Mountain Layout — Skiing

Here is a larger, more detailed map.

Here is the interactive trail map.

Garmisch offers nearly 75 miles of runs, but the rugged Alpine landscape prevents any sort of continuous ski circuit between the seven different trail systems. There are two large areas. One is on the high slopes of the Zugspitze plateau and the other is the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Classic Area at Hausberg, Kreuzeck and Osterfelder with its famous World Cup runs.

The Zugspitze plateau is reached by taking the cogwheel train or the cable car from Lake Eibsee in Grainau, a neighbor village of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The train is more direct; the cable car more scenic. Skiing here is at its best in early November and December, and in spring—April and May—when other resorts are closing. Best of the trails is the two-mile run from the Schneefernerkopf at 9,427 feet.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosted the Winter Olympics in 1936, and its facilities are well maintained. The World Cup runs on the Kreuzeck and the neighboring Hausberg provide several difficult turns, but overall it’s perfect terrain for intermediates.

Our favorite runs are from the Osterfelderkopf. From here you can make the only real skiing circuit in Garmisch, linking up with lifts from the Hausberg below.

For Zugspitze fans there is a new six-seater chair to the glacier at 9,186 feet. A tunnel from the cog railway eliminates walking and climbing, and allows direct access to the slopes. During the past years, the resort has established many new and more difficult trails on the Zugspitze. According to locals, the plateau is now great for all levels of skiers rather than only intermediates and beginners.

For another ski adventure and often shorter lift lines, take the border highway past Grainau into Austria. On the other side of the Zugspitze, less than a 30-minute drive away, you can try the slopes of Ehrwald. When Garmisch-Partenkirchen’s weather is bad, the sun will sometimes be shining here. Neighboring Lermoos and Biberwier, in Austria, are popular with local skiers.

Lermoos has a great skiers’ mountain. A gondola, then a high-speed quad take skiers up to a surprising wonderland perfect for intermediates. A section of the mountain called “the gumdrops” is dotted with small mounds of snow that form over bushes and provide a playground for snowboarders and kids of all ages. A day here is a must for anyone in the area.

In the other direction, at Mittenwald, the Damkar run from the 7,822-foot Karwendel summit is challenging and the mountain panorama is superb.

Mountain rating
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is intermediate country but with new trails is becoming a good spot for advanced and expert skiers. The challenging parts of red runs might be considered black in other areas, the Zugspitze has added advanced terrain and the difficult World Cup sections on the Kreuzeck and Hausberg tests upper-level skiers.

The advanced beginner and intermediate will find it the place to be. Beginners could not come to a better place for outstanding ski instruction.

In nearby Austria, Lermoos has great intermediate trails and is a snowboarder heaven. Seefeld has mellower trails but offers a larger Austrian village atmosphere.

Garmisch has excellent cross-country trails. There are 29 km. of maintained trails in the area. Nearby Seefeld in Austria is considered by many to be the premier cross-country area in Europe. It was twice the site of Olympic competitions. Lermoos, Ehrwald and Biberwier also are connected with a 60-km. tracked cross-country network and linked with another 40 km. of trails in the surrounding region.