Mayrhofen Ski Resort Austria
A smile comes across your face as you alight from the Zillertalbahn in Mayrhofen. A stress-free train ride from Innsbruck & the first sight is the magnificent Penkenbahn gondola heading up to the Mayrhofen ski resort right from the centre of town. Fantastic .....
Welcome to skier, snowboarder & party-goer heaven. With a central location in the fabulous Zillertal, Mayrhofen has super-modern lifts, awesome piste skiing, fun & challenging off-piste, access to huge, interconnected resorts up & down the valley, plus wonderful après & nightlife. Mayrhofen ski resort delivers the goods on so many levels.
Pros & Cons for Mayrhofen Ski Resort
Pros
- Fantastic, modern lift system direct from the centre of town.
- Excellent on-piste trails for all ski abilities.
- Superb valley run down from Ahorn to Mayrhofen.
- Easy access off-piste skiing in diverse terrain.
- Particularly good on-mountain dining.
- Excellent après, party & nightlife opportunities in town.
- Access to three other ski areas on the same multi day lift pass.
- Easy & interesting travel to Mayrhofen from Innsbruck via Jenbach & the Zillertalbahn.
Cons
- No valley run from Penken into Mayrhofen - must download (but several other valley trails are available to alternative villages!).
- Amongst the more expensive day pass rates in Austria (but that is relative to the quality of the skiing & lifts).
- Snow quality can be variable down low, depending on aspect & elevation.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Mayrhofen township is quite low elevation, so may not have natural snow.
- One of the world’s most confronting on-mountain male toilets (but in a good way!).
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
The Mayrhofen skiing and snowboarding terrain consists of six different areas with the funky names of Penken, Horberg, Ahorn, Finkenberg, Rastkogel and Eggalm. All are lift interlinked except Ahorn, which stands alone across the valley. The terrain suits all abilities, is across a wide expanse and on all aspects (sun and shadow).
Check out the ski trail map for Mayrhofen below.
Mayrhofen has invested heavily in a range of new lifts in recent times and as such provides extremely efficient uphill movement. From the huge Ahorn cable car and Penken gondola that leave directly from town or the Horbergbahn from Hippach and the new Möslbahn gondolas, a range of modern chairs (including a combo chair/gondola funnily enough called the Kombibahn), move you swiftly up to the good stuff. Once on the hill, fast chairs are the norm. The Tux cable car links the resort into the Tux valley to Rastkogel & Eggalm.
Piste trails & off-piste terrain is all near to & above the tree line, with some notable exceptions being ski route #30 down to Hippach, the new piste #16 to Mösl, and piste trail #5 from Ahorn into the town of Mayrhofen. Ahorn's piste trail #5 has nearly 1,300m of skiable vertical and a northerly aspect - seriously fun top to bottom skiing that can be done near dawn in winter as the cable car opens at 7.30am. In the days following fresh snow, a vast off-piste awaits those that are hunting powder. Some challenging steeps and wide-open alpine bowls predominate, but if the snow is deep and low, many opportunities present themselves to freeride the meadows and trees down into the valleys. Beware the barb-wire fences!
Lift Pass
The Mayrhofen ski area has an interlinked lift pass with all the other Ziller (& Tuxer) valley ski resorts via the Zillertaler Super Ski Pass. All lift passes of 2-days or more duration are the Zillertaler Super Ski Pass, allowing unfettered access to Mayrhofen, Hintertux Glacier, Hochzillertal-Hochfügen-Spieljoch and Zillertal Arena.
Summer Skiing at Nearby Hintertux Glacier
Nearby Hintertux Glacier offers skiing every day of the year, although skiing in August is now becoming harder & harder. In summer, a total of around 10 lifts operate on 21km of slopes. The longest run in summer is around 2km.
For more info about ski lifts, terrain, trail maps & lift passes, see our Mayrhofen Skiing & Snowboarding page.
Snow & Weather
Mayrhofen may have suffered a little from Mother Nature’s fickle temperament in recent history (not helped by its incredibly low base elevation of 630m) but it has invested heavily in snowmaking to make up for any natural shortfalls in the lower parts of the resort. Luckily, most of the real terrain is above 1,500m altitude, and when nature delivers natural snow, Mayrhofen provides the goods quickly with its alpine meadow terrain rapidly covered.
Where is Mayrhofen Austria?
Mayrhofen is in the Zillertal (Ziller valley) of Tirol (Tyrol) state, Austria. The ski resort is 67km south-east of Innsbruck. By car it takes about 1hr to reach Mayrhofen from Innsbruck.
Closest major international gateway airports are Munich (MUC) & Zurich (ZRH), with the super-convenient airport at nearby Innsbruck (INN) providing access for flights with Europe & the UK origins. Train is the recommended mode of transport to Mayrhofen, but private transfers are a fast & efficient way to get to the skiing from the airport. A private transfer is also cost effective for groups of 3 or more people. Search & book here for all transfers to Mayrhofen.
Train & bus transport options are excellent via the 32km long Zillertal Railway (Zillertalbahn). The Zillertalbahn runs regularly on every day of the ski season from Jenbach railway station east of Innsbruck. Public buses also make the journey, but less regularly & with less dignity!
Search & book here for all train tickets to Mayrhofen.
Once in the Zillertal, the slopes of Mayrhofen can be accessed from multiple locations in the valley, including the centre of Mayrhofen, plus the villages & hamlets of Hippach, Mösl, Finkenberg & Tux.
For detailed information on the best ways to get there, see our Travel to Mayrhofen page.
Mayrhofen Accommodation
The village of Mayrhofen has every style of accommodation covered; from 5-star luxury hotels to budget-friendly guesthouses. Staying near the centre of town is always fun & allows easy access to either of the main access lifts.
Search & book here for all Mayrhofen ski accommodation.
Alternatively, quality ski-in ski-out accommodation high up on Ahorn & Horberg, plus further up the valley from Mayrhofen in the villages of Finkenberg & Tux. Both Finkenberg & tux have access gondolas from the village up to the skiing. Finkenberg is the most central of all the villages in this part of the valley.
For detailed info & recommendations on the best accommodation, see our Where To Stay in Mayrhofen page.
Services, Facilities, Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guides
Mayrhofen is a full-service ski resort by virtue of it also being a major town. On mountain restaurants are excellent. The Gschösswandhaus is the secret local’s favourite. A secret no more!
The ski area has more ski rental & gear shops, than you could possibly poke a stock at! Our local partners have two central equipment rental shops near the Penkenbahn gondola in Mayrhofen. To receive a discount with our local partners, search & book via our Mayrhofen Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
To narrow down the search for a ski instructor or mountain guide, check out some of the best operators via our Mayrhofen Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
With regards to mountain facilities, Mayrhofen has some of the Alps best & mentally challenging male toilets at the Penken top station - clearly the architects had a sense of humour. One-way glass allows one to see people walking outside in front of the urinals. See if you can conquer the mind over matter challenge.
Non-Ski Activities at Mayrhofen
If you have enough of your skis or snowboard, or if you are with some non-skiers in your group, a range of other activities are available in Mayrhofen.
The most fun & exhilarating non-ski Mayrhofen activity is tandem paragliding from the top of Penken all the way down to town. Other options include winter walks, scenic gondola, sledding and train rides; or perhaps a visit to the stunning top of Hintertux Glacier and a journey down into the Ice Caves.
Reviews
The Powderhounds reviewed Mayrhofen several seasons ago, had a super time & are due to return next season. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read the various reviews!
See how Mayrhofen and the other Zillertal ski resorts compare to the rest of the Austrian ski resorts on the Austria ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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