Lech:Skiing, lift passes and where to stay

What is Lech like?

Lech am Arlberg is a village on the Lech river in Vorarlberg, at 1,450 m. The tourist office traces it to Walser settlers from the Canton of Valais, who founded it as Tannberg am Lech, and dates the first settlement to some 700 years ago. Tourism arrived with the Flexen Pass road around 1900, and the skiing followed: Austria's first T-bar lift was built in neighbouring Zürs in 1937.

The village has kept its scale on purpose. The commune caps the number of guest beds in Lech Zürs at 10,000, and its tourist office calls its guiding principle "quality over quantity". Lech is the main village, with the church, the shops and the Lechwelten event hall, which opened in 2024. Above it, Oberlech sits on a sunny plateau at 1,750 m and has no cars from December to April. Zug lies up the Zugertal, and Zürs is the next village along the Flexen road.

It is also a gourmet village: two of its restaurants hold two Michelin stars each.

Lech suits you if you want a village rather than a resort, and lifts from the door into Austria's largest ski area.

Skiing in Lech

Lech's skiing is half of the Lech Zürs ski area, which in turn is the middle of Ski Arlberg. Ski Arlberg gives 300 km of pistes, more than 200 km of off-piste powder runs and 85 lifts between 1,300 m and 2,800 m, and calls itself Austria's largest ski area. Its figure for natural snowfall is an average of nine metres a season.

The lifts start in the village. The Rüfikopf cable car climbs to 2,350 m for the runs to Zürs and the Langer Zug, and the Schlegelkopf, Schlosskopf and Bergbahn Oberlech lifts also leave from the centre.

Lech ski area

The Lech Zürs half of the area is a loop. From the top of the Rüfikopf you ski to the Schüttboden lift and the Trittalp cable car in Zürs; from Zürs the Madloch takes you over to Zug, and the Zugerberg and the Balmengrat bring you back past the Kriegeralpe to Oberlech and Lech. That loop is Der Weisse Ring, 22 km and 5,500 vertical metres, signposted all the way round and joinable from almost any run. The lift company calls it a half-day circuit on easy and intermediate runs. A race on the circuit, Der Weisse Ring – The Race, is next held on 16 January 2027.

Two lifts link Lech Zürs with the rest of Ski Arlberg. The Flexenbahn gondola runs from Zürs to Rauz, for Stuben, St. Christoph and St. Anton, and the Auenfeldjet, a 2 km gondola, crosses the Auenfeld to Warth-Schröcken. Together they carry the RUN of FAME, an 85 km circuit from St. Anton through Zürs and Lech to Warth and back, on lifts and skis alone. Check the closing times of the two link lifts before you set off: after they shut, there is no way back on skis.

For steep ground, the Langer Zug starts at the Rüfikopf panorama restaurant. It is a 4.7 km ski route, groomed daily when the weather allows, with a gradient of 80% in its upper third, and it finishes at the Schlosskopf lift. For anything off the marked runs, the tourist office advises a ski guide, and the heliskiing flights to the Mehlsack or the Schneetäli come with one.

Lech piste map

Ski Arlberg publishes an interactive piste map with live lift, piste and restaurant information, and the Ski Arlberg app has a ski-navigation function. A Der Weisse Ring brochure is available at the ticket desks or to download.

Lech lift passes

Ski passes are sold for all of Ski Arlberg, from Lech and Zürs to St. Anton and Warth. For 2026/27, an adult day costs €85 and six days €468 in the main season, from 19 December 2026 to 2 April 2027. In the early-season Wedel weeks, from 2 to 18 December, and the late-season Sun weeks, from 3 to 18 April, a day costs €80.50 and six days €395. Children born between 2011 and 2018 pay €276 for six days in the main season.

Passes are on chip cards with a €5 deposit, which you get back when you return the card, and you can buy them in the Ski Arlberg webshop. Non-skiers can buy the Sunshine Subscription, seven days on selected lifts. Check the official price list before you buy.

