Small, beautiful and part of a magnificent whole – that’s Watles. The ski area only takes a 10-minute drive from the Hotel Weisses Kreuz. Here you can glide into the sunny side of life. Because the slopes on Watles are the sunniest in all of South Tyrol. Your winter holiday in South Tyrol becomes a stress-free skiing indulgence on 18 kilometres of perfectly prepared slopes. The Ski Arena Venosta Valley promises unlimited skiing pleasures. With just one ticket you can fully experience the winter in Venosta Valley: In 5 ski areas, with 36 lifts and 150 kilometres of slopes.

More and more people are discovering the joy of ski touring. For good reason. When you go ski touring, you can explore the beauty of slowness. Discover your own rhythm step by step. And get rewarded with fantastic panoramas and a speedy descent. Winter in Venosta Valley offers ski-tourers numerous options. Tours to the top of the Seeboden, Kälberberg or Piz Sesvenna are just a few examples. But, of course, you can explore even more and experience unforgettable ski tours.

Winter in Venosta Valley and Nordic skiing go hand in hand. This is where cross-country skiers and biathletes will find perfect conditions and a large selections of trails. Discover traditional and skate-ready routes around Lake Haidersee, Lake Reschensee, Langentaufer Valley, Martell Valley, Münster Valley and in Nauders. Particularly recommended: The Schlining Cross-Country Ski Centre. The international competition track has a length of 15 km and is a pleasure for recreational skiers as well.

NEW: Eight areas have joined the cross-country skiing network nordic³ / Venosta Nordic and offer a total of 232 kilometers of trails in three countries.

Whether it’s a social outing with friends or a romantic excursion for two: No winter holiday in South Tyrol is complete with out a sledding trip. You walk through heavily snow-covered woods and marvel at glittering icicles. Enjoy the fresh winter breeze in your face during the rapid descent. That’s the pure pleasure of the mild winter in Venosta Valley. The favourite sledding route of the Theiner family: The 4-km natural sledding track on Watles. If you like, you can rent a sled here or go up in the chair lift.

And the special winter experience for you:

Take the sleigh to the Kaiserschmarrn on the Matscher Alm
You'll walk for about an hour on a prepared, easy winter hiking trail through the mystical Matschertal to the Matscher Alm. Here you'll find the best Kaiserschmarrn far and wide and the way back is twice as much fun on the sleigh.

The beauty of a winter holiday in South Tyrol: Not much is needed for unforgettable experiences in the snow. You just have to take the first step. Out into the crystal-clear winter air. Everything else will start falling into place. Soft winter means: Forging new paths with quiet steps. Sometimes this will take you down age-old trails. Follow the antique Via Claudia Augusta and hike along the historic Waal paths. The favourite snow-shoe route of the hostess Marlene leads to the Brugger Alm. After a two-and-a-half hour walk, you will cross the mystical Zerzer Valley – a particularly quiet and pristine place! Once you arrive at the top, it’s time for “inkäntn” (= starting a fire) and enjoying hot tea from the thermos. Some of you may not get enough of the wonderful experiences in the glistening fields of snow. Those may want to take part in the guided snow-shoe hike, taking place every Friday evening.

Our special winter hiking highlight for you:

Snow angels in the Rojen valley
You can find a pure winter experience in the idyllic litte valley Rojental near Lake Reschen. A lonely, beautiful valley with only one street and about 50 inhabitants, which you can reach in about 20 minutes by car from the hotel. To the left and right of the winter hiking trail are snow-covered meadows and fields that are just waiting for you to decorate them with a snow angel or snowman.

If you like something a little more sporty, you can hike on the local mountain Watles with snowshoes from the mountain station to Watles Spitz. After a walk of around 2.5 hours you reach the summit cross at 2,550 meters and the entire upper Venosta valley lies at your feet with an impressive 360 ​​degree view. On the way back, be sure to stop off on the sun terrace of the Plantapatschhütte and enjoy what is probably the most breathtaking view over the upper Venosta valley.

When the small Haidersee in St. Valentin forms its 40 centimeter layer of ice, it's time to grind the blades and get on the ice. The natural ice rink is freely accessible without opening hours and the view extends wonderfully to King Ortler (South Tyrol's highest mountain) and its majestic neighboring mountains of the Ortler and Sesvenna groups, which frame the upper Vinschgau like a picture. Ice skates can be rented directly in St. Valentin from “Puko Sport”. 

The Reschensee, located at 1,500 meters - just a few minutes' drive towards the Reschen Pass - also offers ideal conditions for ice skating and, with the church tower in the lake, also a unique photo opportunity. With a length of six kilometers and a width of one kilometer, you can expect a huge area for ice skating and the milled ice rink magically attracts not only amateur skaters.

Due to its altitude at 1,500 meters, Lake Reschen offers ideal conditions for ice skating, ice sailing and snow kiting. Everything is just right here: the wind. the ice. the panorama. And the 6km long and 1km wide lake has established itself as an El Dorado, especially for snowkiters. During a leisurely walk along the shore from December to March you can watch the athletes perform spectacular jumps at wind speed with their boards and stunt kites. A real spectacle.
And don't forget the unique photo opportunity right in front of your eyes: the historic church tower in the lake, the landmark of the upper Venosta valley, remnants of a sunken village and a memorial to the injustice of the lake damming.

Back to the base" - presence and sensitive intelligence
our first yoga retreat 2025 from January 15th to 19th

At the beginning of the year, you can escape the hectic pace of everyday life on our yoga retreat with Annalisa and find your inner center through active movement and quiet meditation. An activating yoga session in the morning and a slower yoga session in the evening will bring you back into balance.
Here you can find all information about the retreat

Even in winter, the historical spa town of Merano (where Empress Sissi once vacationed) is worth a day trip. At this time of year you will mainly find Merano residents strolling through the streets to do their shopping. Drink an aperitivo in the winter sun and stroll relaxed through the arcade alley - welcome to the south side of the Alps. With the Venosta railway you can chug comfortably from Mals through the entire valley right to the spa town, with a relaxed view out of the window and the slowly changing landscape from the deep wintery upper Venosta valley at 1000m above sea level down to the apple orchards of the middle Venosta valley and then over the bottleneck Töll into the Meran basin with the city of Meran at 325m, where the Mediterranean touches the Alps.

As we are a partner of VenostaCard you will receive it upon your arrival. The card is valid throughout your whole stay and offers you following advantages:

• Use of the Venosta Valley Railway and all other public transportation in South Tyrol
• Use of the ski buses and shuttle services to the ski areas throughout the Venosta Valley
• Cross-country skiing taster course incl. day ticket (without equipment) for € 30.00 in the Venosta Nordic cross-country skiing areas in Val Venosta/Vinschgau

Take a stroll through the Mals weekly market and discover the medieval town of Glurns whilst learning about its history from experienced guides. For an even more romantic experience, we recommend a snowshoe hike. Sporting types will also love our ski touring opportunities. Whichever way you prefer to explore the region, we have collected the most beautiful events and exciting activities for you in our weekly programme. Embark on culinary discovery tours and enjoy fascinating combinations of cultural activity and sporting challenges that will make your holiday an extraordinary experience. Wine and cheese tastings, whiskey tastings, guided hiking tours, as well as informative excursions to ancient bunkers, monasteries, and Romanesque churches await!

We are only 5 minutes away from the Reschen Pass ski area. Travel conveniently from the hotel to the ski lift and back with our free shuttle service operating twice a day.