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Best for families

Best Ski Resorts for Families in Davos Klosters

Klosters is the better family base in the Davos Klosters area, a village you can walk across with the Madrisa family mountain on its doorstep. Davos wins for teenagers, with the Jakobshorn's freestyle scene, big pools and an urban buzz the older kids actually enjoy. Between the two towns and around 300 km of shared pistes, the trick is matching the base and the mountain to the ages of your children, and that is exactly what this guide does.

By the Ski Resorts for Kings editorial team · Last reviewed June 2026

What matters

Two towns, six mountains, one family decision

Davos Klosters is unusual: one lift pass, two very different bases, and a string of separate mountains rising on both sides of the valley. Davos is a real alpine city at around 1,550 meters, with hospitals, museums and the best indoor sports facilities in the Alps. Klosters, ten minutes down the valley, is a classic village of dark timber and quiet streets.

For families this separation is the whole story. You ride trains and buses between mountains, covered by the pass, and each mountain has a personality: one built around a children's snow park, one a quiet local hill, one a vast high cruising plateau. My three children rank them with total confidence and zero agreement.

Zurich is roughly 2 hours 30 minutes away by road or rail, and the rail option is genuinely pleasant with children. Budget realistically: this is Switzerland, and a comfortable family week lands in the $2,000 to $4,000 per person band before you add the extras.

A snow covered mountain range at dusk in Switzerland — Mountains rise on both sides of the Davos valley

A skier carving on a wide groomed snow slope — The Parsenn's wide groomed runs suit families who can cruise

Snow covered trees at the edge of a winter forest — Tree lined lower slopes give shelter on stormy days

The ranking

The bases and mountains, ranked for families

Ranked on children's terrain and facilities, walkability with gear, what teenagers will tolerate, and how the days actually flow with mixed ages.

Klosters with Madrisa

The village base | best for young families

A walkable village with a purpose built family mountain straight out of it.

Klosters is the family pick because the scale is human. The village is compact and calm, and the Madrisa gondola rises from the Dorf end to a sunny, gentle mountain built around children, with a snow play land, easy wide runs and family targeted facilities at the top.

It beats Davos as a base because evenings are simpler: a short walk, an early dinner, no city traffic. The tradeoff is fewer pools, shops and rainy day options, which is exactly when the train to Davos earns its keep.

Davos with the Jakobshorn

The city base | best for teenagers

Big mountain energy, a freestyle scene and the best off slope facilities in the Alps.

Davos is the right call once your children hit the eye rolling years. The Jakobshorn has the freestyle park scene and a young, snowboard heavy crowd, and the town delivers a huge ice rink, pools, cinemas and enough independence for teens to roam safely.

As a base for small children it is second best: the town is big, busy and spread out, and the charm is functional rather than postcard. For mixed age groups it is the more flexible machine.

The Parsenn

The shared classic | best family skiing day

The big cruising mountain both towns share, with the valley's signature long run.

The Parsenn, reached by railway from Davos Dorf or cable car from Klosters, is where the whole family has its best ski day. The high plateau is wide and confidence building, and the long descent back toward Klosters, dropping over 1,500 meters through meadows and trees, is the run the kids will remember.

There is no dedicated children's zone up top, so treat it as the day out for families who can already cruise blues, not the learning hill.

Rinerhorn and the quiet hills

The local secret | best for low key days

Quiet, cheap lunches and empty pistes, the locals' family hill.

Rinerhorn, a short bus ride down the valley from Davos Platz, is where local families ski: a modest, friendly mountain with gentle terrain, sledding and mountain restaurants that do not punish a family of five. Pischa, the smallest hill, is now a freeride and sledding mountain best skipped with young children.

Use Rinerhorn for the recovery day mid week. It is nobody's destination, and that is exactly its charm.

Compared at a glance

The family shortlist

Base or mountain	Character	Best ages	Best for	The verdict
Klosters with Madrisa	Quiet timber village	Under 12	Young families	Human scale plus a children's mountain.
Davos with the Jakobshorn	Alpine city	Teens	Older kids, mixed groups	Freestyle scene and big facilities.
The Parsenn	High cruising plateau	Confident skiers	The big family day	Wide blues and the long run home.
Rinerhorn	Local hill	All ages	Quiet days	Empty pistes and honest prices.

Save on the extras

Book the trip well

The area pass covers the valley buses and trains, so resist the urge to rent a car you will park all week. Swiss ski schools are excellent and booked out for February school weeks months ahead, especially English speaking children's groups. Watch the mountain lunch bill; the Rinerhorn and the valley bakeries are the family budget's best friends.

Book the extras and save

Lessons, lift passes, transfers and ski hire are where a family trip quietly leaks money. Booking ahead almost always beats the resort window price.

Find lessons Compare lift passes Reserve ski hire Book a transfer Travel insurance

Keep planning

Related guides

Read the full Davos Klosters region guide for the complete picture, plus our in depth Davos review and Klosters review. Weighing Graubunden's giants against each other? See Davos vs St Moritz, the wider Graubunden region guide, and our why ski Switzerland primer for the national context.

Questions worth asking

Davos Klosters family FAQs

Is Davos or Klosters better for families?

Klosters is the better base for families with young children, a walkable village with the Madrisa family mountain on its doorstep. Davos suits families with teenagers, who get the Jakobshorn freestyle scene, pools, an ice rink and more independence.

Which mountain in Davos Klosters is best for children?

Madrisa, above Klosters Dorf, is the dedicated family mountain, sunny and gentle with a children's snow land and easy wide runs. Rinerhorn is the quiet second choice that local families favor for low key days.

Is Davos Klosters good for beginners?

It is good rather than perfect. Madrisa and the lower Davos slopes have solid learning terrain and strong ski schools, but the area's separate mountains mean more moving around than a single compact resort. Families with mixed abilities get the most from it.

How big is the Davos Klosters ski area?

The combined area offers around 300 km of pistes across several separate mountains on both sides of the valley, topped by the Parsenn at around 2,800 meters. One pass covers all of them plus the connecting trains and buses.

How do you get to Davos Klosters with children?

Zurich airport is roughly 2 hours 30 minutes away. The train is the family friendly option, with one easy change and scenery that keeps children entertained, and the valley's buses and trains are covered by the lift pass once you arrive.

How expensive is a family week in Davos Klosters?

Plan on $2,000 to $4,000 per person for a comfortable week including passes and lessons. Self catering in Klosters Dorf, packed lunches and Rinerhorn days pull the number down; February peak weeks and hotel half board push it up.

Have it arranged

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