Prättigauer Höhenweg
Description
After the Postbus ride to St. Antönien, the adventure begins with the asphalt ascent up to the Bergli - the striking hut near the avalanche barriers, which attracts attention from far below. There are 700 vertical meters to conquer here.
The road ends at the hut and the route turns into a single trail. The route continues uphill to the picturesque mountain lake. The trail is well developed and, with a bit of muscle power, quite rideable. After the lake, you roll along a wonderful high-level trail, always along the mountain flank, to the Garschina hut. The imposing building at the foot of the Sulzfluh is visible from afar and magically attracts the eye.
Just below the Garschina hut, the Prättigauer Höhenweg begins - a super trail directly below the striking rock towers. Here you feel like you've been transported to the Dolomites! The S2 trail with regular S3 sections rides to just below the Schweizertor. The official mountain bike route branches off to the left here. But after the first few meters of trail, this would mean rolling almost entirely on gravel roads back into the main valley. No thanks!
Instead, we tackle the ascent to Golrosa. Depending on the weather, this route shows a different side. After an initial stretch of sliding, the path can be ridden reasonably well in dry conditions and without damage from the alpine cattle. However, cattle and cows often damage the path, especially in summer, making it very difficult to ride. From the foot of the ascent at Schweizertor to Golrosa is a 200-metre climb - the somewhat strenuous part of the Prättigauer Höhenweg.
After Golrosa, things become smoother again. Now the Schesaplana forms the rocky backdrop. The trail is often really fun until some tricky sections take the flow away again. It wouldn't actually take much effort to make the trail considerably more fluid. The wild landscape is magnificent! This is how you reach the Schesaplana hut and thus the start of the long final descent to Grüsch.
The first phase of the descent leads along a trail that is easy to ride and becomes much more challenging after crossing a gravel road. In S3 mode with individual S4 sections, you wind through the forest and finally reach the wide gravel road far below, which leads down to Seewis. This somewhat monotonous section is unavoidable, as there are no trail options as far as Seewis. But the final section is once again really fast and fun! The speedy S1 trail down to Grüsch is a worthy crowning glory and once again delivers the finest alpine trail feeling at the foot of the Grüsch castle ruins.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
40 km
1180 m
1970 m
631 above sea level
2235 above sea level
1 day
St. Antönien
Grüsch
3618
well suited
More information
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User comments (4)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
It started off so well. We hiked the trail on July 21, 2026, in perfect weather. The ascent from St. Antönien is pleasant and follows a gentle incline through picturesque hamlets and fields. From Bärgli (as far as the small post bus goes), the paved road ends, and a well-maintained hiking trail leads gently uphill to the Carschina Hut. The hut has been beautifully renovated and is more than worth a stop. From the hut, the Prättigau High Trail is a highlight—easily rideable with a few technical challenges, you’ll roll through the picturesque landscape toward Schweizertor. I’d cut the tour short right there and ride down into the valley on the original route. You can ride at a gradient of about 5 to 10 percent all the way to Galrosa. The rest: washed out and completely trampled by livestock. So, carrying the bike was the order of the day. Even after Galrosa, the trail is unfortunately often very deeply eroded and has many sections that force you to push or carry your bike. As a result, the ride to the Schesaplana Hut feels like a pure hiking experience, and opportunities for flow are extremely rare. The descent from Schesaplana does have a short, crisp, and fun section after a flowing intro —but the joy is short-lived, and soon enough, starting at point 1324, you find yourself on a wide gravel road that then leads over six kilometers and 400 meters of descent to Seewis. Long story short—in my opinion, the descent from Schesaplana isn’t worth the hassle of the section from Schweizertor to the Schesaplana Hut. Still, it’s a beautiful experience thanks to the scenery and the two huts serving as excellent rest stops—but next time, I’d do it in hiking boots.
In short: it’s really great up to the Schweizer Tor, but unfortunately a letdown after that. The only reason to struggle your way up to Schesaplana—pushing your bike more than riding it—only to end up covering most of the elevation gain on forest trails, must be the panoramic view of Schesaplana. It probably makes more sense to head down into the valley at the Schweizer Tor and skip the second part.
Habe diese Tour in eine 2-Tagesunternehmung eingebaut. Am ersten Tag bin ich von Tschagguns im Montafon via Tilisunaalpe zum Grubenpass und von dort runter zum Partnunsee. Der Trail ist sehr fordernd- verblocktes S3 mit S4 Stellen. Aber guter Einstand zu dem was noch folgen sollte.
Übernachtung im Berggasthaus Sulzfluh, exzellent geführt und sehr zu empfehlen.
An Tag 2 dann hoch zur Carschinahütte und Einstieg in den Höhenweg. Bis zum Schweizertor super schön zu fahren in 1A Panorama. Der Aufstieg nach Golrosa ist dann sehr zäh und mit Biobike beinahe durchgehend zu schieben. Die weitere Passage bis Schesaplanahütte wird dann wieder etwas flüssiger. Aufgrund der dauernden Gegenanstiege und immer wieder kurzen, stark verblockten Stellen aber insgesamt immer noch sehr „unrund“ zu fahren. Nach dem furiosen Einstieg war das dann irgendwann einfach zu viel an Höhenweg. Schade, dass es zwischendrin keinen schönen Trail runter gibt.
Bei Seewis bin ich dann noch zum Fadärastein, netter Trail aber dann doch eher wieder zu einfach (kurz S3, dann S1)
Vom Erlebnis- und Landschaftsfaktor eine Top-Tour. Trailtechnisch aber eher so lala, und selbst dafür sollte man S3 gut beherrschen.
Allegra, cycling enthusiasts near and far! Let's stick with the keyword "far." I cycled this tour decades ago, when basically no one had ever thought of taking this route on two wheels. (To my amazement at the time, I encountered a fellow cyclist with a hardtail shortly before the Swiss gate... He was also very sweaty and grinning mischievously.) But let's stick to the trail. Instead of Schiers – how boring – or the Scesaplana hut – well, would still be possible – I turned sharply right at the top of Golrosa, circled via Fürggli to Gafalljoch, then down a delightful trail to Lünersee, with my pulse at 176 up to Lüner Krinne, on a steep climb towards Alpe Lün and on to the entrance to Rellstal. There you have to make a decision. Because there's a no-bikes sign on the right-hand side of the road. Obedient bikers naturally push their beloved bikes out to Vandans, which is a bit of a drag... Far-sighted anarchists, on the other hand, spot a manageable single trail to the right of the Rellsbach. And it was – at least back then – at least as deserted as the classic Prättigauer. There are a few extra meters of elevation to cover, but these are more than offset by the dopamine rush in Montafon below. Erich Schmuckli's biking buddy and former Ride subscriber Sigi Scherrer