Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria
This is one of the top destinations for cross-country skiers as it has 220km of trails, and elevations from 1100 to 2700m with varying levels of difficulty. The high-alpine, year-round ski area on the Dachstein glacier (2700m) features four different lifts and up to 18km of tracked glacier XC trails that serve, in autumn especially, as a training centre for Nordic sports teams, and also hosts the Dachstein Sky Walk, the Ice Palace, a suspension footbridge, along with many other unique attractions.
Getting to Ramsau am Dachstein by Air
The nearest airports are:
- Salzburg (90 km)
- Graz (179 km)
- Linz (155 km)
- Vienna (299 km)
- Munich (259 km)
Bus Connections to Ramsau
There are regular services via Flixbus:
Further transport options here:
Train connections to Ramsau
Direct train connections from Salzburg station to Schladming or via Bischofshofen, bookable through the OBB website.
Ski bus information
Buses run up and down the valley and you will fine the online bus timetable here.
Cross Country ski map of Ramsau
Cross Country ski map of the Ramsau stadium
Cross Country Ski Tracks Pricing
Ski Track Conditions
Information on open trails and track information.
Since winter 2013, Ramsau has been actively snow farming. A large snow hill is created at the end of winter and covered with wood chips. That way, the leftover snow can be sustainably reused for an early start to the cross-country training season. The Availability of snow and additional snow making enables the World Cup tracks to be available, and the first tracks are open from early November.
Ramsau Cross Country Ski Routes
There are large maps and sign posts at intersections along the routes. These are numbered numerically, e.g. F1, Q, V etc and are more easily seen on the paper map as a way of navigating a route rather than the circled numbers shown below for various tracks.
You can check on track conditions and open trails here.
Web Cam at the Ski Stadium
Cafes on Cross Country Routes
Places to eat are shown on the map as huts, and are a mixture of cafes, hotels etc. They are not open every day but your hotel or tourist office should have information on closed days.
Where to Stay in Ramsau am Dachstein
There are many choices of accommodation in Ramsau but our preferred choice is -
Ferienhotel Knollhof
Ramsau 71
8972 Ramsau am Dachstein
Email - office@knollhof.at
www.facebook.com/ferienhotelknollhof
Thomas Walcher at the Ferienhotel runs the perfect place for cross country skiers to stay. It is located just in front of the Bergkristall ski lift, but don't let that put you off. It is a beginner slope and tends to be used by small children looking like penguins as they find their ski feet!
The cross country ski trail starts right there too on the Sonnenloipe (Sun) Route 1 (yellow circle) which runs left and right across the valley. In fact you can ski direct to everywhere right from the hotel and also a track that leads to the stadium.
The Ferienhotel has a good ski room for your ski storage and waxing, although you might want to bring a clamp or two to supplement the 1 profile that is there. It's a big enough area with seats where you can put your boots on and plenty of plug sockets.
Room rates are very competitive and the hotel offer half board. They do have a lunch time menu if you are around the hotel at that time, or want to pop back to swap skis, with an excellent pizza choice as well as lots of other options.
The breakfast buffet will keep you fuelled for the day, and there is a lovely selection of cakes at afternoon tea to keep you going before the three/four course dinner in the evening.
It would be hard to find another hotel as friendly as the Ferienhotel that also offers the easiest access onto the løipe to be able to ski straight from the hotel to anywhere in the Ramaus area.
Here is a video of a group warming up for their day's cross country ski training.
Buy your winter card at the hotel and to get a discount on the cross country ski track rates, as well as local attractions.
Cross Country Ski Rental/Retailers
There are three Ski-Willy outlets in Ramsau just to confuse you, so we nicknamed them Little, Bigger and Biggest. You can pre-book your equipment, but make sure you know which one you are picking the kit up from.
- Ski (Little) Willy - Nordic test centre at the langlauf stadium - Open in season
- Ski (Bigger) Willy (Sport 2000) - Nr. 259, Ramsau-Ort, West 259, 8972 Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria, +43 (0)3687 81 000-50. Open Monday to Friday 09.00 - 12.00 and 15.00 - 18.00, Saturday 09.00 - 12.00. Sundays and Holidays - Closed.
- Ski-Willy, Ramsau Schildlehen +43 (0)3687 81 000 Open Monday to Saturday 08:30 - 18:00, Sunday: 09:00 - 17:00
It does depend when you arrive as to which shop is best to hire from.
Little Willy does not hold a massive amount of stock, but it is very handy as it's situated in the stadium.
The Bigger Willy has a reasonable choice if not arriving on a Sunday and is also close to the stadium if you get trouble with bindings etc. It is situation on the right hand side of main road as you drive in from the Salzburg side.
The Biggest Willy is a 10 minute walk back down the road as you enter Ramsau from the Salzburg side. It's not as convenient to pick kit up from here, but they do have the largest selection. If you are staying at the Hotel Knollhof you can ski directly from the hotel to this store and you will find they have some good sale bargains.
There is also an Intersport almost directly opposite the Bigger Sport 2000 Willy on the main road through Ramsau.
Supermarket
There is a large supermarket in Billa which is about a 10 minute walk along the main road through the centre of Ramsau. You can also reach this by skiing route 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 from the station East to Billa at the end of the day to stock up on provisions.
Cross Country Ski Races
The Dachsteinlauf is a Euroloppet race and takes place in the 2nd weekend of January each year.
The 10km races is especially suitable as a first race as the route is not technical.
The new 5km Genusslauf 'Culinary Run' is on Saturday afternoon where the emphasis is not on time and competition, but a focus on tasting local foods at refreshment stations.
https://www.schladming-dachstein.at/en/event/top-events/dachsteinlauf
10K Classic race
10K Classic profile
30K classic race
30K classic profile
Tour companies who feature Ramsau
LRNSC have a club trip to Ramsau with tuition and participation in the Tour de Ramsau races in January 2023. Click on the logo above to find out more information.
And take a look at the video produced in a previous trip to Ramsau to give you a flavour.
Tourist Office | Resort Information | X | Facebook
The Ramsau Travel Information, is located at - Ramsau 372, 8972 Ramsau am Dachstein
Tel. +43 3687 818338