Switzerland: A Guide to Epic Tours through the Swiss Alps

This summer I decided it was time for me to visit the other half of my family and go to Switzerland, so I left my job, packed my bike and went to live with my grandmother in Parpan for 5 weeks. Towards the end of my stay, I had invited some good friends from back in the United States to visit and share my riding knowledge of the beautiful region. Parpan is a small mountain town of around 250 residents at the base of Rothorn and next to Lenzerheide which hosted their first UCI mountain bike World Cup this July.

This is the Dorhaus which was built in 1673, where I lived for 5 weeks. My nona's home is like traveling back in time.

I was born in Switzerland but soon after I moved to the states where I grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Every year after I had the luxury of going back to see family and enjoy the beauty of the alps. This summer I invited friends to come and guide them on some of the terrific tours the region has to offer. During this trip I spent lots of time riding the mountains on east and west side of Parpan including Rothorn, Piz Scallotas, Statzerhorn as well as Brambruesch and the valley of Arosa. Other areas included Davos and St. Moritz.

This view is from the top of Rothorn down to Sanaspans. The peak directly in the background is the Lenzerhorn.

Sam and Austin getting loose on one of the routes down to Arosa.

Below I will break down some of the bigger tours which are my favorites to give someone the full experience during their stay. All of these rides require nothing more than a trail/enduro or whatever you want to call it. Although there is lots of descending, there are some solid climbs and hike-a-bike sections where a downhill bike would be overkill.

Tour 1: Furcletta Experience

Including the tram and gondola rides this tour takes a full day and covers approximately 30 miles with 16,500 vertical feet of amazing descent.

This tour begins from my grandmother's house in Parpan. A 15-minute pedal will bring you to the bottom of the gondola of Talstation Rothorn and brings you up to Bergstation Scharmoin. From there you hop onto the tram which brings you to the top of Rothorn. From there you descend down Sanaspans and head towards Culmet and then Furcletta which brings you down to Arosa. From there you hop on the Hornli express to bring you up to the next mountain top where you begin yet another epic descent to Chur.

Sophie's brother Peter enjoying the view of Sanaspans a day off from racing the EWS.

Mathias starting the hike-a-bike portion of the tour up to Culmet.

Everyone pedaling up the final ascent to Culmet

The ride down to Arosa is one of the best single trails I have ever biked. The pitch is perfect and has a great mix of technical terrain as well as fast flowing sections.

On the way to Arosa. Just out of the frame is the Ramoxhutte. A well known landmark to the locals.

Peter half way down the descent to Arosa via Welschtobel.

Once one arrives in Arosa there is a quick pedal up to the Hornli Express which brings you up to the Hornihutte. The restaurant always welcomes hungry bikers. From there one begins the final stage of the tour down to Tschiertschen and then to Chur.

Looking down at the trail passing by the Urdensee.

Tour 2: Piz Nair


The Piz Nair Tour is another long day of riding. In order to get the full experience one has to catch the first tram at 8:30 am to allow for maximal time before the last trip around 4:30. This tour has a tremendous amount of descending. Including trams, this tour covers approximately 60 kilometers with approximately 16,800 vertical feet of descent. In the end, one will have ridden Piz Nair 4 times. Each time a different route is taken to experience as much as possible. This day begins early. We pack the car and drive from Parpan over the Julier Pass and down to St. Moritz which is a well-known area near Champfer, Silvaplana and my birth place, Samedan.

Julier Pass over to Silvaplana.

Upon arrival at the start point, bikes are unpacked and we head up Signal Bahn in St. Moritz Baad. From there one takes the tram up and traverse over to the Chantarella Corviglia Bahn, and head up to the top of Piz Nair. Elevation 10,030 feet.

Austin at the top of Piz Nair

From Piz Nair one heads down the back side towards Fuorcla Schlattain and then traverses over to Las Trais Fluors. From there the pedal continues to Alp Munt and descends down into Samedan.

Austin cranking up a demanding climb to Cna Saluver.



Passing by yet another alp hut on the way to Trais Fluars (seen in the distance behind the flag pole)

The last big ascent to Trais Fluars

Once arriving in Samedan you hop on the Engadiner bus and head back to the Chantarella Bahn. In order to complete the 4 rides off of the top it is crucial to use the bus to get back to the trams. The next ride rides off the back again and towards Lej Suvretta and then onto Suvretta da Samedan. This continues in a beautiful valley along flowing streams to Val Bever.

Descending to Lej Suvretta.

Following the stream down Suvretta da Samedan.

Crossing over to the other side to continue on down the trail.

Seeing these beautiful ladies is another perk of riding in the Swiss Alps. She didn't seem very impressed with me.

Once one arrives in Bevers its back to the tram in St. Moritz to stay on schedule and complete the last leg of the days tour. This time we took the same trail down to Lej Suvretta but took riders left and down the Suvretta Pass towards the newly constructed Fopetta Flow trail that puts you out into Champfer.

Sam down the Suvretta Pass.

