Few Swiss ski areas have changed the way people ride as much as LAAX. Together with Flims and Falera it forms one large ski area in the Surselva region of Graubünden, running from the Rhine valley up to a glacier at more than 3,000 metres. Families and cruising skiers find wide, sunny slopes here; freestyle riders find one of the best-known snowparks in Europe; and anyone who likes a long valley run has a descent of around thirteen kilometres to look forward to. This guide explains how the area is laid out, when it is open, how reliable the snow is, where to sleep and how to get there without fuss.

The resort and its slopes

According to the Graubünden tourism page, the winter sports area stretches from 1,100 to 3,018 metres above sea level and offers 216 km of pistes. The lift company's own pages stress the same point from another angle: about 70 per cent of the slopes lie above 2,000 metres, which is why the area calls itself one of the most snow-sure in Switzerland. Counts of lifts differ a little between official pages, so we leave the exact number to the live map of slopes and facilities.

The area is run by the Weisse Arena Gruppe and has three valley bases: Flims, Laax and Falera. Most visitors who come for a few days start in Laax, where the valley station is at Murschetg, or in Flims, where the Arena Express gondola climbs via Plaun to Nagens. From these stations the lifts lead to the main hubs. Crap Sogn Gion is the mountain station above Laax, and it is the centre of the freestyle scene. Foppa above Flims and Alp Dado are the starting points for relaxed cruising, and the Vorab glacier is the high point of the area.

The terrain is varied enough that a group of mixed ability can spend a week here without repeating a day. Beginners are catered for by the Ami Sabi snow wonderlands at the Laax base station, on Foppa in Flims and at the observatory in Falera; these are reserved for customers of the LAAX School. Easy pistes around Alp Dado suit families, and the beginner's ticket covers routes from Flims to Foppa or Nagens and from Laax or Falera up to Crap Sogn Gion. Experts have the steep slopes behind the Vorab glacier and the former FIS downhill run, which the resort describes as a challenge for experienced skiers.

Arriving from Zürich Airport? Our private transfer service can take you from the airport directly to your hotel in Flims, Laax or Falera, with your luggage, so that the first morning on the slopes is not spent on trains and buses. Tell us where you are going and we will come back to you with a personal offer.

The long runs: La Siala to Flims and the Vorab glacier

The signature descent is the run from La Siala down to Flims. The resort gives it as about 13 km with a drop of around 1,700 metres, and it is described as the advanced challenge of the area. It is long enough that it makes sense to plan a break on the way, ideally at one of the more than thirty mountain restaurants that the resort lists. In good snow it is a satisfying run for strong intermediates too, as long as the legs hold out for the lower sections through the forest towards Flims.

Higher up, the Vorab glacier opens up a different kind of skiing. Professionals can ski down the back of the glacier towards Alp Ruschein, and the steep slopes on the far side are among the more serious terrain on the mountain. The glacier is also where the area reaches 3,018 metres, which is the reason why the snow cover stays dependable even when the valley is bare. The Graubünden page also mentions four runs that lead all the way down to the resort, so you can ski back to your door at the end of the day.

If you prefer to ski after dark, the official skiing page lists a floodlit night slope of about 6 km from Curnius to Laax Murschetg, open on selected evenings in winter. The dates change every season, so look at that page before you plan an evening on the piste. The same page covers the ski school and the ticket shop.

Freestyle: the snowparks, the halfpipe and the LAAX OPEN

LAAX presents itself as the freestyle mecca of Europe, and the details on its freestyle page back that up: five snowparks with more than 90 obstacles, graded from easy to pro. The beginner park and the Ils Plauns park sit between Crap Sogn Gion and Alp Dado, Whoop De Doo is a newer easy park with wave-like tracks inspired by summer pump tracks, and the P60 park runs for about a kilometre with rails, boxes and pyramid walls. At the pro end, the Snowpark NoName is home to the halfpipe known as The Beast, which the resort lists at 220 metres long, 22 metres wide and 7 metres high. Four Olympic-size kickers make up the Pro Kicker Line in the P60 park.

Each January the park becomes the stage for the LAAX OPEN, a freestyle snowboard and freeski event that is part of the FIS World Cup, with about 250 athletes in slopestyle and halfpipe. Concerts and culture events fill the valley around it. The exact days change each year, so if you want to see it, check the event site and book accommodation early. According to the company's own timeline, the event began as the Burton European Open in 2004 and took its present name in 2015; in 2019 the halfpipe finals were held at night for the first time.

Freestyle at LAAX is not only for professionals. The Freestyle Academy opened in 2010 as Europe's first indoor freestyle hall, and a new building opened at Laax Murschetg in August 2024. The resort describes the indoor facility as around 2,000 square metres, so it is a place where beginners can learn tricks in a controlled setting, whatever the weather outside.

Opening times and the season

Please read this section as a guide rather than a timetable, because dates and hours change from year to year. According to the Graubünden tourism page, the 2025/26 season ran from 29 November 2025 to 12 April 2026, with lifts open from 08:30 to 17:30. That gives a good picture of what is typical: the season usually starts at the end of November or the beginning of December and runs into April, with the lifts open for a full day from the morning until the late afternoon.

