Zell am See-Kaprun
SalzburgSee it on the map
About Zell am See-Kaprun
Zell am See is a proper small town on a lake, with a medieval centre on a promontory, a railway station and a life that carries on in summer. Its own mountain, the Schmittenhöhe, rises to 1,965 m directly behind the town — a rounded, wooded hill with pistes on every side, reached by a cable car that has been running since 1927, and one of the best-known viewpoints in Salzburg.
The second half of the name is Kaprun, ten minutes away, and above it the Kitzsteinhorn: a glacier with lifts to just over 3,000 m, a viewing platform called Top of Salzburg and skiing from roughly October to early summer. Since 2019 the glacier has been linked by lift to Kaprun village via the family-friendly Maiskogel, so you can ride from the valley to 3,000 m without a bus. The whole thing, plus the Skicircus of Saalbach Hinterglemm, comes on the Alpin Card for around 400 km of piste.
The two mountains are complementary: the Schmittenhöhe for tree-lined, moderate skiing and the view, the Kitzsteinhorn for guaranteed snow, high open bowls and freeride. Neither is huge alone, and the town's low altitude — 750 m — means the runs to the valley depend on snowmaking.
Last reviewed 13 September 2026
Best suited to
- Families
- Intermediates
- Beginners
- Off-piste and freeride
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Where lessons start
For a first week the Maiskogel in Kaprun is the obvious choice: a gentle family mountain with beginner slopes at its base and easy blues above. On the Schmittenhöhe the learning terrain is at the top of the lifts on the plateau rather than in the town. Zell am See suits families and mixed-ability groups well, because a beginner on the Maiskogel, an intermediate on the Schmitten and a freerider on the glacier can all be back in the same town for dinner.
Resort areas
- Schmittenhöhe
- Kitzsteinhorn
Getting there
Zell am See has a railway station on the Salzburg–Innsbruck line, with direct trains from Salzburg in about an hour and a half. Salzburg airport is about an hour and twenty minutes by road, Munich a little over two hours, Innsbruck two. Kaprun and the glacier are a bus ride from the town, and in high season the road up to the Kitzsteinhorn lifts is busy from early morning; the lift link from Kaprun village avoids most of it.
Qualifications required in Austria
Teaching skiing or snowboarding for payment in Austria is a regulated profession: an instructor must hold the Skilehrer qualification. Instructors listed as certified on Alpine Pal have either sent theirs to us for review or are vouched for by the ski school that invited them.
Find instructors in AustriaZell am See-Kaprun: common questions
Should I stay in Zell am See or in Kaprun?
Zell am See if you want the town, the lake and the train, with the Schmittenhöhe lifts a walk or short bus from the centre. Kaprun if you are here for the glacier or have beginners in the party: it is a smaller, quieter village with the Maiskogel lift in it and the Kitzsteinhorn reached without a bus. Both are on the same pass and ten minutes apart.
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