Planning a ski trip to Austria
Choosing a resort in Austria is not choosing the famous one: it is matching three things — your dates, the altitude the snow sits at, and the size of the ski area — to the people you travel with. Below are the 12 resorts in Austria with those figures side by side, each linking to its own day-planning page.
The resorts of Austria, with their figures
| Resort | Area | Base altitude | Top altitude | Vertical drop | Km of piste | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zell am See - Kaprun | Salzburgerland | 757 m | 3029 m | 2272 m | not published | November 1, 2026 – April 26, 2027 |
| Solden | Otztal | 1350 m | 3340 m | 1990 m | not published | October 11, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| Mayrhofen | Tirol (Zillertal) | 630 m | 2500 m | 1870 m | not published | December 5, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis | Tirol | 1200 m | 2828 m | 1628 m | not published | December 5, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| St. Anton am Arlberg | Tirol | 1304 m | 2811 m | 1507 m | not published | December 5, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Ischgl | Tirol | 1377 m | 2872 m | 1495 m | not published | November 27, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
| Lech Zurs am Arlberg | Vorarlberg | 1444 m | 2811 m | 1367 m | not published | December 5, 2026 – April 26, 2027 |
| Kitzbuhel | Tirol | 800 m | 2000 m | 1200 m | 234 km | November 6, 2026 – April 6, 2027 |
| Kirchberg in Tirol | Tirol | 837 m | 1996 m | 1159 m | 234 km | December 5, 2026 – March 29, 2027 |
| Schladming - Planai | Steiermark | 745 m | 1894 m | 1149 m | not published | December 5, 2026 – April 6, 2027 |
| Saalbach-Hinterglemm | Salzburgerland | 1003 m | 2096 m | 1093 m | not published | December 5, 2026 – April 19, 2027 |
| Obertauern | Salzburgerland | 1740 m | 2313 m | 573 m | not published | November 28, 2026 – May 3, 2027 |
Altitudes and kilometres are the ones each resort publishes. The season window is the usual one for the country while the resort has not announced its own dates; official dates appear on the opening-dates page as soon as they are published.
How to read this table before booking in Austria
Base altitude rules December and March
It is the height you start skiing at, and the first snow to go. At the start of the season and in spring, two resorts in Austria with the same piste kilometres are not in the same situation if one starts at 1,500 m and the other at 2,100 m.
Vertical drop tells you how much you actually ski
Top minus base is the longest possible descent. A big drop means long runs — and that when it is raining at the bottom it may be snowing at the top.
Kilometres are not the only measure of size
They count the length of marked pistes, not how varied the terrain is or how many people fit on it. They are useful for comparing resorts within the same country, which is how they are laid out here.
Your dates matter more than your resort
Christmas, New Year and the February half-term fill every resort in Austria; the second half of January and of March are the same pistes with half the people. If you can move the dates, move them before you move the resort.
Plan the day at a resort
- Planning your ski day in Zell am See - Kaprun
- Planning your ski day in Solden
- Planning your ski day in Mayrhofen
- Planning your ski day in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis
- Planning your ski day in St. Anton am Arlberg
- Planning your ski day in Ischgl
- Planning your ski day in Lech Zurs am Arlberg
- Planning your ski day in Kitzbuhel
- Planning your ski day in Kirchberg in Tirol
- Planning your ski day in Schladming - Planai
- Planning your ski day in Saalbach-Hinterglemm
- Planning your ski day in Obertauern
FAQ
When does the ski season start in Austria?
It depends on the resort and the year. This page carries each resort's usual window; the official date, as soon as the resort announces it, goes on the opening-dates page with its source. We do not invent openings the resort has not confirmed.
Which resort in Austria is best to learn at?
There is no single answer, but there is a checkable criterion: look at the share of green and blue pistes and whether the resort has a snow garden, with its age range. Both are on our skiing-with-kids page for each country.
Is a multi-day lift pass worth it?
From three consecutive days it almost always is, and from five the gap is large. Where we sell lift passes directly you will see the real per-day price on the resort page; where we do not, the link goes to the official ticket office.
Can I book gear before I arrive?
Yes, and it is what saves most time on day one: you collect with your size already set aside instead of queueing. Every resort with a linked shop has its own rental page.
How long does it take to reach the resorts in Austria?
We do not say, because we have no reliable road times and a made-up figure on a snowy day is dangerous. What we do publish for each resort is the train and bus stops that exist around the base and how far away they are as the crow flies.