minimum via tablet (and thus save resources). This, coupled with the location directly on the Obersee and within walking distance of the train station, makes the Valsana the ideal base for us in Arosa.

Price info: Room price double room from 260 CHF per night incl. breakfast

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4 top hikes for every taste

Originally, we didn’t just want to hike in Arosa, but to build on our biking experiences last year and try out one or the other trail. In the end, the four days were over and we weren’t on the bike once. This was primarily due to the mixed weather – but also to the really great and diverse hiking routes on site.

The Arosa Card offers great added value. As a holiday guest, you will receive the card for one night or more and thus benefit from free use of the mountain railways in Arosa Lenzerheide, the Rhaetian Railway in the Arosa – Lüen – Castiel section, the local bus and various activities on site.

Tour 1: Ochsenalp round trip (incl. Eichhörnli trail)

Originally, I wanted to tackle the detour to Ochsenalp by bike. From Arosa, a signposted bike circuit leads via Prätschalp to Ochsenalp and back. The gloomy weather then made us rethink our plans. Instead of cycling off, we took the Weisshornbahn cable car to the middle station. This is where the Bear Sanctuary is located, which was opened in 2018 in cooperation with the animal welfare organisation Four Paws. The former circus bear Napa and the two bears Meimo and Amelia, who were kept in a restaurant, have been given a new home here, which really impresses me. Here, too, you benefit from discounted admission with the Arosa Card (5 CHF for adults instead of the regular 12 CHF).

After watching the three bears for a while, we decide to make our way to Ochsenalp despite the persistent gloomy mood. The walk from the middle station of the Weisshornbahn to the Ochsenalp takes a good hour – and it’s worth it! The charming mountain pub is open from June to October in all weathers and ensures a good mood even on rainy summer days with its rudely fine cheese spaetzle.

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If you continue to follow the hiking trail signs of the Arosa-Ochsenalp circular tour after a stop at the Ochsenalp, then you will be guided via Prätschalp (with another refreshment stop) and Maran via the Eichhörnli-Weg back to Arosa station. Of course, you can hike the Eichhörnli trail without the “detour” via Ochsenalp. The path goes into the forest at Tomelistrasse (behind the Weisshornbahn valley station) and leads from there to the Maran bus stop. There is also a beautiful forest playground along the way – and you are guaranteed to see one or two squirrels along the way.

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Starting point	Weisshorn cable car middle station
Length	11.8 kilometers
Elevation gain	↗ 354 m 626 m ↘
Duration	3:15 p.m.
Destination	Arosa Railway Station

Tour 2: Around the Schiesshorn (incl. Altein waterfall)

For all those who like to be motivated to go hiking by means of a small challenge, Arosa has launched the 10-Lakes-Plausch. Around Arosa there are 10 larger and smaller mountain lakes to discover and at all lakes there is a board with a number that can be transferred to a checklist. If you fill out the list, you will receive a small gift from Arosa Tourism. We didn’t go with the checklist – but used it as inspiration for our hiking routes. While the Ochsenalp circular tour leads not far from the Scheideggseeli as well as at the Upper and Lower Prätschsee, another mountain lake awaits us on today’s route.

The tour around the Schiesshorn is a hiking classic near Arosa and offers everything a hiker’s heart desires in a compact form – varied views, bubbling mountain streams with imposing waterfalls, an idyllic mountain lake and the opportunity to climb the summit of the Schiesshorn. The only drawback: from Arosa train station you hike a few meters past the Untersee down to the WWTP and have to go up it again at the end. Otherwise, the hiking trail first leads leisurely along the foothills of the Welschstobel and then climbs up a lightly stocked mountain slope to the Altein Tiefenberg plain.

Halfway up, there is the possibility to take a short detour to the Alteiner waterfall (there and back, approx. 20 minutes walking time without major inclines).

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At the top of the plateau, it is worth taking a short break at Lake Alteinsee. From there, it’s another 200 metres uphill until you reach the highest point of the signposted tour – the Schiesshorn Furgge. A clearly visible path branches off to the left directly at the signpost and leads in a steep zigzag up to the summit of Arosa’s local mountain (time required about 30 minutes additional ascent).

Due to the approaching change in the weather, we decided not to take this additional detour – but the view of the surrounding peaks is also impressive from the Furgge.

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Starting point	Arosa Railway Station
Length	14 kilometers
Elevation gain	↗ 1,058 m 1,058 m ↘
Duration	5:15 p.m.
Destination	Arosa Railway Station

Tour 3: On the Walserweg to Langwies (incl. Grüenseeli)

With our third tour, you can tick off another two lakes of the 10-lake chat. The start of the hike leads us from the train station back down the valley towards the ARA – but we don’t have to go all the way down, but branch off to the left after the level crossing and follow the gravel path along the Isel reservoir to Furggenalp (which is not open this summer). The Walserweg from Arosa to Langwies is signposted with the number 35 – the route is the same as that of the Schanfigger Höhenweg, which is also signposted (which leads from Arosa once around the Schanfigg in six stages).

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But at Furggenalp we briefly leave our signposted main route and add an additional loop to the Grüenseeli. The short detour to the small mountain lake, surrounded by dense fir trees, located directly below the steep slopes of the Furggahorn, is worth it. By the way, there is also a fireplace right next to the lake – definitely a place to make a note of for the next idyllic forest excursion with the whole family.

