Ski Switzerland’s “Magic Pass” Alps Season Pass
Switzerland’s Magic Pass is a great multi-resort season pass to ski 100+ ski areas, in its 10th season for 2026-27, with a few in France and Italy, and growing! Skiing The Alps is legendary, historic, scenic, amazing, worth it! We love skiing Switzerland, we have had some of the most amazing skiing in The Swiss Alps – Andermatt-Sedrun, Arosa Lenzerheide, Adelboden, The Jungfrau, Verbier and 4 Vallees, St Moritz, Davos, Zermatt. But we wanted to break away from these world-famous resorts (aka big crowds), and we discovered the affordable “Magic Pass”! Ski pass stoke! We have spent winter 2023 and 2026 exploring and skiing these less-discovered big-mountain Swiss ski areas and truly loving the experience! Many of the Magic Pass ski resorts are within an hour drive to one another, broadening your choices to ski the Alps on a ski safari!
The Magic Pass allows you to explore special snowy alpine villages, ski areas with big vertical but less name-recognition, and less crowds! A true Alps ski village experience awaits at a dozen legit ski mountains. Many of the Magic Pass ski areas, over 30, are small independent ski hills, with one or a few ski lifts, others are larger, some are vast! This ski pass delivers over 2000 kilometers of skiing, 2 glacier ski resorts – Glacier 3000 and Saas Fee, where you’ll find a revolving restaurant. Another 360 panoramic spin mountain dining experience awaits at Leysin’s “Le Kuklos”. “C’est magique” as they say in French!
The Magic Pass is tremendous value for skiing, for $420+ with early season purchase (over $900 later in the fall), skiers get unlimited access to over 90 ski areas, mostly in Switzerland, a few in France and Italy, for the entire winter ski season! Its akin to an Indy Pass, Epic and Ikon passes in the states. The Magic Pass app also provides pass-holders discounts for ski shop services, and prizes for achieving “magic” goals!
Magic Pass major ski resorts include Saas-Fee, Anzère, Belalp, Grimentz Zinal, and Glacier 3000. And there are several other mountains with 3,000 to 4,500+ vertical feet of skiing. Your Magic Pass is direct to lift technology, no forms, no lift ticket window visits. At Magic Pass ski areas, skiers will also discover small ski villages, with more reasonable lodging prices, and less tourists. Some of these ski areas have just surface lifts but others offer the most sophisticated lifts, gondolas and trams. You even get deals on ski tuning at local shops by showing your Magic Pass!
Outstanding Swiss Alps scenery and often cozy on-mountain chalets for lunch await at these ski areas, part of the Swiss alpine experience. Here, you will not be elbowing crowds for first tracks but if you are lucky enough to catch a powder day, you can often enjoy lap after lap of fresh untouched snow!
Villars/Gryon/Les Diablerets is a cool ski area – actually more like three interconnected – with25 lifts and 84 km of prepared slopes between the elevations of 1224 and 2120 meters. A short bus ride from Villars/Gryon is Diablerets Glacier 3000, offering high alpine Glacier skiing with fantastic Swiss Alps views, near Gstaad.
Les Marécottes – Salvan offers a really fun day of skiing, up a crazy road above the village of Martigny, the ski area has 3 lifts and an impressive 2220-meters of vertical. From the highest elevation of 7,300’ you can ski 25 kilometers of prepared slopes. From here, it is just 40 minutes to Ovronnaz across the valley – another smaller Magic Pass ski resort with 8 lifts and 30 kilometers of skiing.
Anzère is a purpose-built ski area with 11 mostly-modern ski lifts accessing 58 kilometers of ski terrain up to 2500 meters (8,200′). With a high plateau reached by gondola, all levels of skiers can enjoy summit skiing. The ski resort has spectacular views of the surrounding Alps, Crans Montana and across the valley to Les 4 Vallees. On mountain chalets serve traditional local Swiss cuisine in cozy settings. Anzere’s south-facign slopes are scenic and super fun witth interesting undulations and character. In Anzere village, the Eden Resort Anzère is a nice alpine mountain property with onsite dining, steps to the ski lifts.
Belalp is a great high elevation ski resort, south-facing with stunning views of numerous 4000+ meter peaks. Consider staying up on mountain here, arrive by gondola at Belalps’ Hamilton Lodge, for the ultimate alpine getaway, first on the slopes, watch the groomers at night and admire the stars from your exclusive, lofty spot!
Grimentz/Zinal is large with mostly north facing slopes on two mountains, in one of the most authentically charming ski villages in Switzerland. The mountain town of Grimentz sits high at 1500 meters, 5,095′, with wood chalets that date to the 1500s. Summit skiing elevation reaches 2880 meters, 9,448′, featuring the most amazing views of the Weisshorn (4th highest summit in Europe at 4506 m), the majestic Matterhorn (4478 m) and Dent Blanche (4357 m), and the Moiry Glacier and Dam. Grimentz connects via a massive Cable Car to neighboring Zinal to complete the expansive ski area of 115 kilometers of prepared pistes.