Ski hire in Lech

The tourist office lists several rental shops. Strolz Ski Service is in the centre of Lech. Intersport Arlberg has a branch near the Schlosskopf and Oberlech lifts, in the Anthony's Alpin Hotel, and its Sporthaus Lech opposite the Schlegelkopf lift. The list also includes Sportalp rent a ski and Full Service.

Ski schools in Lech

Skischule Lech teaches skiing and snowboarding in groups and privately, and guides freeride days. Its children's courses, from age four, run Sunday to Friday from about 9:30 to 15:00 in its own Kinderland, with lunch taken with the instructors; its Pfiff Miniclub takes children from three, indoors and in a snow area by the Flühenlift.

Skischule Oberlech, founded in 1934, teaches in car-free Oberlech. Its children's groups start at three and a half, on three moving carpets in the Kinderland Oberlech, and end the week with a Friday race.

Where to stay in Lech

Lech village puts you next to the shops and the Rüfikopf, Schlegelkopf and Oberlech lifts. Oberlech, on its plateau among the slopes, is car-free from December to April: guests arrive by the Bergbahn Oberlech, and since 1997 a 1.7 km tunnel system has delivered supplies to the hotels underground. If you drive, you leave the car in the underground car park below the Lechwelten, at the foot of the cable car. Zug lies up the Zugertal, at the foot of the Zugerberg lift.

Lech hotels

Among the hotels the tourist office lists:

• Burg Vital Resort, in Oberlech, a five-star superior hotel with the two-Michelin-star Griggeler Stuba.
• Hotel Montana, in Oberlech, a four-star superior family hotel on the slopes, next to the ski school.
• Rote Wand Gourmet Hotel, in Zug, whose Chef's Table, in the village's old schoolhouse of 1780, holds two Michelin stars.
• Hotel Arlberg, home of La Fenice, which gained a Michelin star in 2026.

Chalets and apartments

For self-catering, the tourist office's accommodation search covers holiday apartments and chalets as well as hotels, and many family hosts list ski-in, ski-out access, playrooms and children's meals.

Lech for families

Lech Zürs has three children's areas, in Lech, Oberlech and Zürs, with moving carpets, figures to ski around and supervision. Both ski schools start lessons at three to four, and Skischule Oberlech's Children's Club takes children from two who are too young for the slopes. Ski Arlberg calls the Kriegerhorn above Oberlech its family mountain, and the area has a family park with small rails and boxes and a fun slope with waves and banked turns.

Off the pistes, the floodlit toboggan run from Oberlech to Lech is open every day until 21:00, with sledges for hire on site. The Schlosskopf cable car takes you to the Schottenhof, a farm of Scottish Highland cattle at 1,760 m, for a tour at feeding time.

Things to do in Lech

The Skyspace-Lech is a light installation by the American artist James Turrell, at 1,780 m in Oberlech. It is open every day, with light programmes of about 45 minutes at sunrise and sunset, and the tourist office runs guided tours with a shuttle. In the village, the Lech Museum at the Huber-Hus has a photography exhibition on the Arlberg until 11 April 2027, open Thursday to Sunday afternoons in winter.

Eating and drinking

Lech restaurants

The top tables are in the hotels. The Griggeler Stuba at the Burg Vital Resort and the Rote Wand Chef's Table in Zug each hold two Michelin stars, and La Fenice at the Hotel Arlberg, with its mountain-and-sea menus, has one. The Rote Wand Stube adds a Michelin Green Star for sustainability. For something simpler, the Schneggarei in the centre of Lech, on the piste, is a restaurant, pizzeria and après-ski bar with a sun terrace, open from 1 December 2026 to 18 April 2027.