Austin looking down into the valley and most likely wishing he could stay longer!

For the fourth trip to the top one can either do one of the larger rides off of the back or head down the front towards the infamous Corviglia Flow Trail back down to St. Moritz.

Sam cruising around one of the top corners of the Corviglia Flow Trail.

Tour 3: Piz Corvatch and Bernina Pass to Poschiavo


This tour is made up for spectacular views of glaciers and plenty of demanding technical riding as well as an enjoyable train ride up the Bernina Pass. The first ride just recently became a possibility for mountain bikers. The Corvatch tram is only open for bikers on its first and last trip up of the day. There is a lot of hiking traffic so they limit the amount of times bikers can grab a ride. The second ride of the tour is broken up with a train ride to the top of the Bernina Pass where I then hopped on my bike and rode across and down towards Poschiavo which is a town near the border of Italy. Once at the bottom I took the train back up and biked down to Pontresina.

Selfie on Fuorcla Surlej with Piz Boval and Piz Morteratsch in the background. Very windy and crisp.

Another shot of the glaciers Vadret da Tschierva (left) and Vadret da Roseg (right).

Rock slabs everywhere make for an amazing and challenging ride.

Vadret da Tschierva.

Down in Val Roseg with glacier Vadret da Roseg in the background.

One of the stops near the top of the Pass is directly next to Lago Bianco. This is where I got off and began the ride towards Alp Grum.




Passing by old stone walls separating old land boundaries.

One of many mountain restaurants that one passes by here in the alps. The trail goes right through the terrace where guests may be enjoying a meal for lunch.

Breathtaking view of Vadret da Palu. Due to my lacking photography skills I was not able to get a better shot of the glacier at the top of the picture.

The ride back down the other side towards the original start point in Pontresina is not technically challenging but is still a beautiful ride through meadows and alongside rivers and the occasional cow gangs...

Although I did not know the password, she let me pass by without any troubles. I think she was a little fatigued from another long day of eating and sleeping.

Tour 4: Davos

Davos is another beautiful valley filled with unbelievable riding opportunities. Trams and gondolas are found on both sides allowing you to take full advantage of the day and get tremendous amounts of riding in. As of now I have not created a step by step for the tour but will have it soon. For now I have left you some pictures to give you a sense of its absolute awesomeness.

Driving to Davos from Parpan. Looking down towards Tiefencastle.




Tour 5: The Full Lenzerheide - Arosa-Joch Experience

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This tour is one of my favorites. Within one day you can ride to Arosa via a different route than described in Tour 1 and instead of continuing down to Chur, one comes back over the east side onto Schwartzhorn via Urden Furgli and down back to the valley of Parpan and Lenzerheide. From there you link up to the west side. If completed to its fullest potential, this tour offers over 16,500 vertical feet of descent. This tour begins at the top of the Rothorn. Instead of heading down to Sanaspans one rides towards the Gallarie down towards Arosa. From there, directly link up to the Hornli express and pedal the Urden Furgli trail over to Schwartzhorn. From there, down to the top of Heimberg and down a tight and technical path down to Parpan.

Heading to the Gallerie.

Once arriving at the Gallerie checkpoint we headed down the valley towards Arosa.

Sam and Austin taking turns with the chase.

"Yup, this is awesome!"

Beautiful view of Arosa.

Filling up on water before we get to the Hornli express. Arosa in the background.


Once in Parpan there is a pedal back to the gondola to the Mittlestation and followed the Wasserfall Weg down to Lenzerheide and across to the west side up onto Scallotas. There are two terrific trails that follow back down near the chair that must be completed in order to receive the full experience. After these two runs one traverses over to the Statzerhorn and down through a refreshing trail in the trees with plenty of rocks and roots to keep your suspension occupied. This trail puts you right out into Parpan. At this point, it is a good idea to refuel with a snack and some liquids because the next stage requires an hour pedal up to the Joch for the beautiful sunset portion of the ride. On the way up you can make a quick stop to look at traditional alp huts that farmers use during the summer for their cattle.

Austin practicing his wheelies with Parpan in the background.

Sunset on the Joch

Perfect evening for a ride down to Chur.

JochAlp Berg Restaurant at the top of the Joch.

After catching your breath from the climb to the Joch you began the descent to Chur with the sun setting in the background. Another full day of amazing riding complete! One of the last riding spots I will share is of Brambruesch. This is not a tour but simply an awesome bike park to go ride on a day off. Between the "flow" trails, wooden features, and steep single trail, Brambruesch has it all. The tram starts right in the city of Chur and brings you up into the mountains. The pictures below were taken by my good friend and local downhiller, Matheas.






There were many more rides done on this trip but these were the main tours that I think were worth sharing. After an amazing time spent riding, seeing friends and family it was time to travel back to my other home in New Hampshire. I will be going back soon to continue the exploring and guiding. I will leave you with some more pictures of the lady that made it all possible, the infamous Wettli! Thank you, Nona!

See you soon!

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