Wondering where to head for your first autumn session on skis? Check out our up-to-date overview of Alpine resorts offering groomed cross-country tracks before the winter season gets underway.

The first cross-country tracks in the Alps are already open, although for now only on the glaciers. One of the first resorts where you can ski on stored artificial snow from last winter is Davos, which opens its season as early as Friday, October 30.

Austria

Ramsau am Dachstein

Ramsau is one of Europe’s best-known meccas for autumn cross-country skiing. The heart of the first autumn kilometers is the stadium on the plateau and the renowned high-altitude trail on the Dachstein Glacier (at up to 2,700m above sea level).

The autumn season on the groomed trail around the Ramsau stadium officially kicks off on November 6, 2026, with the Nordic Winter Warm-up. The traditional Nordic Winter Opening will take place from December 3 to 6, 2026.

The resort’s official website can be found here.

Pitztaler & Kaunertaler Gletscher

The Tyrolean glaciers offer training trails at altitudes above 2,800m, serving as the first natural refuge for skiers eager to get back on snow.

In the Pitztal, the training trail on the Pitztal Glacier opened on October 10, 2026, followed on October 17 by a roughly three-kilometer loop in the valley made from stored snow. Both should therefore already be in operation. The trails are groomed at short notice depending on weather conditions, but big names such as Austrian biathlete Anna Gandler are already training in the Pitztal.

The official Pitztal website can be found here.

The cross-country trails in the Kaunertal have been groomed since 26 September.

The official Kaunertal website can be found here.

Leutasch

Leutasch is part of the plateau and the Seefeld region in Tyrol, and one of the most popular destinations for pre-season cross-country skiing. Leutasch also uses snow farming (storing last season’s snow under an insulating layer), which means the valley does not rely solely on early natural snowfall.

The opening trail made from stored snow, A2 – Snowfarmingloipe Leutasch, is scheduled to open on Friday, November 13, 2026. It is a loop of approximately 2.8km (in the Ganghoferbogen / Weidach area), groomed for both skating and classic.

The remaining more than 200km of trails across the Seefeld–Leutasch region will open gradually in late November and December, depending on snowfall.

The official portal and trail conditions can be found here.

Information on the stored-snow trail can be found here

Galtür / Paznaun

Galtür lies in the Paznaun valley near Ischgl at an altitude of over 1,580m, which ensures early snow conditions.

The first trails in the area open from November 5, 2026, with a loop of around five kilometres available in the Vermunt area. The traditional Galtür Ski Opening, along with the full opening of the ski area and the connecting trails at Silvapark, will take place on December 4–6, 2026.

The resort’s official portal can be found here.

Italy

Val Senales / Schnalstal

The South Tyrolean Hochjochferner glacier offers excellent conditions for high-altitude training. Its high-mountain loops are used by national teams and recreational skiers alike.

The high-altitude trails open gradually during October and early November, depending on natural snowfall and freezing nights.

Follow the latest updates on this website.

Livigno

Italy’s Livigno is a pioneer of snow farming. Over the summer it stores tens of thousands of cubic meters of snow from the previous winter under insulating covers, which it uses in autumn to build the first trail of several kilometers in the valley. Last season, however, snow production was focused mainly on the Winter Olympic Games, and the resort was unable to build up reserves for the following winter. As a result, it will rely primarily on hard frosts (allowing it to make artificial snow) and natural snow.

The snow-farming loop usually opens in late October or early November (primarily for training camp groups and early-season skiers). The resort’s main winter season then gets fully underway on November 28, 2026.

Follow the official website here.

Switzerland

Engadin

The Engadin valley boasts the most extensive cross-country trail network in Switzerland. The first to be prepared each year is the snowmaking-equipped Cuntschet loop right in Pontresina.

The Cuntschet loop is scheduled to open at the end of November, followed by the official Langlauf Opening with equipment testing and coaching courses.

More information can be found here.

Davos

Davos is one of the world’s pioneers of snow farming. Every spring it stores more than 20,000m3 of snow under a layer of sawdust, which it spreads out in the Flüela valley in autumn.

The trails are scheduled to open on Friday, October 30, 2026. A more demanding, hilly loop of approximately 4km along the Flüelabach stream will be prepared for both the public and national teams in training. The snow-farming trail operates with separate time slots reserved for elite athletes and the public.

More information can be found here.

Prices at selected resorts

Also Read – Swedish and Norwegian cross-country ski tracks open: Early snow guarantee for 2026

Are you interested in training for long-distance and traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.