On the mountain

The Rüfikopf panorama restaurant at 2,350 m looks over Lech, Zürs and Zug and holds a fondue evening on Fridays. The Schlegelkopf restaurant at the top of its lift, at 1,800 m, cooks for Lech's twin towns, Kampen on Sylt, Beaver Creek and Hakuba, so the menu runs to oysters, steaks and sushi. The Rud-Alpe, a former hay barn at 1,560 m on the Schlegelkopf piste, is known for pan dishes and barbecue, and Der Wolf sits between the Weibermahd and Petersboden lifts. Over in Zug, the Balmalp at the top of the Zugerberg has an outdoor bar at 2,100 m.

Lech in summer

In summer the tourist office counts 350 km of marked paths around Lech Zürs. Three themed trails start here: the Lechweg, a long-distance trail of more than 125 km that starts at the Formarinsee; Der Grüne Ring, which follows the winter circuit in three day stages; and the Tannberg trail, in the footsteps of the Walser settlers.

Six lifts run in summer, including the Rüfikopf, the Bergbahn Oberlech and the Zugerberg, and the Lech Card covers them, the local bus and the bus up the Zugertal, which is closed to private cars in the day. The Zugertal also has Austria's highest nine-hole golf course, at 1,500 m, and Lech has a forest swimming pool and mountain-bike and trail-running routes.

How to get to Lech

Lech is reached over the Flexen Pass road, the L 198, through Zürs. In winter the road from Warth is generally closed, and from 1 November to 15 April winter tyres are compulsory on wintry roads. Austrian motorways need a vignette, sold as a digital or sticker vignette.

The nearest railway stations are Langen am Arlberg, 15 km away, with bus line 750 to Lech in about 20 minutes, and St. Anton am Arlberg, 20 km away, with line 760 in about 30 minutes. The tourist office recommends booking a taxi in advance.

Zurich and Innsbruck to Lech

Innsbruck is the nearest airport, about 120 km away over the Arlberg Pass, and Zurich, Friedrichshafen, Memmingen and Munich are the other options. From Zurich Airport, trains run to Langen am Arlberg every two hours in about three hours. The Arlberg Express shuttle runs direct from Zurich Airport to Lech and Zürs; at the time of writing, a one-way seat costs €65. Der Lecher and Taxi Zürs run private transfers from the airports.

In the village, the Anger garage under the Lechwelten has about 600 spaces, and the Schlosskopf day car park is free if you use a paid ski pass the same day, €9 otherwise. Once you're here, the blue local bus between Lech, Oberlech, Zug, Stubenbach and Zürs is included in your ski pass in the day, and the James night bus runs until about 2:00, at €9 a ride.

Weather, snow and webcams

The village is at 1,450 m and the Rüfikopf at 2,350 m, so check the top as well as the street.

• Lech Zürs webcams (tourist office)
• Lech Zürs weather (tourist office)
• Live lifts, pistes and conditions (Ski Arlberg)

When to visit Lech

Ski Arlberg's 2026/27 season runs from 2 December 2026 to 18 April 2027, with limited operation possible at either end.

• December: the Wedel weeks, to 18 December, have the lower lift-pass prices.
• January: Der Weisse Ring – The Race is on 16 January 2027.
• Christmas to Easter: the main season, from 19 December to 2 April, at full prices.
• April: the Sun weeks, from 3 April to the close, are cheaper again. In late winter, the lift company says, the runs in Lech and Oberlech turn to spring snow first, while Zürs and Zug ski well later in the day.

Lech vs St. Anton

Same lift pass, same ski area, different villages.

Choose Lech if you want a smaller village that limits its own growth, Oberlech's car-free plateau and Der Weisse Ring on your doorstep.

Choose St. Anton if you want to arrive by train in the village itself, with the Valluga and the Rendl as your local mountains.

What's nearby

• Zürs

  The next village along the Flexen road, on Der Weisse Ring and the start of the Flexenbahn.

• Oberlech

  Lech's car-free plateau at 1,750 m, by cable car from the village.

• St. Anton am Arlberg

  The other side of Ski Arlberg, by the Flexenbahn from Zürs.

• Warth-Schröcken

  Over the Auenfeld by the Auenfeldjet; the road from Lech is closed in winter.