3 days – 7 mountain adventures: our summer weekend in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis

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In recent years, the Tyrolean holiday region of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis has become one of the top destinations in the Alpine region, especially for families. Located not far from Landeck on a sun-drenched high plateau, the three mountain villages score with lots of sunshine, historic charm, a family-friendly infrastructure and plenty of activities on the mountain.

We spent a long weekend in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis at the beginning of July and realized: The region is family-friendly – no doubt about it! In addition, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is also able to inspire sporty holiday guests like me. From summer tobogganing fun to umpteen varied hiking routes to the top bike infrastructure, the outdoor offer is incredibly diverse. We didn’t want to miss any of the highlights and packed our days accordingly. And so we have brought you seven tips for a varied mountain weekend in the Tyrolean Oberland, from the summer fun park to the pine trail.

#1 Thrills at the Fiss Summer Fun Park

The destination Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis is easily accessible from Zurich by public transport. If, like us, you want to get the most out of a long weekend, you can board the Railjet to Vienna shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning and be in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis before noon with one change. It’s even faster by car – the journey takes just under three hours. Immediately after arrival, we continue with the gondola lift in the direction of Möseralm.

Here you will find the summer fun park, which offers numerous attractions for young and old; Kneipp facility, barefoot hiking trail, playground, petting zoo, sun loungers… You won’t get bored here. Many of the attractions are connected to the Super. Summer. Card., which you get from one overnight stay, can be used free of charge (as well as the mountain railways and the hiking bus between the villages of Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis).

Some selected offers, such as the Fisser Flitzer, Fisser Flieger and the Skyswing are not in the Super. Summer. Card. and cost an extra charge. I’m a real scaredy-cat when it comes to amusement parks and don’t dare to go crazy. In this respect, I am critical of how the Skyswing rolls over at a rapid pace. I’m definitely not ready for that yet. To warm up, I dare to try the much more harmless-looking Fisser Flieger. With the giant kite I roar across the Möseralm – the maximum speed of 80km/h allows me to actually enjoy the flight.

Afterwards I sit down in the Skyswing. But I wish for a run without rollover and after what feels like 5 minutes of back and forth in the giant swing, I’m happy to feel solid ground under my feet again. My nerves are not made for such adrenaline kicks. Last but not least, we whiz back to the valley station on the “Fisser Flitzer” summer toboggan run – I feel much more comfortable there again.

#2 Flying high – viewpoint «Z1»

Right next to the valley station of the Möseralmbahn is the Schönjochbahn, with which we then take us back uphill. The destination: the Z1 vantage point, which offers a fantastic panoramic view of the surrounding mountains at 2,600 m above sea level. Quasi «top of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis». We start the way back towards Fiss on foot from the middle station of the Schönjochbahn and hike down the valley on the Fiss Power & Senses Trail.

#3 Sunrise happiness on the Obere Sattelkopf

There isn’t much time to recover from the action-packed first day. Shortly before 3 o’clock in the morning, the alarm clock rings from our deep sleep. Luckily, we had the headlamps and the provisions ready the evening before in wise foresight. So after a few minutes we are ready to go. The goal: a sunrise hike to the Unterer Sattelkopf.

The path is well signposted and climbs at a comfortable pace, so that we make good progress. About half an hour before sunrise we reach the Unterer Sattelkopf – a vantage point high above Fiss. Almost 500 metres above us, the summit cross of the Oberer Sattelkopf, one of the most striking peaks in the area, is enthroned. And since we still have some time until sunrise, we spontaneously decide to climb further. A decision I don’t regret for a second. The last 250 meters of altitude are tough, but the view from the summit compensates for the effort! Shortly before 6 a.m. we are surrounded by a breathtaking panorama at the top of the Obere Sattelkopf – what a moment of happiness! The fabulously beautiful morning light, the clear sky, the silence; it was worth it to get up in the middle of the night.

The ascent also showed me that Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis has really exciting alpine mountain trails on offer in addition to leisurely themed hiking trails.

