Ski holidays in Kaprun, Austria

Kaprun lies at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn, the only glacier in Salzburgerland with skiing up to 3,029 metres. The village itself sits at 786 metres and combines glacier skiing with access to Schmittenhöhe in neighbouring Zell am See, giving a unique blend of snow-sure high-altitude terrain and charming valley skiing.

The Kitzsteinhorn has recently undergone extensive modernisation with the new 3K gondola, which carries visitors all the way from the valley to the glacier in three stages. At the top you'll find the spectacular Top of Salzburg viewing platform, with panoramic views towards the Grossglockner and the surrounding Alps. The glacier skiing delivers reliable snow from October to July.

Alongside the glacier, Kaprun has its own local ski area, Maiskogel, which since 2019 has been directly linked to the Kitzsteinhorn via the 3K gondola. Maiskogel offers family-friendly runs through forested terrain and is a perfect complement to the glacier's open high-mountain terrain. Together with Schmittenhöhe in Zell am See, the lift pass gives access to 138 km of pistes.

Kaprun has a relaxed, genuine atmosphere without the stress you find in the very biggest tourist resorts. The village has good restaurants, cosy cafés and a handful of pleasant bars. It's an excellent base if you want the benefits of glacier skiing combined with a calm, welcoming place to stay.

5 tips about Kaprun

1. Beginners on Maiskogel The local Maiskogel area has gentle, tree-lined pistes that are ideal for beginners and families, while more experienced skiers can head on up to the glacier.
2. Make the most of your lift pass The lift pass covers both the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and Schmittenhöhe in Zell am See, a total of 138 km of pistes, so it is well worth planning a day trip over there via the 3K gondola.
3. Head high when snow in the valley is uncertain The glacier on Kitzsteinhorn rises to 3,029 metres and has ensured snow from October to July, a good option when the lower slopes are in poorer condition.
4. Choose low season for quieter slopes Travelling outside the half-term holidays and Christmas means lower prices and fewer queues, particularly at the 3K gondola, which can otherwise be busy in high season.
5. Combine high alpine skiing with village life Stay in Kaprun for a relaxed atmosphere with characterful cafés and restaurants, and move easily between glacier skiing and the more wooded slopes of Maiskogel.

Pistes and lifts in Kaprun

The Kitzsteinhorn glacier at Kaprun offers 62.5 km of glacier pistes up to 3,029 m, served by 24 lifts including the modern 3K gondola. The Maiskogel area adds family-friendly runs through forested terrain. With the combined lift pass you can also reach Schmittenhöhe in Zell am See, for a total of 138 km of pistes. The glacier delivers reliable snow from October to July.

Piste map for Kaprun

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Snow reliability in Kaprun

Kaprun sits at an altitude of 786 metres, but much of the skiing takes place up on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, which reaches all the way to 3,029 metres. That height means the glacier has ensured snow from October to July, making Kaprun one of the most snow-sure options in the region.

With 62.5 km of pistes and 24 lifts, including the modern 3K gondola, access to high alpine terrain is assured even when snow conditions lower down in Pinzgau and Zell am See can be more variable.

Best time to travel to Kaprun

The glacier is open from October to July, but the best time to visit is December to April, when the whole area, including Maiskogel, is open. January and February bring the best conditions, while the spring season from March to May offers sunny skiing on the glacier.

Will there be lift queues in Kaprun?

Kaprun is part of Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel, and the lift system there carries 44,045 people an hour across 24 lifts. 13 of the 24 lifts are gondolas or high-speed chairlifts and 4 are drag lifts, which take longer to get through when it is busy. The fastest lifts carry up to 3,600 people an hour, for example Gletscherjet 3. Per kilometre of piste there is more lift capacity than at an average resort on this site, and you notice it: queues clear quickly. The queue you actually notice is almost always down in the valley between eight and half past nine. If you are on the lift before eight you avoid it.

When is Kaprun busiest?

How busy the slopes get is not decided by the English half term but by when the local families and the neighbouring countries are on holiday. These are the weeks that fill Kaprun in the 2026/2027 season.

• Austria: The Semesterferien are taken one week at a time, state by state, during the first three weeks of February.
  1 to 6 February: Vienna and Lower Austria
  8 to 13 February: Burgenland and Carinthia
  15 to 20 February: Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Styria and Vorarlberg
• Germany: Germans are the largest foreign group in the Alps and their winter holidays are spread across early February.
  1 to 6 February: Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia
  8 to 12 February: Bavaria and Saarland
  8 to 19 February: Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• England: The English February half term is 15 to 19 February 2027 for most councils, with a few areas breaking up a week earlier. The Easter holidays run from 26 March to 9 April.
  8 to 12 February: half term in a few council areas, for example Hull
  15 to 19 February: half term in most of England, including London, the Midlands and the North
  26 March to 9 April: Easter holidays for most English schools
• Easter holidays: Easter 2027 is early, on 28 March. Austria and Germany take their holidays around the weekend, while the French holidays fall after Easter, in April.
  20 to 29 March: the whole of Austria, all states at the same time
  22 March to 3 April: most German states, including Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia
  3 April to 3 May: the French zones, which fall after Easter 2027 and only affect the highest resorts
• Long weekends: Long weekends fill the slopes with day visitors from the nearest cities, even when no schools are on holiday.
  26 December to 3 January: Christmas and New Year, the most expensive period of the year
  6 January: Epiphany, a public holiday in Austria, Italy and parts of Switzerland
  27 to 29 March: the Easter weekend. Easter Monday is a public holiday across the Alps, but Good Friday is a working day in Austria, Italy and France
  1 to 2 May: May Day, a public holiday across the Alps

If you want quieter pistes and lower prices, the weeks in mid-January and late March are clearly the best. Neither the Germans nor the Austrians are on holiday then.

Snow right now. There is no snow cover in the valley or at the top right now. The figures are modelled by Open-Meteo, not measured by the lift company, and were fetched 14 October 2026 at 20:24.

The lift pass included. The stay comes with the Ski Alpin Card lift pass, which covers 409 km of piste. The pass is worth around €440.

How to get to Kaprun

Last-minute deals in Kaprun

Last-minute offers, that is late dates the operator still wants to fill, appear from January onwards. Once the season is under way we will show them here on this page.

Kaprun is suitable for

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Frequently asked questions about Kaprun