Vercorin ski area can be reached on skis from Grimentz (off-piste with a guide). Vericorn has a long new gondola up to a high plateau where a few surface lifts and a new quad serve a few fun trails, 35 kilometers of slopes up to 7,788’. There’s actually 3,392’ vert of skiing when you take one of three trails all the way to the gondi base, so not so small at all!
Leukerbad is a famed Swiss spa village known for its natural hot springs. On one side of Leukerbad village, you can ski Torrent Alpine Ski Area. Across town, ride the Cable car to Gemmi Plateau and Snowpark Sportarena which hosts over 50 kilometers of high alpine XC trails and winter hiking, snowshoe trails around Lake Daubensee and views of twenty 4000-meter peaks in the surrounding Valais and the Rhone Valley. Leukerbad’s alpine village has great dining and lodging. We loved staying at the alpine chalet Hotel Waldhaus with is great views, fine dining, après and skiing directly back to our door. Nearby is another great ski resort, Lauchernalp in the spectacular Lotschental Valley.
Nax Tele Mont Noble is another Magic Pass gem of a ski area offering 4 lifts and 35 kilometers of prepared slopes, up to 2672 meters (and 3,845’ vert of skiing) on Tele Mont-Noble. We loved our ski day at Mont Noble, enjoying the well prepared pistes, and exploring a few fun undulating powder fields next to the trails. With its big mountain skiing, lack of crowds, low key vibe and almost limitless off-piste opportunities this was my husband’s favorite Magic Pass ski area!
Espace Dent-Blanche is a valley just west of 4 Vallees offering 3 Magic Pass ski areas: Arolla, Evolene and La Forclaz. La Forclaz offers 3 surface lifts with skiing from 1700 – 2204 meters. Evolene sports 1 chairlift and 3 surface lifts for 42 km of prepared pistes between 1407-2680 meters of elevation. At the top of the valley, Arolla offers skiing from 2000 – 3000 meters with 5 rustic poma lifts and 47km of prepared pistes. Arolla is great if you want to break away from the crowds… at an elevation of 2000M at the top of the Val d’Hérens, you will discover this village and the charming Hotel du Pigne with its 12 modern, spacious and comfortable rooms offering a warm family atmosphere with fabulous dining. Grand Hôtel & Kurhaus is a wonderfully historic Swiss hotel near the base of Arolla with traditional rooms, delicious cuisine, a friendly team, and an old-world grandeur.
Rosswald offers 2,352′ vertical feet of skiing from 1819 – 2536 meters. Located above the village of Brig, on the way to Saas Fee, Rosswald includes a Gondola and 3 T Bars.
Gampel-Jeizinen ski region has a Cable Car to a Chairlift and 2 T-Bars serving 2,200’ vertical, with south-facing slopes up to 2200 meters (7,874 ft) near Leukerbad and Lauchernalp.
Saas-Fee and Saas-Almagell are Magic Pass ski areas, located one valley over from Zermatt. Saas-Fee is a charming car-free alpine village with skiing from 1800 – 3500M, glacier skiing reached by cool lifts with a panoramic rotating summit restaurant. Saas-Grund in the same beautiful Saas valley is not on the Magic Pass. Find a ski hotel near Saas Fee, Saas Almagell, and Saas Grund.
In Italy, San Domenico is a fantastic ski resort, just a tunnel away Brigg to Iselle, an hour, from the Swiss Alps also on the Magic Pass. We love skiing “Sando” as the locals call, staying at Hotel La Vetta. San Domenico is worth several days skiing, enjoying the Dolce Vita, be sure to wear a ski helmet, its the law now at Italian ski resorts.
In France, Le Grand Bornand is a fun big-little ski area, with 24 lifts, and 80 kilometers of skiing, just an hour from Geneva, a great place to ski on arrival day, near the beautiful French village of Annecy. Praz de Lys Sommand is another wonderful small-ish French ski area we loved skiing, just an hour from Geneva, great for arrival day skiing with spectacular views of Mont Blanc and nearby Portes Du Soleil. The Magic Pass now has nine small French ski resorts on its pass
Many Magic Pass resorts are close to Geneva (GVA), 1- 2.5 hours drive, and most are reachable by Swiss public transport – buses and trains. Early-bird (by early April) Magic Passes start at 450CHF, prices then rise to the full price over 900CHF by winter. The Magic Pass includes additional passholder benefits like access to resort pools & natural spas.
The Magic Pass in Switzerland could be your ticket to ski and ride 1,375 kilometers of slopes, including 2 glaciers, 19 terrain parks, 2 panoramic rotating restaurants, and to ski to countless ski chalets and mountain huts for a hot toddy, coffee, lunch and après ski.
See more on Top Swiss Ski Resorts for Family Skiing and Top Swiss Ski Hotels
