Davos is well known for winter sports and the world economy forum. Davos claims boldly to be a winter sports metropolis. I guess you need to be bold to attract tourists. I went to Davos to find out if they could same for summer sports. At least there should be few factors which could support the statement. Davos is easy to access, many lifts are open at summer and accept bikes, Davos is not a small village and it locates middle two mountain ranges. But as we all know it is not always about size and amount.
Davos locates in eastern Switzerland in the Canton Graubünden. Davos is not a very big city but even so it is well known. More than some bigger cities in Switzerland. Actually Davos is not just one city but includes five villages, Davos-Dorf, Davos-Platz, Frauenkirch, Glaris and Monstein. The city has a long history for winter sports but not so long for summer sports even you easily encounter Davos if you search mountain biking places in Switzerland.
Davos doesn’t have quite same luxury reputation as St Moritz or Zermatt even though Kloster (part of Davos area) is many times mentioned as one of the most luxuries resort in Switzerland. Even so, you should not expect that Davos is a cheap place to stay.
Davos locates in the valley between Plessur and Albula mountain ranges. Unfortunately any of notable peaks of these mountain ranges are not directly accessible from Davos. Closest is the Weisshorn in Arosa. Nevertheless there are peaks like Weissfluh (2.843m), Jakobshorn (2.590m), Gotschnagrat (2.281m) and Madrisa (2.826m) which are accessible by a condola or funicular railway.
Davos offers a great selection of varying level of accommodation. Obviously the most convenient location is Davos-Dorf or Davos-Platz but then the price level is higher than in Frauenkirch, Glaris or Monstein. If you want to save some money I recommend to stay one of these villages.
One major benefit in Davos is that you can move around easily by a train or Postbus. Most of the hotels include a train ticket in the price. So transportation is not an issue.
If you don’t mind to spend some time in the train or bus, I highly recommend a village called Filisur. Filisur is a small village between Davos and Lenzerheide. The train from Filisur to Davos takes around 25min. So if you planning to stay longer than just few days and explore trails in both cities then Filisur might be your place.
There are two main things Davos highlights for mountain bikers, the Epic trail (Landwasser) and Bahnentour. The Epic trail holds the Epic status from IMBA and only few trails in Europe have the status.
Let’s start from the Epic trail. You can start the Epic trail either from Rinerhorn (short version) or Jakobshorn (long version). If you start from Rinerhorn you miss the best part of the trail which is from Jakobshorn to Sertig. The problem is that if you start the journey from Jakobshorn the distance is 45km which is quite long. From Sertig till Monstein (7-27km) the trail is not more than average. I would say that the Epic status is the only reason why you should ride the trail because there are many other trails in Davos which are better. Maybe not as long but for sure better.
The Bahnentour includes nice trails but also some very mediocre sections. Many times you clime up nice trails and come down on the fire road. Especially the first section from Weissfluh to Glaris. The best part of the first section is from Chörbschhorn to Stafelalp but it is short. Same story with the second section from Rinerhorn to Davos. Overall impression is that there are nice parts in each section but they are short.
I have to say that both highlights were disappointment. Even so there are many nice trails which are not getting some much publicity as two above. I would even skip these two trails and concentrate trails from Weissfluh, Jakobshorn and Rinerhorn to Davos. Or from Gotschnagrat and Madrisa to Kloster. You can find very nice trails to discover for one week or even longer time even you don’t ride the Epic trail and Bahnentour.
Davos also has a hidden gem and that is the trail from Flüelapass to Davos. You have to use a Postbus to get Flüelapass and that might be the reason why this trail is not popular. You will not regret if you ride this trail.
What about the claim to be a metropolis for summer sports? I am not sure if Davos can collect the claim. At least not Davos alone. Don’t get me wrong, Davos is a great place. Davos has great lift access to different mountains and there are some nice trails. You might ask so what is wrong. Is that what every mountain biker need? I guess the problem is that I had very high expectations because of marketing. Davos has been featured in many magazine, books and it gets a lot of visibility. But I have to say that Davos doesn’t stand out from other great places like Zermatt, Verbier, Lenzerheide, St Moritz, etc.
Links
http://www.davos.ch/en/summer/activities/bike/
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