Skiing the Wildkogel: a ski holiday in Neukirchen and Bramberg

The Wildkogel-Arena is the ski area I recommend when someone asks me for good pistes at every level — but without the feeling of having to cover a hundred kilometres a day to get their money's worth. It sits between Neukirchen and Bramberg in the Oberpinzgau, it is compact enough to find your way around quickly, and it still has a few corners that most guests never find.

I ski here myself. Here is what I would tell you before your first morning at the lift.

The ski area at a glance

• 75 kilometres of piste: 35 km blue, 30 km red, 10 km black
• 20 lifts: 5 gondolas, 4 chairlifts, 11 T-bars and beginner lifts, plus magic carpets
• Up to 2,150 metres at the highest lift
• Two ways in: the Wildkogelbahn from Neukirchen and the Smaragdbahn from Bramberg

About 85 per cent of the runs are blue or red. That is why the Wildkogel has its family reputation — but don't mistake it for a beginners' hill. There is something for every level here, including 10 kilometres of black runs.

If you are still deciding between the Wildkogel and the much larger Zillertal Arena next door, my comparison of the ski areas will help. This page is for everyone who has decided on the Wildkogel.

Neukirchen or Bramberg?

Honestly: it hardly matters, both valley stations take you into the same ski area. I usually start in Neukirchen because it's closer for me. You can park for free, and in Bramberg it is easier to find a space.

My rule of thumb has worked for years:

• Skiing only → start in Neukirchen.
• Tobogganing only → start in Bramberg. The Smaragdbahn takes you straight to the start of the toboggan run.
• Both in one day — skiing first, tobogganing to finish → start in Bramberg. The toboggan run ends at the Bramberg valley station, so your day ends right next to your car.

My favourite: the valley run to Neukirchen

If you ask me for one run, it's the valley run from the Wildkogel down to Neukirchen. It is long and very varied. If you ski it in one go at a good pace, you'll feel it in your legs. I would recommend at least intermediate ability.

If that's too much at the end of the day, there are two alternatives:

• Take the gondola from the top station all the way down to Neukirchen.
• Ski to the middle station — on a slightly different piste, not exactly the valley run — and take the gondola down into the village from there.

Après-ski on the way down

There are plenty of places to stop on the way down. Two I'd point out: Schweini's, roughly halfway down, and — the grand finale, already in the village — the Skihaserl. A word of warning about the Skihaserl: keep an eye on the clock. Stay too long and you'll miss dinner.

Queues: when and where

The Wildkogel is not a place where you spend your day in line — but there are two things worth knowing.

• The rush hours are at the edges of the day: going up in the morning and coming down in the afternoon. That's when the gondolas get busy.
• Up in the ski area, a few lifts can be busy during the day too — the Ganzer X-press is one of them. There is always a good alternative nearby, so don't queue out of habit.

With children and beginners

Children and first-timers are well looked after on the Wildkogel. At both top stations — Neukirchen and Bramberg — you'll find practice lifts and gentle ski meadows within easy reach of the gondola. The ski schools use them too, and some have their own small areas there.

There are also two options down in the valley:

• In Bramberg, the Wennsergletscher family lift is a T-bar right in the village. It has its own low-priced ticket, but it's also included in the regular ski pass — a good place to practise a little before you go up the mountain.
• In Neukirchen, the Eggerfeld practice slope sits right at the bottom of the valley run. That's where the very first turns happen.

Planning February half term or the krokusvakantie? Which week in 2027 is quiet, and how to secure ski school and lunch supervision in time, is on my page about February half term with kids.

A local secret: the Preimislift

On the other side of the valley from Neukirchen, a little outside the village, there's a lift most guests never notice: the Preimislift. It still has the old wooden T-bars, and it serves a short but properly demanding run. Locals use it to squeeze in an hour of skiing during the day. On some evenings it's also open for skiing after dark — ask locally which days.

Ski hire and ski depot

You won't have to search: there are numerous sports shops with ski hire in Neukirchen and directly at the valley station in Bramberg — and there are sports shops up at the top stations too. They also rent out ski depots, down in the valley or up at the top station, so your gear can stay on the mountain overnight.

I deliberately don't recommend a particular shop — there are several good ones, and I have no reason to favour one over another.

Snow: December and March

The valley stations are low, so this is a fair question.

• December is usually no problem. In years with little natural snow, the snowmaking has become good enough to keep the valley runs open.
• March: in the first half of the month you can usually ski all the way down to the valley. Later in March the valley run can become difficult — then you ski up top and take the gondola down. It is different every year and simply depends on the snow.

The same applies in Bramberg, where the ski run partly runs alongside the toboggan run and shares its last stretch. With skis, December is very likely fine thanks to snowmaking. The toboggan run needs enough natural snow, though — so it can be closed now and then.

One ski pass, two ski areas

• A Wildkogel-Arena day pass is only valid at the Wildkogel. The link with the Zillertal Arena only starts from two days.
• From two days onwards, the Zillertal Arena ski pass — and the Zillertal Superskipass — is also valid at the Wildkogel. So you can ski the Wildkogel one day and the Zillertal Arena the next, on one pass.
• With a valid ski pass, the ski bus between Neukirchen, Wald, Krimml and Königsleiten is free.

After skiing: the toboggan run

The best end to a Wildkogel ski day is the toboggan run. It starts right at the top station of the Smaragdbahn and runs 14 kilometres and about 1,300 metres down to the valley station in Bramberg. According to the lift company, it's the longest floodlit toboggan run in the world.

What you need to know:

• Your ski pass covers the ascent until 4:15 pm. Any later, and you need a separate toboggan ticket.
• On Fridays the Smaragdbahn runs uphill until 6:30 pm, weather permitting.
• The run is floodlit until 10 pm — except Mondays, when the lights go off at 6 pm.
• It's usually open from around mid-December to early or mid-March, depending on snow.

Who is the Wildkogel not for?

If you want to ski a whole day without taking the same lift twice, you'll be happier in the Zillertal Arena. If you like good runs for every level, just a little smaller and easier to find your way around — the Wildkogel is your area. Beyond that: there's hardly anyone I wouldn't send here.

Where to stay

• Neukirchen if you want the Wildkogelbahn and the end of the valley run on your doorstep — and the Skihaserl.
• Bramberg if you want easy parking and the toboggan run finishing right in the village.

A holiday apartment is the relaxed choice for a ski week: space to dry your gear, your own kitchen when the children are tired early, and no fixed breakfast time before the first gondola.