Offering what might be one of the most accessible ski areas in Switzerland, Flumserberg is a fun sized ski area a short commute from Zurich. But does it’s proximity to Zurich and the day-tripping appeal make this a winner or one to skip? Find out more in our Flumserberg review….
Flumserberg Overview
- Ski area: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Price/affordability: ⭐⭐
- Apres ski: ⭐
- Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Total: ⭐⭐⭐
Overlooking the beautiful Lake Walen (Walensee) and the Churfurstein mountains, the ski resort of Flumserberg is one of the, if not the closest ski resort to Zurich. This makes it popular with Zurich dwellers (Zurich-ers? Zurichians?) looking to get on the mountain as quickly as possible. The fact that it’s easily accessible via both road and rail also makes it super popular.
With 65 kms of trails, much of which is north facing and above 1500 metres, Flumserberg is actually pretty snowsure and offers a surprising amount of value for your ski pass price.
Talking of which, this is Switzerland, so the prices are always going to be on the high side. A daily ski pass for Flumserberg costs around CHF70 (€75) in the week, and CHF74 (€79) on the weekend. There are half day deals and also lower prices for those looking to just access the beginner slopes at the main Tannenboden gondola section.
How to get to Flumserberg
One of the reasons Flumserberg is so popular is the ease of access. We took the train, which was fast, efficient and pretty easy.
By Train
From Zurich, you can take the IC35 (towards Chur) and get off at Unterterzen. The train takes around an hour from Zurich HB to Unterterzen with trains running regularly, hourly at least when we were there. You then simply cross the road from the train station to enter the gondola station which whisks you up to Tannenboden and the rest of the mountain in around 15 minutes.
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By Car/Bus
The A3 express route also goes all the way from Zurich to Unterterzen/Flumserbeg, towards Sargans. This takes around 45 minutes to an hour.
There is another access via road at Flums/Tannenheim, although you’ll need to take the zig-zagging mountain road up here. This section is also served by the 441 bus which runs from Sargans to Tannenboden gondola station, with buses running every half hour in both directions.
There are also buses linking both the nearby towns of Murg and Walenstadt to the Unterterzen gondola lift station – so you have options for accommodation all along the lake shore.
If you’re coming from Zurich, book train tickets in advance for the best prices.
By Car Hire
If you’re looking to explore more of Switzerland while you’re here, it might be worth getting a hire car. There are lots of options for car hire in Zurich and Zurich Airport, and this does mean a much quicker transfer time, of course. You then have the option to visit towns like St Gallen, head to nearby Lichtenstein, or check out other local ski resorts such as Pizol.
Flumserberg: Is it any good for skiing/snowboarding?
Flumserberg features a nice mix of pistes, with options for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. While there is clearly some good opportunity for lift accessed off-piste here in the resort, this was unfortunately unavailable while we were here – for reasons that will become clear. Flumserberg is a mid-sized ski resort of 65 kms, with mostly north facing pistes. This means that a lot of the terrain is sheltered from the glare of the sun, which was quite useful during our stay.
We arrived between Christmas and New Year 2025, which was during a bit of a snow drought. It hadn’t snowed in any quantity for several weeks in the run up to our arrival – but… I’m glad to say that didn’t really affect the snow on the main trails, due to that north facing aspect. Some sections were closed during my visit, including the Leist peak and her black pistes. But, I still managed to cover a lot of terrain and explore both challenging and cruisey pistes during my stay.
If you look at the piste map, you can see that a lot of the trails are intermediate/red pistes, with the lower sections featuring a lot of blue runs. This does mean that for the most part Flumserberg is best suited to intermediate riders. But, with that being said, a lot of the terrain really featured only small sections of challenging pistes, usually at the top of the trail, with the run evening out towards the bottom.
The run from Maschgankamm (2020m) along trail 20 back to Tannenboden was a good example of this. The beginning of the trail starts with a steep and shaded section which was heavily moguled during my visit – but once you’ve cleared this top section the run quickly opened out into a faster zig-zag down the mountain, eventually joining a blue section at the Chruz chairlift. This blue section was often very heavy with traffic due to the accessibility for ski schools and learners, which did make it quite challenging to navigate, especially later in the day.
On the other side of the mountain, the Prodkamm to Prodalp run is marked as a red trail (2 and 5) but really it’s only very short sections at the top which justify this classification, with the rest of the runs being wide and relatively sedate. This section too was very busy, but it never felt congested like the blue trail leading back to Tannenboden.
Family fun: Is Flumserberg good for learners and families?