#4 Siesta at Hög Adventure Park

We spare our knees the 1,200 metres descent back to Fiss and instead follow the hiking trail towards the mountain station of the Schönjochbahn. There we wait until the gondolas are put into operation at 08:30 am. After a short breakfast break in Fiss, it’s back up the mountain. The second hike of the day starts at the Hög Adventure Park above Serfaus. Similar to the Fiss Summer Fun Park, the Hög Adventure Park also has numerous attractions in store. Among them is another toboggan run – the family coaster Schneisenfeger. In addition to play areas, there are numerous benches and wooden loungers around the Högsee – perfect for a power nap.

#5 Enjoyment on the culinary hike

But the exhausting part of the day is definitely behind us. The second hike primarily offers moments of pleasure. We embark on a culinary hike from Serfaus via Fiss to the Urgtal. A total of six restaurants in the region are participating as partners in the culinary hike. This makes it possible to flexibly put together routes and stops for refreshments according to personal taste.

Our tour starts at the Seealm Hög with a “Hög Spritz” as an aperitif, followed by a phenomenally fine kohlrabi carpaccio and the Seealm’s bread soup as a starter.

We bridge the way to the main course, which is served to us in the BergDiamant at the Schönjochbahn mountain station, with the help of the gondola lifts and a hiking section on the Panorama Pleasure Trail between the Sunliner / Waldbahn and the middle station of the Schönjochbahn.

The “best of the Fisser Grauvieh” is followed by a walk down towards the Urgtal valley to the Schöngampalm. There the dessert variation à la hut landlady awaited us. For the remaining 15 kilometers from the Schöngampalm back to Fiss, we rent a bike. “Sport Schmid” operates a bike rental service both at the valley station in Fiss and on the Schöngampalm, thus enabling one-way rental. Hiking, enjoying, biking – this variant of the culinary hike covers all facets of the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis holiday region. The 4-course menu with aperitif costs 49.50 euros for adults – recommended for all those who want to combine an active day in the mountains with moments of pleasure.

#6 Downhill fun in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis bike park

On the third day, a premiere is on the agenda for me. I’ve been on my bike before, but I’ve never ventured into a bike park. And since I am – as already mentioned in connection with the Skyswing – not the most daring, I am curious how I will master this challenge. The Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis bike park is located within walking distance of the village centre of Fiss at the Waldbahn. The bike shop/rental as well as the bike school are integrated directly into the valley station. Here we are equipped with a helmet, protective equipment and the right bike for our size. The bike school offers various courses for beginners – including a half-day bike park course including equipment for an attractive 76 euros.

As an introduction, our bike guide Stefan gives us some important technical inputs and lets us practice braking and cornering “in the dry”. Then it’s off to the pump track. And while the kids next to me are doing lap after lap full of energy, I ask myself “how, am I going to get down here?”. I overcome my fear, bravely take a run-up and master the first lap without falling. On the second lap, I fail miserably trying to get to the starting podium and have my first crash. Thanks to this mishap, the fear of falling is gone and the following first descent in the bike park continues to inspire me: I dared!

The routes in the bike park are, as you know it from the ski slopes, classified in the difficulty levels “blue” (beginners) to “black” (experts). On this morning we go through the different blue routes and with each descent I gain confidence and am amazed at myself. I would never have thought that biking would be so much fun for me.

#7 On the road on the most beautiful single trails

And since Stefan notices that we are happy and eager to do what we do, he suggests that we use the second half of the day to try out one or the other single trail outside the bike park. To do this, we once again take the Schönjochbahn uphill and then follow the pine trail towards the Almbahn valley station. The day before, we hiked down the valley parallel to the bike trail – never in my wildest dreams would it have occurred to me that I would be covering the distance by bike a day later. After two descents on the Zirbentrail and Almtrail, I was really flashed – this was definitely not my last time on a bike! Next time, we’ll take on the Frommestrail, which leads from the Schönjochbahn over 1,000 metres down to Fiss.

Extra tip: sleep better in Fiss

The three villages of Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis are connected by the hiking bus. In this respect, you can easily get to the mountain railway stations in Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis even without a car. We stayed at the entrance to Fiss in the casual boutique hotel Das Marent. In addition to a beautiful panoramic view, the hotel scores with a chic and at the same time cozy interior design and many inclusive services that perfectly round off the mountain holiday in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis.

The price for an overnight stay including gourmet board starts at 110 euros per person (summer season 2019) and includes access to the wellness area and an afternoon cake – the perfect refreshment after an active day on the mountain.