Snowboarding Destinations in Switzerland

Snowboarding is a very popular sport and an equally popular leisure activity in Switzerland. The country has few of the world's best places for snowboarding. Switzerland is a paradise for snowboarders in the winters as well as the summer months.

Zermatt is a very popular summer as well as a winter snowboarding destination. Zermatt is a beautiful and majestic city set on the foot of the massive Matterhorn peak. It has the longest snowboarding seasons with 365 days of snow. Though winter snowboarding is more popular, summer time snowboarding at Zermatt has its own unique charm. In summer the place offers some really long stretches of uninterrupted snow and some difficult and steep slopes.

Apart from this you can also have some fun at the two half pipes and the summer snowboard park. Zermatt also has a Gravity Park offering a series of kickers and rails and also a super pipe alongside the lift. Zermatt can be reached by train from Zurich in about 3 hours 30 minutes and from Geneva in about 4 hours. As Zermatt is a car free zone, going by train would be a better option than driving.

Another popular destination for snowboarding enthusiasts is Saas Fee in southern Switzerland. It is actually just the next valley from Zermatt and is a small village with narrow streets and wooden chalets but attracts snowboarders from the world over. In summer Saas Fee is a unique place for snowboarders with the glacier area hosting a snowboard park which offers three half pipes, a boardercross course and several hits.

In winters most of the snowboard park is shut down and only the half pipes are accessible and the place concentrates on skiing. You can also indulge in the night time sledging run. To reach Saas Fee, you can take a train from Berne or Zurich to Brig or Visp and then change to the post bus which will take you directly to Saas Fee.

Another place which is perfect for skiers and snowboarders is Champery which is situated on the Swiss side of the Portes de Soleil ski area. Nestled at the foot of the spectacular Dents Blanches Mountains, Champery is a beautiful yet little known about place in Switzerland. Portes de Soleil boasts of 650 kilometres of beautiful long runs and is a paradise for skiers and boarders. There are slopes for both experts and beginners. For experts Chavanette which is above Champery and boasts of the toughest moguls in the Swiss Alps. For beginners Champery also has a beginner village. Champery is just 90 minutes from Geneva.

Engadin St. Moritz is also quite a popular destination for snowboarders and skiers. It has a variety of ski pistes. Snowboarders head to St. Moritz for the Corviglia Snow Park which has a number of rails and boxes, a corner and hits of all sizes. There is also the Engadinsnow Freestyle Park Corvatsch for freestylers and boarders. St. Moritz is about 121 miles from Zurich.