Zell am See-Kaprun ski resort is a charming and lively lakeside town close to Austria's Hohe Tauern National Park; it's a popular year-round resort and has plenty of amenities and attractions for winter-sports visitors of all ages and abilities. We had a chance to discover it on a sunny Sunday January day. We promise there´s a plenty of adventure awaiting you and no matter what level of skier you are, won´t be disappointed.

It is a contender for the title of 'most beautiful setting' in Austria.  Nestled at the foot of the forested slopes of its own ski mountain on the shore of a large freshwater lake, it has the glacial peak of the Kitzsteinhorn and the surrounding Hohe Tauern range as a backdrop. The town itself is a charmer, with an attractive and atmospheric old town quarter at its heart, centred around a historic Gothic church and filled with tempting shops, good restaurants, and lively bars.

The region also covers the nearby resort of Kaprun, which includes the family-friendly Maiskogel mountain and the snow-sure Kitzsteinhorn glacier ski area, which together with Zell am See's own adjacent Schmittenhöhe ski area, offers a total of 138km of pistes across a great variety of terrain. To Kaprun you´ll easily get with a complimentary bus shuttle that run almost every 30 minutes and it´s included in your ski pass.

 Ski Slopes

The CityXpress gondola provides the prime uplift from this area closest to town, linking with an onward chairlift at mid-altitude above, but the main base area is set deeper into the short Schmitten Valley to the west of Zell am See, in the lap of the surrounding mountain.This main base area at Schmitten has a small valley-level beginners' zone plus three key lift terminals serving the core ski area above; further access is available via the three-stage Areitbahn gondola from Schuttdorf to the south.

What we love the most is variety of options for all type skiers: beginners, intermediate or even advanced ones. The wide and steep slopes ensure everyone will get a chance to enjoy its day at Zell am See-Kaprun Ski area. And if the sun is shining throughout the day, it´s even better as you get to see the lake expanding in front of you. Absolute highlight is 408km of ski slopes with one skipass: the Ski ALPIN CARD.

The Schmittenhöhe ski area is relatively limited, yet adequate enough for undemanding intermediates, offering a nice mix of runs: long tree-lined blue and red home-runs to Zell am See and Schuttdorf, a fair selection of shorter blue and red-classified slopes at altitude, plus a number of tough fall-line black runs and interesting ungroomed 'ski route' variants.

Apres ski

In the early days of skiing, après ski was the term used to describe the cosy get-together after skiing. We in Zell am See-Kaprun want to celebrate exactly that again: to pamper the guests in a relaxed high-quality atmosphere so that they can recover from an eventful day and recall it in a convivial atmosphere.

This is après ski as it was intended – meaning the APRÈS CHILL version! 

How to get here:

Zell am See is in Salzburg state (Salzburgerland) near the border with the Tyrol and is located 110km south of sensational  Salzburg in central Austria. Located above the town of the same name, Zell-am-See is just north of Austria’s highest mountain – Großglockner (3,798m). Closest gateway airports are Innsbruck (INN) (142km) and Salzburg (SZG), with the closest major international airport being Munich (MUC) in Germany.

More information about the Zell am See-Kaprun ski area can be found on its official website https://www.zellamsee-kaprun.com/en.