For the current dates and times, the sources to trust are the live view of open lifts and the live map. Special programmes, such as the night skiing and the glacier operation, follow their own calendar. We deliberately give no prices; the tickets are sold in the resort's own shop, which is linked from the official pages.

A driver for the whole day. If you would rather not worry about parking, timetables or luggage between the hotel and the lift, our chauffeur by the hour stays with you for the day and takes you wherever you want to go in the area. Tell us where you are going and we will come back to you with a personal offer.

Snow, weather and freeride

The reliability of the snow comes mainly from altitude. With about 70 per cent of the slopes above 2,000 metres and a glacier at the top, the resort has a good basis for a long season. The Weisse Arena Gruppe also publishes its approach to sustainability under the name Greenstyle; its stated aim is to stop using fossil energy and to supply the whole operation with renewable energy. That is not directly a snow report, but it says something about how the company sees the future of winter sport in the Alps.

Because snow changes by the hour, we do not quote snow depths. Before you travel, open the resort's weather page and the webcams, and look at the lift status. If you plan to leave the groomed pistes, also read the national avalanche bulletin of the SLF.

The freeride page lists marked freeride routes for experienced skiers and snowboarders, among them routes 77 and 80 at Vorab. It also points out the practical safety infrastructure: an avalanche training centre at the Plaun mid-station, where you can practise searching with transmitters, and a Freeride Base in Nagens where you can talk to the patrollers about conditions. Morning blasting can mean that some areas are closed temporarily, and wildlife rest zones are marked on the piste map and must be respected. The resort is clear that its tips do not replace a professional course.

Looking back: how the area grew

The history is easier to follow through the company timeline on the Weisse Arena Gruppe history page. The group was formed in 1996 when the Crap Sogn Gion lift company in Laax merged with the Flims lift company. In 1997 the Arena Express gondola from Flims via Plaun to Nagens opened, tying the two sides of the area together. In 2005, the Mutta Rodunda became Switzerland's first heated six-seat chairlift, and the rocksresort, the cube-shaped hotel and apartment resort at the valley station, opened in 2009.

The freestyle chapter runs alongside. The Burton European Open came to LAAX in 2004, the Freestyle Academy opened in 2010, and the Superpipe opened in 2014 as what the company called the world's largest permanent halfpipe. In 2011 and 2012 the Crap Sogn Gion lift marked its 50th anniversary during the "Revolution am Berg", a phase of new six-seat chairlifts. In 2015 the La Siala gondola replaced a chairlift from 1982, and in 2020 the GALAAXY Park opened on Crap Sogn Gion at 2,252 metres. The most recent big step is the FlemXpress, whose first sections opened in 2023 and whose third and fourth sections reached Segnes and Nagens Sura in 2024.

Where to stay

The official accommodation page divides the choices into the valley and the mountain, and the best choice depends on the kind of trip you want.

The rocksresort stands directly at the LAAX valley station, so you can walk to the lifts. According to the company timeline it has grown in phases since 2009 and now has 13 houses and 248 apartments.
The signinahotel is part of the rocksresort at the valley station and suits guests who want a hotel rather than an apartment.
The Riders Hotel is listed in the valley section of the official accommodation page; check its own site for its exact position.
The GALAAXY mountain hostel is open in winter at 2,252 metres, directly on a ski slope in the middle of the ski area and near the snowparks.
The Berghaus Nagens is also a winter-only mountain option, with the slope just a few steps from the room.

The Waldhaus in Flims, one of the best-known hotels of the area, is currently closed for renovation according to its own website, so we do not recommend it for the coming season. Always check availability and current conditions with the hotel itself.

Getting there

The official getting-there page describes the options. By public transport, national and international trains run to Chur, and from there the PostBus takes under 40 minutes to Flims Laax. You can plan the journey on the SBB site, the Rhaetian Railway serves the region, and the PostBus covers the last stretch. The SBB luggage service can collect bags from any address in Switzerland or Liechtenstein and deliver them to your accommodation, which makes the train a realistic option even with heavy bags.

By car, take the A13 motorway and leave at Reichenau (exit 18); from there it takes about 20 minutes. The resort puts the drive at about 30 minutes from Chur and about 1 hour 45 minutes from Zürich. The closest international airports are Zürich Airport, Basel-Mulhouse and Milan Malpensa. We give no precise train times, as the timetable changes; the SBB timetable has the current ones.

Skip the connections. A private transfer from Zürich Airport or a station brings you and your luggage to the door of your accommodation in one journey, and the same car can collect you at the end of the stay. Tell us where you are going and we will come back to you with a personal offer.

Make the trip more than the skiing

The winter does not have to end at the lifts. The official pages list cross-country skiing, tobogganing runs, winter hiking trails and snowshoeing, so a rest day can be an active one. If you are travelling on, a private day can take in somewhere worth the stop on the way back to Zürich. Our private tours are planned around what you want to see, and the contact page is the quickest way to describe your plan.

Whatever you decide, the sensible order is: check the live lift status and the weather, book your lessons or freestyle sessions in advance, and arrive rested. Laax rewards skiers who know what they want, and it is just as good for those who simply want a long sunny day on wide pistes.

Skiing in Laax: Glacier Runs, Freestyle and Flims