St Moritz claims to have invented Alpine winter tourism: the Palace Hotel manager Johannes Badrutt bet four British guests in 1864 that the winter sun in the Engadine was warm enough to return to without heavy clothing. He was right, the British came back, and the resort has built its identity on that combination of high-altitude sunshine and high-society glamour ever since. It is Switzerland’s oldest winter resort and, alongside Zermatt, its most internationally recognised name.

The Ski Area

St Moritz divides into three main ski areas: the Corviglia (2,486 to 3,057 metres), the Diavolezza and Lagalb (2,978 to 3,057 metres), and the Corvatsch (3,303 metres). Together they provide approximately 350 kilometres of marked pistes across the Upper Engadine, one of the largest connected ski regions in Switzerland.

The Corviglia area above the town provides the most accessible intermediate terrain, with wide, well-groomed runs from the summit down to St Moritz Dorf. The Diavolezza offers more challenging terrain and an extraordinary panorama of the Bernina massif, including views across to Piz Bernina, the highest peak in the Eastern Alps. The Corvatsch, the highest of the three areas, adds further advanced terrain and some of the region’s most reliable high-altitude snow.

Snow and Season

The Engadine’s high altitude and famously dry, sunny climate (the valley receives significantly more annual sunshine than most other Swiss ski regions) give St Moritz a genuinely long and reliable season, typically running from late November into April. The dry snow quality here is often noted as different in character from the wetter, heavier snow further west in Switzerland, a product of the Engadine’s specific continental microclimate.

Beyond Skiing: The St Moritz Winter Calendar

The winter social season at St Moritz is as significant as the skiing for many visitors, and much of it happens on the frozen surface of Lake St Moritz itself. The White Turf horse races on the frozen lake (February) are the best known of these events, alongside the Gourmet Festival (usually January) and polo tournaments played directly on the ice (usually January to February). These events draw an international crowd well beyond the skiing community and shape the resort’s high-season pricing and availability as much as snow conditions do.

Lift Pass Pricing

St Moritz sits toward the upper end of Swiss resort pricing, broadly comparable to Davos-Klosters rather than reaching Zermatt’s premium level. The Ski Pass Costs guide covers the national pricing structure, multi-day discounts, and advance-purchase savings that apply here as they do across the other major resorts.

Getting to St Moritz

St Moritz is accessible by the Rhaetian Railway from Chur (2 hours 20 minutes); the Albula Pass section of this route is itself a UNESCO World Heritage railway and a genuinely scenic journey in its own right, independent of the skiing at the other end. The Glacier Express from Zermatt also terminates in St Moritz, taking approximately 7 to 8 hours, and is a realistic if slow way to combine the two most famous Swiss resorts into a single trip.

Written by Laura Meier from Zürich, based on nearly a decade of Swiss residence and ongoing direct experience of the places, trails, trains, and bureaucratic processes described. Updated regularly as prices and conditions change; corrections and updates welcome at contact@allaboutswiss.com.