We now follow the pleasantly gently ascending path to the alpine settlement of Medergen. This is located on a high plateau with great views and was once the only alpine area used in the valley until around the year 1300, when the Walser people migrating from the Landwasser valley upgraded the alp to a “permanent settlement”. In contrast to Sapün or Fondei, a school was never built in Medergen. In the middle of these neatly arranged wooden houses is the Alpenrose mountain restaurant, where a short stop for a bite to eat is worthwhile. By the way, it is remarkable that the entire village is still not connected to the electricity and water grid, so the dishes are done by hand in the Alpenrose mountain restaurant!

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The Walserweg continues to climb up the mountain flank directly behind the mountain restaurant until you reach the Chüpfer Alp around the “Wangegg”. From there, a mountain path leads down to the Sapün high valley, whose settlement was also strongly influenced by the Walsers.

Even if you can see the church of Langwies from afar, keep in mind that the way to the train station is still a bit long from there. Overall, however, a really great cultural and enjoyable hike.

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Starting point	Arosa Railway Station
Length	17.2 kilometres
Elevation gain	↗ 735 m 1,156 m ↘
Duration	5:15 p.m.
Destination	Langwies Railway Station

Tour 4: Over the Erzhornsattel to the Welschtobel

After the easy Ochsenalp round trip to the start, the sporty but technically not difficult round around the Schiesshorn and the cultural hike along the Walserweg to Langwies, the weather forecast finally allowed us the “King’s Tour” over the Erzhornsattel on the fourth day. Since parts of this are a white-blue-white marked trail, we did not want to do this hike in wet weather/slippery ground or in poor visibility.

From Arosa train station, we take the bus to the “Arosa, Hörnli” station. In this way, we save a few meters in altitude and can start the hike directly at the valley station of the Hörnlibahn. We first follow the signs to Schwellisee and Älplisee – if you had to rank the 10 lakes of the mountain lakes fun according to beauty, then the Älplisee would take the top spot on the podium in my opinion.

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We are on the road early and meet a chamois at the Älplisee. Since we secretly hoped to spot one or the other ibex higher up, we had taken the telephoto zoom with us – and so there is at least a nice animal photo from Arosa for the holiday memory.

Not far behind the Älplisee is the fork in the hiking trail. The white-red-white marked mountain path continues up the valley to the Parpaner Rothorn and the white-blue-white marked path branches off to the left in the direction of the Erzhornsattel. We had read various route descriptions on hikr.org in advance, as we were not sure how many technically difficult parts the ascent to the Erzhornsattel would include.

The fact is, there are actually no places that would be particularly technically challenging – but the path is very steep, in places also sloping and there are two or three places where it is useful to use your hands. For all those who have no trouble with steep sections and have surefootedness as well as experience on alpine hiking trails, the ascent is therefore easily doable.

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The nice thing about this tour is that the descent into the Welschtobel is significantly less steep than the ascent from the Älplisee. Since I usually have much more trouble with steep descents, this is very convenient for me. Behind the Erzhornsattel we see a cheeky group of ptarmigans – but ibexes (understandably) don’t show up on this hot summer day. The descent to the unattended Ramoz hut is entertaining. There the impressive view of the wild Welschtobel in front of us awaits us. An insanely great sight, which we can enjoy in all its entirety on the following six kilometers to the ARA Arosa.

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I had already guessed when planning the route that the round over the Erzhornsattel and through the Welschtobel would be the hiking highlight of our Arosa days and can confirm: My gut feeling did not deceive me. A really great alpine tour, which can also be done well on dry autumn days (as long as there is no early snowfall).

Starting point	Bus stop Arosa, Hörnli
Length	16.6 kilometres
Elevation gain	↗ 1,130 m 1,230 m ↘
Duration	6:15 p.m.
Destination	Arosa Railway Station

Relaxation after an active day in the mountains

If you return to Valsana after an active day on the mountain, you can relax your tired legs in the 800 square meter wellness area with pool, steam bath and a sauna world with a direct view of the surrounding mountains. If that’s not big enough for you, or if you want to spend an extensive spa day on a rainy day, you have the opportunity to take advantage of the day spa offer at the Tschuggen Grand Hotel. As a Valsana guest, you benefit from a preferential price.

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More tips for a great holiday in Arosa

As I wrote in the introduction, it was not only the inclusive services thanks to the Arosa Card and the diverse hiking opportunities that convinced me in Arosa, but also the casual restaurant offer. Starting with the restaurant Twist in Valsana, where we tried our best eggplant tartare so far, we can also recommend a stop at Aifach Arosa and Bullrian.

We discussed for a long time how we would rank the three restaurants we tested and came to no conclusion. The fact is: the Bullrian delighted us with the sophistication of its tapas dishes, the main course at Aifach was very tasty (and the mood catches) and the Twist offers a cool ambience and a fresh, cheeky menu with many healthy dishes.

Of course, we also stopped at the goods shed – twice as an after-hike stop in the afternoon and tried the normal Plättli as well as the Alpen Mezze. Both are also recommended.

Note: our stay in Arosa was supported by the Valsana Hotel & Apartments. Thank you very much for this. All opinions and impressions are ours.