Davos Snowboarding Guide: Parks, Pistes & Lift Passes

What Davos Offers Snowboarders: Six Areas, 300 km of Pistes and 57 Lifts

The Davos Klosters ski region is made up of six mountain areas: Jakobshorn, Parsenn, Madrisa, Rinerhorn, Schatzalp and Pischa. Together they cover roughly 300 kilometres of piste served by 57 transport systems, which is why the valley works for a mixed group where some people want park laps and others want long groomed runs.

The allocation of terrain is clear enough to plan around. Jakobshorn is the freestyle mountain, Parsenn is the classic cruising and long-run area, Madrisa and Rinerhorn are the family-friendly mountains, Schatzalp is the relaxed, quieter option and Pischa is the freeride mountain. A snowboard trip usually starts on Jakobshorn and adds Parsenn for variety.

Do not be thrown by the numbering: the resort's own live-information pages talk about slopes across five ski areas within the Davos Klosters Mountains network, while the destination site counts six. In practice Schatzalp sits slightly apart and is sold separately, which explains most of the confusion. The Davos Ski Map and Piste Plans are worth studying before you decide where to spend each day.

Jakobshorn: The Freestyle Mountain and Why It Suits Boarders First

If you are boarding in Davos for the first time, start at Jakobshorn. The mountain has decades of snowboard culture behind it, from early lift access for boarders to a long-running park, and the terrain is compact enough that you can loop the same lifts without wasting the morning navigating. The summit Jatzhütte is the natural meeting point at the end of a run.

The mountain's reputation was built deliberately. Davos hosted one of the first Snowboard World Championships in 1995, and snowboarding on the Jakobshorn goes back to the 1980s when the community gathered there while other resorts kept boards off their lifts. That heritage shows in the layout: park, lifts and mountain restaurants sit close together rather than being strung across a huge area.

Evenings have their own gravity. Bolgenschanze below the mountain has long been the boarder's bar and club, and the resort's freestyle page suggests pairing a Jakobshorn base with accommodation close to the lifts if you plan to ride late and stay out afterwards.

JatzPark in Detail: Altitude, Season, Daily Shaping and the Four Lines

JatzPark sits below the Jatzhütte and runs parallel to the short Jatz Junior drag lift, which makes laps quick and keeps the park separate from through-traffic. The resort describes four lines catering to every level, shaped and maintained daily by a dedicated park crew. That daily shaping matters more than the headline features when you are deciding whether to spend a whole morning there.

The layout is simple to read once you are on the snow. To the left of the Jatz Junior lift is the beginner line with waves and boxes for first tricks. To the right sit medium and harder rail lines, an easier rail and box line next to them, the medium kicker line for progressive jumps, and the pro line finishing over Big Berta, the park's largest kicker.

Altitude figures published for the park differ: the mountains site puts it at 2,500 metres, while the destination site cites 2,300 metres with modern snowmaking. Either way, the park opens early and runs late in the winter, and the resort advertises it as open daily during winter operation. Give the park a full day rather than an hour if you are learning or filming.

One caution from older resort pages: a floodlit halfpipe at Bolgen was listed as unavailable in winter 2020/21, and current pages focus on JatzPark rather than a halfpipe. Treat the park as the reliable freestyle offer and check the live status pages for what is running during your week.

Parsenn: Long Cruising Runs and the Ski and Boardercross Course

Parsenn is where you go when you want distance rather than a park lap. It is the classic Davos Klosters area, linked with Klosters via the Gotschna side, and it gives boarders long groomed descents that reward confident edge control. A boarder who finds JatzPark crowded can spend an entire day here without repeating a run.

At the outer edge of the Totalpiste there is a ski and boardercross course built with waves, jumps and banked turns, and up to four riders can start together. The Swiss Ski Cross National Team uses Parsenn and Gotschna for winter training, so you may catch athletes on the course. It is a good middle ground between park riding and plain cruising.

Madrisa and Rinerhorn: The Family-Friendly Mountains for Newer Boarders

Newer boarders should look at Madrisa and Rinerhorn rather than starting on Jakobshorn's park. Both are described by the resort as family-friendly, which in practice means gentler pitches, a calmer pace and less pressure from fast traffic. They are a sensible choice for a first two or three days before moving up.

Book lessons before you travel if you want a structured start, and check that the school's meeting point matches the mountain you are basing yourself on. Group formats and booking checks are covered in the Davos ski lessons guide, and hiring rather than shipping your own board is easy to arrange through Davos ski hire.

Schatzalp and Pischa: What They Add, and the Schatzalp Pass Exclusion

Schatzalp is the relaxed area above Davos town, reached by its own funicular and known for a quieter, slower pace. The critical detail for pass planning is that standard Davos Klosters ski passes are not valid there, so a day on Schatzalp needs a separate ticket. Check that before you assume your multi-day pass covers every lift in the valley.

