Cross-country skiing in Toggenburg: trails, passes and lessons from Alt St. Johann

There are winter days when you don’t need a lift, a piste or a plan. Just a track in the snow, the quiet glide of your skis and the Churfirsten in view. Cross-country skiing in Toggenburg is exactly that: unhurried, with plenty of space and something for every level. According to Toggenburg Tourismus (in German), the region has more than 140 kilometres of groomed track in total for classic and skating, often on the same trails.

For us, Isabel and Sandro, there’s a very practical reason to write about it: according to Toggenburg Tourismus, Toggenburg’s longest trail starts in Alt St. Johann, the village where our two holiday apartments sit in the historic SutterSport building at Hauptstrasse 36. Here you’ll find the trails, passes, lessons, equipment hire and trail report all in one place.

The valley trail between Alt St. Johann and Unterwasser

Toggenburg Tourismus calls it the longest trail in Toggenburg. The Talloipe, or valley trail, runs between Alt St. Johann and Unterwasser at the foot of the Churfirsten and the Alpstein. Alt St. Johann is the starting point, but you can just as easily join it in Unterwasser or Starkenbach. The regional tour portal describes it as easy and suitable for beginners and more experienced skiers alike, groomed for both classic and skating.

The valley trail consists of two loops from Alt St. Johann: to Unterwasser and back, and along the Thur to Starkenbach and back. The tour portal lists both together as a 16.1-kilometre circuit with just 46 metres of climbing, between 879 and 924 metres above sea level. On its own, the Starkenbach loop measures 7.8 kilometres there, gently rolling, with views of the Wildhauser Schafberg and the Säntis.

Evenings are especially lovely. The night trail between Alt St. Johann and Unterwasser is floodlit every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 9.30 pm, over 4.3 to 5 kilometres (Toggenburg Tourismus gives both figures). A loop under the lights, then back to a warm apartment: that’s what a winter evening in the valley feels like.

Higher up: the panorama trail on the Alp Sellamatt

When snow is thin in the valley, it’s worth looking up. The Sellamatt lift from Alt St. Johann, which has both gondolas and chairs, takes you to the Alp Sellamatt, start and finish of the panorama trail. According to the tour portal, the loop is 10.1 kilometres long, of moderate difficulty, and lies between 1,390 and 1,564 metres. At its highest point by the Thurtalerstofel, the view opens up across the Alpstein, the Churfirsten and the Toggenburg valley. According to Toggenburg Tourismus it’s the highest trail in the region, and correspondingly snow-sure.

When the lowlands are lying under a sea of fog, the sun is often shining on the Sellamatt. We’ve described how that feels in Above the sea of fog. After your loop, there’s a mountain restaurant waiting on the alp.

More trails in Toggenburg

Munzenriet in Wildhaus. At more than 1,000 metres, this trail is considered relatively snow-sure. According to Bergbahnen Wildhaus there are two loops: a completely flat 2-kilometre one where dogs are allowed too, and a gently rolling 5-kilometre one that climbs up to the Kollersweid ski jump. It was on this very jump that four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann once learned to ski jump. The trail lies between Kollersweid and the children’s area of the Wildhaus ski school, which suits families nicely. Travelling with a dog? See Holidays with a dog in Toggenburg.

Säntisloipe at Rietbad near Nesslau. According to the tour portal, it’s one of the most snow-sure trails in the area, following the course of the Luteren river. Its three loops range from the largely flat Seeben for beginners to the demanding Bruederschwendi. In total it’s 8.6 kilometres, and there’s a heated trail café for warming up.

Panorama trail Scherb/Bendel between Hemberg and Ebnat-Kappel. 15.1 kilometres and 285 metres of climbing, so better suited to experienced skiers. Along this themed trail, boards tell the story of the little gnome Speerli in eight instalments.

Trail passes: what they cost and where to buy them

According to the terms of Loipen Schweiz, buying a trail pass is legally voluntary and the fee is not a condition of access. It does support the sport, though: according to the same terms, the proceeds go towards maintenance and infrastructure, among other things. So a ticket is part of the deal. In the Loipen Toggenburg online shop (as of late October 2026), a one-day trail ticket costs CHF 10, a weekly pass CHF 35 and the local season pass CHF 60. The season pass is valid on the valley trails of Alt St. Johann, Unterwasser and Wildhaus. If you ski a lot, the Swiss cross-country pass costs CHF 160 and is valid on more than 5,500 kilometres of trails across Switzerland. The digital versions work through the Langlaufpass app.

