Chur, Switzerland

Follow Holger Meyer on his quest for the best E-MTB trails on Earth. More than just good riding, Holger looks for the best places to eat, sleep and have experience the area on and off the bike. On his search for rider's heaven, Holger enlisted some of SCOTT's most renowned ambassadors and athletes. Check out who joined his journey below!

Trail E-xplorer Map Switzerland
Holger Meyer

HOLGER MEYER

The explorer

Nino Schurter

Nino Schurter

The local


On the bike


For the second Episode of the series, Holger meets Nino Schurter in Chur, Switzerland and look for ridable trails in winter. Chur is the capital of Swiss canton Graubünden. It’s a nice little city on the east side of Switzerland; just 1h30 from Zurich and 3h from Munich. Legend says that it’s the oldest city of CH. But above all, Chur has one thing that makes it very special: An incredible array of mountains with an endless amount of world-class trails to explore. That’s why nine-time mountain bike World Champion, Nino Schurter, feels so comfortable here. Despite his international career, he’s always remained faithful to his home in Graubünden.
– Holger M

Holger Meyer

SPOT 1

THE SWISS GRAND CANYON, TRIN, SWITZERLAND

Spot 1 picture collage

The original plan for this Trail E-Xplorer Episode was to ride up to 1500m. With the recent snow fall, however, Holger and Nino have to stay at low altitude. The first tour follows the Rheine Gorge - the “Swiss Grand Canyon”.

GPX for trails around Chur: here

“The nice thing about Graubünden is that all trails are legal to ride. Please stay polite and respectful with the hikers.

The trail is constantly going up and down along the river. Sun is out, but its freezing cold. We ride our E-MTBs on a hill below the Calanda. The Calanda is a 2804 m high mountain massif in the northwest of Chur, which forms the transition to the Glarnerland. With Nino in the front, you better hold on to the handlebar and focus on the trail. The terrain drops steeply into the canyon. There are lots of options with some playful technical climbs. We follow the trails and cross the river on the Isla Bella Bridge. Large parts of the deep gorge do not see a ray of sun in the winter months. That means caution on the trail! We have to climb up on the other side to get to Versam, a little village with a Restaurant and a small grocery shop. From there, we go down the road, cross the bridge and take a trail called 901er on Trailforks. It’s an exposed trail, so be careful. Sun is down, it’s time to go back to Chur. We will find some charging stations in the nature if you are out of battery. Trains are as also really convenient.”
- Holger M.

SPOT 2

BRAMBRUESCH, ALPEN BIKE PARK, CHUR, SWITZERLAND

Spot 2 picture collage

With the trails finishing right in the city, the Alpen Bike Park is Nino’s backyard. Following the season, it’s possible to take a gondola or, like Nino and Holger, ride up.

There are many options for every level of riding and every type of riders, with some single tracks and some more man shaped tracks. In the bikepark, you can find black DH Runs, over to red lines and to blue fast flow lines. The Terrain is pretty steep though, that means: black is black.

For more info and GPX tracks.

“We choose the blue one. From the top you can see all the way to Lenzerheide. This panoramic view confirms our decision to ride at lower altitude. There is lots of snow up there.

The speed is high, and the fun is great, this is Nino’s playground. Here, there are a lot of jumps and banked turns that you can only find in bigger bike parks. Quite cool to have something like this as your home track on the doorstep. Nino says there are more lines to discover. I say I had not expected such a variety! This place is cool, I need to come back.

The last part we rock´n roll down the black downhill track which spits us out directly into the old town of Chur. Its Lunchtime!”
- Holger M.


Off the bike


If you like riding bikes, drinking coffee and eating good food, Chur should definitely be on your bucket list!

WHERE TO EAT AND WHAT?

Eating in Switzerland is part of the culture. With a mix between French and German food traditions, you better eat after you ride or have your battery recharged! Of course, cheese is a classic, but in the Graubünden region, the specialty is the dry meat, Bündnerfleisch.

For the main course, Nino advised us to take a Capuns, which is a Spätzle dough with little pieces of deer salsiz wrapped in chard leaves. All cooked in the oven with a milk sauce or depending on the region instead with cheese. Indeed a very light meal. To go with that, a Calanda beer will make you a local.

Restaurant suggestion in the old town: Franziskaner

Where to Eat and What?

WHERE TO STOP FOR A COFFEE?

“20 minutes before the start, I have a big coffee”
- Nino Schurter

With 7 coffees per day, Nino knows the best spots and the right people for having the tastiest coffee before you go out riding.

One of them is the Keller Roesterei. More than using carefully selected roast, they work with local handicap people to create cups and furniture. It’s easy to park there and there is space to sit inside.

If you are in the old town, you can pass by QuintaCoira Roesterei.

Where to Stop for a Coffee?

HOW TO GO TO CHUR?

Chur is quite central, being less than 3h from Munich, 3h from Milan and 4h from France. The nearest airport is Zurich. Like everywhere is Switzerland, trains will take you wherever you want to go.

It’s always good to check the SBB app for buses with bike racks.

How to go to Chur?

WHERE TO SLEEP?

For sleeping in Chur and around, you will find nice hotels. Average price is 100Chf a night, including breakfast. It is better to call the hotel directly rather than booking online. If nature is your thing, there are also campsites available close by.

And lastly, be careful with parking tickets in town…

Where to Sleep?
Budget recap