Pischa is the freeride mountain, with open terrain rather than a park or a dense groomed network. It suits strong riders with avalanche awareness and the right equipment, and it is not where a first-week boarder should head. Treat it as an add-on for a day when conditions and your group's experience both support it, and check the avalanche report first.

Lift Passes: Day Passes, Regional Passes of 1–21 Days and the Parsenn–Jakobshorn Ticket

Tickets are sold in layers. There are one- and two-day ski passes for individual mountains including Parsenn and Jakobshorn, Rinerhorn, Pischa and Madrisa, plus a regional pass valid across all winter sports areas of the Davos Klosters Mountains for 1 to 21 days. Any ski pass valid for more than three days is issued automatically as a regional pass.

There is also a combined Parsenn and Jakobshorn ticket presented as one ticket for two mountains, useful if you want the park and the long cruisers without paying for the whole region. Flexible multi-day tickets and special 3-out-of-5 or 5-out-of-7 products exist for people who want rest days or a mix of ski days and town time.

Prices are published as low-season and high-season PDF price lists rather than fixed figures here, all in Swiss francs and including 8.1% VAT. Check the current list on the official ticket page for your dates, and note that tickets do not cover every evening event such as night sledging or night skiing.

How to Choose Between a Single-Mountain Pass and the Regional Pass

A simple rule works for most trips. If you are in Davos for two or three days and your plan is Jakobshorn park laps with one day on Parsenn, take the single-mountain or combined ticket. If you are staying four days or more and want to try Madrisa, Rinerhorn and Pischa as well, the regional pass is the better fit, and multi-day tickets convert to it automatically.

Two traps are worth knowing. First, Schatzalp is excluded, so budget a separate ticket if you want that day. Second, the pass is a lift product, not a lessons or rental product, so pair it with your school and hire bookings as separate purchases. The Davos Ski pass guide compares the products in more detail if you are weighing day-by-day purchases against a longer pass.

Season Timing: Mid-November to Mid-April and What It Means for a Park Trip

The Davos Klosters Mountains winter season runs from mid-November to mid-April, with exact opening hours published per lift. For a park-focused trip, aim for the middle of that window when JatzPark is fully built and the snowmaking is supporting the lines. Early-season and late-season trips are better for cruising than for a park holiday.

Before booking, use the live information pages to check which lifts and slopes are open, and look at the webcams and snow report for the week you have in mind. If you are travelling specifically for the park, confirm JatzPark is open and shaped before you commit to accommodation.

Where to Stay: Davos Town Versus the Jakobshorn Side

Basing yourself in Davos town gives you the widest choice of hotels, restaurants and evening options, plus easy access to the bus network that links the valley's mountains. Staying close to the Jakobshorn lifts shortens your morning, but you will rely on the bus or a walk for the other mountains. Accommodation near the Jakobshorn is also marketed specifically at freestylers.

A practical split for a week is to stay in town and treat Jakobshorn as your default morning mountain, then switch to Parsenn or Madrisa on days when the park is busy or the weather is better elsewhere. That flexibility is the main argument for the regional pass and for a central base.

Getting There and Getting Around the Valley

Davos sits in the Graubünden Alps and is reached by train from Zurich via Landquart, with onward connections up the valley. Once there, buses and the mountain railways connect town with the Jakobshorn, Parsenn, Madrisa and Schatzalp access points, and Schatzalp has its own funicular from town.

For day-to-day planning, keep the live slope map and parking overview open on your phone to see what is running and where to leave a car. If you are driving, check the parking situation before you set out in the morning. If you are on the train, plan around the valley bus timetable rather than expecting to walk between mountains.

What to Book Before You Travel

Book your pass product first, because the choice between single-mountain, combined and regional tickets determines what you can do each day. Then book lessons and hire if you need them, and check meeting points against the mountain you are actually riding. Finally, check the live status and season dates for your week before you lock in accommodation.

If you are comparing Davos with other Graubünden options, the Arosa snowboarding guide covers the neighbouring valley's park and ticket structure. For a wider view of Davos beyond boarding, the Davos Skiing Guide covers all six areas and the family and cruising terrain in more depth.

Plan Your Snowboarding Trip to Davos

Davos rewards boarders who plan around the Jakobshorn and then decide how much variety they want. The JatzPark lines, the Parsenn cross course and the family mountains at Madrisa and Rinerhorn give genuinely different days, and the pass structure lets you pay for only as much of that as you will use.

Check the official season dates, live lift status and current ticket list before you book, and keep Schatzalp as a separate day rather than assuming it is included. With those details settled, the valley's snowboard culture does the rest.