We visited Flumserberg as a family, with our kids booked into the ski school at Moseralp/Tannenboden. By all accounts the classes were well run (despite being very busy) and my kids had a lot of fun over their two days of lessons. The ski schools are clustered around the main gondola station and the bottom of the blue run (20), with a free-to-access magic carpet area giving learners free reign on a small section. This is obviously great if you want to turn up and just practice a few short turns with your kids without shelling out on a ski pass.
Once they’re ready to go further up the mountain, there is an option for a beginner ski pass, which gives you limited access to the ski area. Mostly just the learner lifts at the bottom. Kids under 5 are free, so if your child can already ride, they can get all the way to the top. Be warned though, it’s not very child friendly at the top of Maschgenkamm.
There is a forested area, HäxäWäldli adventure slope, which is just off the main blue trail (20) off the Chruz chairlift. This seemed to be closed when I was here though.
As for the ski school – the instructors were great, Many of them were quite young and spoke English, and they all seemed quite patient with their pupils. The learner area was busy, but there was enough space for all the kids to practice without any collisions (that I saw). Be warned though, if you’re going to watch your kids in the ski school, this section gets shaded after lunch so stay extra warm!
How much is kids ski school in Flumserberg?
We paid CHF45 for a half day and CHF90 for a full day for our kids (ages 5 and 8).
Lessons start at 10 am and 2pm (half day).
Book your lessons with Swiss Ski School here.
Learning to ski or snowboard at Flumserberg?
While the Swiss Ski School is great for the kids, I do also think that Flumserberg would be a good place to learn as a slightly bigger kid! The progression in challenge as you head up the mountain means that you could enjoy the views and enjoy learning too.
If you’re looking for adult lessons, book your Flumserberg ski school here.
Eating and drinking
There are numerous bars and restaurants dotted across Flumserberg ski resort. Due to our proximity to the ski school we tended to stick to the self service bar closest to the learner area, which was crazy busy! Finding a seat was a strategic play at pretty much every point in the day. But we did also get snacks and drinks at some of the other bars across the resort, which did tend to be a bit less stressful.
For reference, yes, food and drink is quite expensive. You’ll pay CHF5 for a beer, coffee or a soft drink it seems. A portion of fries was about CHF7.50, a hot dog from the stand next to the Unterterzen gondola was CHF7 and a fondue was CHF25 per person. A large packet of chips was about CHF4.
Off the resort, a meal in the pizza restaurant in Unterterzen for four of us was about CHF65, which is three good sized pizzas plus a salad and drinks.
Is Flumserberg good for apres ski?
In a word, no. There wasn’t really any apres ski of note that I saw, both in the Tannenboden village, or at the base in Unterterzen. This is very much a ski resort for families and day trippers. While there are bars both on the mountain and at the base, including a small bar next to the gondola back down to Unterterzen, there was little in the way of bangin’ Euro house or German pop.
That being said, we enjoyed drinks at our hotel and I bought some (much cheaper) beers at the Spar in Unterterzen. Bring your own party to Flumserberg!
Where to hire ski/snowboard equipment in Flumserberg?
At the main station in Tannenboden there is a mid-sized Intersport. This is where we got our gear for our stay. There is also another Intersport in Tannenheim, one in the main village for Tannenboden and another on the mountain at the Prodalp gondola.
Where to stay in Flumserberg?
The main ski villages of Tannenboden and Tannenheim are the closest to the slopes and feature a few hotels and apartments.
The Hotel Tannenboden is one of the closest options to the main gondola, a few minutes walk from the ski station.
The Hotel Cristal is a three star hotel, closer to the resort and one of the few hotels in Flumserberg which can claim to be ski-to-door.
The Marina Hotel Walensee is located in Unterterzen, right by the lake, a short walk from the train station and the gondola. With stunning lake views and breakfast included, this is a lovely tranquil spot to unwind after a day carving down the mountain.
We actually stayed at the Hotel Neu Schonstatt in Quarten, a short bus ride from the Unterterzen gondola. This quirky hotel offered half board, with an excellent breakfast and dinner selection, gorgeous views down the valley and nice comfy and modern rooms. Highly recommended.
Who is Flumserberg best suited to?
As you’ve seen from my Flumserberg ski resort review, this is a quirky ski resort. It’s a short transfer from Zurich, so it’s quite busy. It’s family friendly but can be challenging higher up the mountain. And it’s not exactly offering a riot in terms of apres ski or dining.
But with all that said, I thought Flumserberg was a lot of fun, as did my family, The ski school was great and the views are stunning.
I’d suggest Flumserberg for long weekenders (or mid-weekers) looking for an easily accessible mountain with a good mix of trails. I’d also suggest it as an option for families with kids who are progressing – advanced beginners and intermediates will have a lot of fun here on the right day.
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