In Wildhaus, you can also buy passes at the Munzenriet trailhead and at the main ticket office of the Bergbahnen Wildhaus valley station. And if you book a lesson, the cross-country school says you can get your pass from the instructor at a reduced price.

Learning to cross-country ski: lessons for beginners, children and returners

The Swiss cross-country ski school Toggenburg (in German) offers courses for beginners, returners and advanced skiers, for adults and children, in classic and skating technique, as private lessons, in groups or in the evening on the night trail. A private lesson costs CHF 80 per hour plus a trail ticket, with CHF 10 for each additional person. The meeting point is the trail building at Hauptstrasse 40 in Alt St. Johann, on the same street as our house, or the trail building in Wildhaus. All courses require advance registration.

For winter 2026/27, taster sessions have already been announced: on Saturday 12 December 2026, 16 January 2027 and 13 February 2027, each from 10 am to 12 noon, meeting in Alt St. Johann, for CHF 25 plus a trail ticket. According to the Wildhaus ski school they’re for ages 10 and up. There’s also a taster evening on 7 January 2027 and a beginners’ skating course for adults over three evenings on the night trail from 28 January 2027, for CHF 80. Depending on conditions, courses take place in Alt St. Johann or in Wildhaus.

The Chäserrugg ski school adds cross-country lessons specifically for adults, either one-to-one or in small groups.

You don’t need your own skis. Sport Alpiger, right at the Sellamatt valley station in Alt St. Johann, hires out cross-country equipment among other things, according to Toggenburg Tourismus. You’ll find more shops in the valley in Toggenburg Tourismus’s overview of sports retailers.

Snow conditions and trail report: where to check

Before you pack your skis, it’s worth checking the Loipen Toggenburg trail report (in German). For every section, from the valley trail and night trail to the dog trail in Wildhaus, it shows separately for skating and classic whether it’s open. There are also webcams in Alt St. Johann and Wildhaus, refreshed every ten minutes. The status of every trail in the region, including the Sellamatt, the Säntisloipe and the Scherb, plus snow depths and open facilities, is on the live status page of Toggenburg Tourismus (in German).

A rule of thumb: the valley trail lies below 1,000 metres. When snow runs short in the valley, Munzenriet and the Sellamatt are the higher alternatives. That helps for a last-minute trip to Toggenburg too: check the report the evening before, buy your pass digitally, hire equipment locally. You can see our free dates straight away on the booking page.

Combining cross-country, downhill skiing and winter walks

Not everyone in the family wants the same thing, and Toggenburg makes that easy. Alongside the trails there are the Wildhaus, Chäserrugg and Wolzenalp ski areas. The ski schools in all three have children’s areas for those very first turns, and at the Chäserrugg ski school in Alt St. Johann there’s even a “sound” children’s area. So some of you can do loops on the trail while the others practise on the slopes. There’s more in our posts on skiing at the Chäserrugg and ski holidays with children in Toggenburg.

And if you fancy a day without skis: Toggenburg Tourismus lists 50 kilometres of groomed winter walking paths and around 150 kilometres of snowshoe routes, such as the winter walk from Wildhaus to Gamplüt or the snowshoe tour from the Sellamatt to the Zinggen pub. A morning on the trail, an afternoon on foot in the snow: a good winter’s day doesn’t need more than that.

After the trail: warming up in Alt St. Johann

Back at the house, Louisa’s Loft has its own hot tub for up to 6 guests, and Louisa’s Gallery, also for up to 6 guests, an even larger one. Coming with several families? Take the whole house for up to 12 guests.

You don’t need a car for the valley trail: according to the tour portal, you take the train to Nesslau-Neu St. Johann and then the bus to Alt St. Johann Dorf. There’s more in our post on getting to Toggenburg without a car. We look forward to you propping your skis in the corner at ours after that first loop.