Ski holiday in Oberlech: the car-free plateau above Lech, from Stuben

Oberlech in brief: car-free, tunnels and cable car

Oberlech is part of Lech am Arlberg. Lech Zürs Tourismus and Ski Arlberg give an altitude of 1,750 metres, and the top station of the cable car is at 1,649 metres. Lech itself lies in the valley at 1,444 metres. By cable car it is four minutes, but day to day the gap is bigger. Lech is a village on the river, Oberlech a cluster of hotels in the middle of the ski area.

Since the mid-1990s Oberlech has been car-free from December to April. In 1996 the three-kilometre tunnel system opened. Since then luggage, supplies and waste have travelled underground to the houses. Before that, skidoos, tracked vehicles and piste machines took goods up. According to Ski Arlberg, all the hotels in Oberlech are now linked underground.

The Oberlech cable car

The aerial cable car between Lech and Oberlech was rebuilt in 2016. A cabin holds 80 people plus an attendant, and the ride takes around four minutes. The valley station is in the centre of Lech. From the Anger underground garage opposite the Lechwelten, signs lead you straight to the lift.

In the underground arrival area, staff take your luggage and issue your personal ticket. The cases travel to the hotel in containers, around 9,000 a season according to the operator, between 7 am and 1 am. With a valid Ski Arlberg pass you may ride up from 4 pm on the day before your first ski day, and single rides are sold at the ticket office.

Runs and lifts around Oberlech

On a ski holiday in Oberlech you click into your bindings outside the hotel. On the piste map, look for four names: Petersbodenbahn, Hasensprungbahn, Kriegerhornbahn and Steinmähderbahn. From here you ski down to Lech or over the Hasensprung towards Zug.

Petersboden and Hasensprung

The Petersbodenbahn starts in Oberlech. At the top it connects with the Hasensprungbahn, which runs up to 2,046 metres. From there you ski back to the valley station on the blue Hasensprung run, or on the red Furkamähder to the Steinmähderbahn. If you want to go to Zug, take ski route 48. For children who are already confident on blue runs, it is a quiet loop that always ends at the same lift.

Kriegerhorn and Kriegeralpe

The Kriegerhornbahn starts above Lech by the Schlegelkopf lifts and takes you up to 2,172 metres, just below the summit. The run leads via Petersboden to Oberlech and on down to Lech. On the way is the Kriegeralpe, a simple hut known for its Kässpätzle. Between the top stations of the Weibermahd and Petersboden lifts stands Der Wolf, a timber building with a fireplace and sun terrace.

Heli-skiing from the Kriegerhorn

Lech Zürs Tourismus names the Kriegerhorn near Oberlech as a departure point for heli-skiing, with landings on the Mehlsack and in the Schneetal at the Orgelscharte. Weather and avalanche conditions in the morning decide whether you fly. We arrange a flight or a ski guide for you on request.

Skiing from Stuben to Oberlech

Stuben and Oberlech belong to the same Ski Arlberg network, and one ski pass covers both. Your day starts at the Albona I lift, around 300 metres from the Ski Hotel Mondschein in Stuben. This is how you get to Oberlech in the winter season without a car:

• Ride up on the Albonabahn and ski down to Alpe Rauz, the valley station of the Flexenbahn at 1,665 metres.
• Take the Flexenbahn up to 2,227 metres and across to Zürs.
• In Zürs, go via the Seekopf or Zürsersee lifts to the Madlochbahn, up to the Madlochjoch at around 2,450 metres and down the long run to Zug.
• Take the Zugerbergbahn up, then ski via the Balmengrat and Kriegeralpe down to Petersboden and Oberlech.

The last part is the final section of Der Weiße Ring, the ski circuit around Lech, Zürs, Zug and Oberlech. It runs from the Kriegeralpe via Petersboden and Oberlech to Lech, around 4.2 kilometres with 644 vertical metres. Read more about the village in the valley under skiing in Lech.

To get back, ski down to Lech, ride up on the Rüfikopfbahn and continue via Zürs to the Flexenbahn. Ask in the morning how late the Flexenbahn runs, and count backwards from there. Which lifts are running today is shown on our page Arlberg lifts and slopes live. If you miss the last connection, you get back to Stuben by bus or taxi.

Getting to Oberlech by car and bus

In winter you cannot drive up to Oberlech. You park in the Anger underground garage in Lech, which is heated, open around the clock and has around 600 spaces. In winter 2026/27 a day of five hours or more costs €31, and the garage does not take cash. Signs guide you from your car to the cable car.

From Stuben it is around 11 kilometres over the Flexen pass to the garage, about a quarter of an hour on a clear road. From 1 November to 15 April, winter tyres are compulsory in wintry conditions. Check the road report before you set off, as conditions on a pass road change quickly.

By bus, line 750 links Langen, Stuben, Zürs and Lech several times a day, with a fare. The village bus runs between Lech, Zug, Stubenbach and Zürs, free with a valid ski pass. After that the James night bus runs daily from 7.30 pm to 2 am. On request our shuttle will also take you to Lech. How to get to Stuben is under getting here by train, car and plane.

Oberlech or Stuben as a base for your ski holiday

Oberlech suits you if you travel with small children and want to start the morning without a walk to the lift. Less traffic on the plateau means more safety for children and walkers, which was one aim of the tunnels. The Lech ski school's children's classes meet behind the valley station of the Oberlech cable car. The Schlosskopf ski school is based in Oberlech itself. The trade-off: in the evening you depend on the cable car, and up there you have only what the hotels offer.

Stuben suits you if you want to ski the whole network, from St. Anton to Lech, and eat in your own house in the evening. The village lies at around 1,400 metres, and Hannes Schneider was born here in 1890. At the Mondschein Chalet with private spa suites the house's own lift takes you to the piste and on to the Albona I lift. Oberlech then becomes a day trip. Read more about the village under Stuben am Arlberg.

Tobogganing, the Burg Bar and dinner in Stuben

The toboggan run from Oberlech to Lech is floodlit and has artificial snow, just over a kilometre long with around 200 metres of descent. You ride up on the cable car and hire toboggans at the cable car or in the sports shops. If you would rather walk, the Oberlech winter walking loop starts at the Rüfiplatz in Lech, is 3.8 kilometres long and reaches Oberlech after around 20 minutes.

The Burg Bar at the Burg Hotel is open daily in winter from 10 am to 7 pm. It is the meeting point in Oberlech when the spring sun stays long on the terrace, and the venue of the Oberlech spring festival.

For dinner you are back in Stuben. The Alte Gaststube cooks à la carte, and the Chef's Table has no more than eight seats and received 95 points in Falstaff 2026. Times and reservations are under restaurants and Chef's Table at the Mondschein.

Oberlech in summer and autumn

Outside the winter months Oberlech can be reached by car, and the cable car also runs in summer. Ski Arlberg calls the Kriegerhorn a family mountain in summer. On the Tannegg above Oberlech is the Skyspace Lech by James Turrell, a walk-in light installation. It has been open since 2018 and can be reached on foot in summer and winter. From the top station it is around 1.3 kilometres past the Burg Hotel and the Schlössle.

In September and October the Genuss Festival brings together chefs and hotels from across the Alps on the Arlberg, in 2026 also with evenings at the Burg Hotel Oberlech. In summer only one of our three houses, the Mondschein Chalet, is open; it welcomes guests all year. We describe the village at the top of the pass between Stuben and Lech under Zürs on the Flexen pass.