Sledding Bergün Switzerland: Part picturesque, part terrifying. Everything you need to know
By Oriana Pauli ∘ Posted 22nd March, 2025 ∘
Zoom underneath viaducts in a UNESCO world heritage listed area….or fly down mountains at speeds faster than you thought possible.
Whatever you want from sledding, Bergün has it.
Essential Information
Where: Bergün is in Graubünden, eastern Switzerland
When: Late December – Middle of March
Distance: The Preda-Bergün sled run is 6 km (Most picturesque)
The Darlux-Bergün sled run is 4.5 km (Most terrifying)
Difficulty: Preda run is easy, winding route. Darlux run is steep and terrifying.
Cost : Full price for day pass is 39 chf for adult, 19.50 for kids. It’s cheaper with the GA and Halb-tax.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 9:30 to 23:00, Mon 9.30 to 17:00
Why do it? It’s stunning! and has something for all sledding abilities.
Where is Bergün? How do I get there?
Bergün (also known as Bravuogn) is a pretty little mountain village in Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. It’s the starting point for two sled runs: Preda to Bergün and Darlux to Bergün.
Zürich to Bergün is 2 hours by car or 2 hours 30 min by train. Luzern to Bergün is 2 hours 20 min by car or 3 hours 40 min by train.
How to get to the 2 sled runs from Bergün
To get to Preda you catch a train from Bergün train station, which takes 19 minutes. Preda is NOT accessible by car.
To get to Darlux, you take a chairlift, which takes about 10 minutes. The Darlux chairlift is at the end of the Preda to Bergün sled run.
You have to walk about 10-15 minutes through the village of Bergün to get back to the train station (after you’ve finished with either sled run).
One thing to be aware of is the train timetable to Preda. It runs either every hour or every half hour, depending on when you go.
Price & Tickets
You can get a sledding Bergün day pass which includes the Bergün to Preda train ride, the Bergün to Darlux chair lift and the entrance fees for both sled runs for 42 chf for adult, 21 chf for kids over 6 years (as of 2024).
It’s cheaper with the GA and Halb-tax, there are discounts for groups and also options for cheaper rail tickets with SBB with the day pass too.
There are other ticket options, like single passes if you only want to sled once. I reckon the day pass is the best option though. Between sledding as many times as you want, walking, catching trains and lunch breaks, you’ll easily fill the day.
Renting sleds
You can rent sleds in the Bergün village center, at the train station in Bergün or at Preda (they make it pretty easy for you!). You can return the sleds in Bergün.
There are two rental companies Schlittel Bahnorama and Club-99. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose, they both do the same thing, with similar prices. If you book online, you can get a discount of 15%.
There a bunch of different types of sleds to choose from, ranging from 16 chf to 32chf (the more expensive ones go faster, apparently).
Whatever you do, if you don’t want your bum to be bruised every time you fly over a bump, take one of the material sleds, not the one with wooden slats. This was my first time trying one of the softer material sleds and it was so much better!
It was also our first time trying a double sled, for two people. Most of the time parents use these with one of their kids, but we didn’t know that. It looks small, but it fit both of us adults and the bonus is the combined weight makes you go faster than everyone else.
Bergün Sledding Tips
- Check the snow conditions. We went on a sunny Saturday in the middle of March, at the end of the sledding season, so the sled runs were icy, slushy and even completely melted away in a couple of parts of the Preda run. We still had fun and I’d do it again, but if this is a problem for you go earlier in the season.
- Go with two people on a sled! Heavier = Faster. This is especially advisable if it’s slushy. There were a few times at the beginning of the Preda run when we were able to sled where others had to stop and walk because of the slush.
- If you do go when it’s icy, consider getting stick on metal studs for the bottom of your shoes. They’re available at the sled rental places and they’ll help you brake on the ice…otherwise it’s almost impossible (We didn’t have them and walked most of the way down from Darlux because it was so scary)
- My best tip is to walk from Preda up to Lai (Lake) da Palpuogna, after you’ve done both sled runs a few times. It’s a pretty walk up the snow covered road through a forest, and you can sled all the way back down to Preda. Nobody else did this and I don’t know why. It was a highlight for us! Pretty special to have the road all to ourselves too, the whole way down- it’s a nice escape from all the people too.
- Consider the best time to go. Preda-Bergün is popular, so if you don’t like crowds go on a weekday if you can, or end of the season and avoid the holidays.
- Lots of people wear helmets, so consider renting or bringing one with you. If you’re sledding at night, a head lamp is useful for the darker parts of the run.
- Wear proper shoes that are water proof. It’s miserable having wet feet the whole day.
- There are free public bathrooms at the Bergün train station and also on the train.
- Take some time to admire Bergün! It’s beautiful, with decorated houses typical of Graubünden.
Our experience: Sledding to Bergün
- Sledding down from Preda- the picturesque part!
I think you go under over four of the viaduct bridges, not to mention the alpine landscape and your view of Bergün as you descend.
The sled run is a road, which closes in winter so it’s nice and wide- good for passing people. For me it was the perfect amount of steepness, so it didn’t go terrifying fast, just fun fast.
2. Sledding Walking down from Darlux- the terrifying part!
We only came across 1 or 2 other people on the Darlux to Bergün sled run and we soon found out why. The reason? The whole run was so icy and steep that the only way we could brake was by falling off.
There were tight curves too, plus steep drop offs. Even my Swiss husband was scared trying not to drift too much on the curves and not being able to slow down when we needed to. This was where being two on a sled was definitely not ideal!
It felt like ice skating with a sled, downhill…disaster.
After falling off a few times (I ended up with some of the most impressive bruises of my life after this- massive dark purple prints) I was done and decided to walk down. It was even scary walking down, because I kept sliding on the ice.
Needless to say we only did this once. I reckon it would’ve been fine if there was proper snow there though- then you can actually brake properly. I would try it again in better conditions.
3. Sledding from Lai da Palpuogna to Preda
It’s only 2.2 km walk from Preda to Lai da Palpuogna, takes about 35-45 minutes. It’s an easy walk. It was quiet when we went and the one place where we finally saw decent snow. We had the whole road to ourselves, up and down (with the sled).
Apparently Lai da Palpuogna, an alpine lake, has been named one of the most beautiful places in Switzerland. We couldn’t see the lake because it was covered in snow, but it was still beautiful.
The best part was sledding down again though! Definitely recommend if you want an escape from the crowds at Preda.
4. Admiring the beautiful village of Bergün
Last but not least, we took some time to admire Bergün. I have found the villages in Graubünden to be some of the most characteristic in Switzerland. I loved the decorated houses- it’s worth a stroll.
Hope this guide to sledding in Bergün was useful! If you’re looking for more adventures in Switzerland, check out this post I wrote:
7 Crazy Things to do in Switzerland
Oriana
Oriana was born in Zürich and is currently living in Basel, in northern Switzerland.
This travel blog is is her newest project with her twin sister. Their mission is to give everyone the confidence to travel Switzerland with ease.