Off-piste in St Moritz: a guide for the non-skier

Chairlifts and black runs are only one way to experience the Alps. In St Moritz, Deborah Lyon finds that winter walking, café culture, museums and spa days can make a ski holiday even more enjoyable for the committed non-skier

After years of gritting my teeth, weeping on chairlifts and driving saintly instructors to distraction, I made a liberating discovery: it is entirely possible to enjoy a family skiing holiday without actually skiing. There was no obligation to spend a week with white knuckles and a churning stomach, fraying the nerves of everyone around me. I could be there in the mountains, share the holiday with my family and enjoy every minute of it — simply without the skis.

And that’s when I really began to love my trips to the snow.

I’d known for a long time that skiing wasn’t my sport but stuck with it, thinking things would get better and the kids needed me. Obviously, they didn’t. Fantastic instructors and age-appropriate ski school, plus a husband who enjoyed the sport, meant I was not only surplus to requirements but holding everyone back. And more importantly, I was utterly miserable.

In the decade since I turned my back on skiing (my departure from the sport largely unmourned), I’ve perfected the art of enjoying a ski resort without ever setting foot in a pair of bindings. I’ve learned how to fill solitary mountain hours with a range of interests. And so, for those who fancy a break in the snow without two planks strapped to their feet, this piece might be for you.

We always stay in St Moritz and it’s fair to say there aren’t many nooks and crannies of this gorgeous Swiss town that I haven’t now explored. But still, every year, I find something new to learn or visit as I immerse myself in Engadin life.

St Moritz is large enough to offer plenty for the non-skier to enjoy, but every town and village in the mountain community offers different pleasures and interests if you make the effort to find them.

A sensible first port of call is the nearest tourist office. They’ll happily come up with suggestions for the non-skier. My first discovery was that even in the depths of winter, there are fabulous walking trails throughout the Engadin Valley which you can hike in normal walking boots (and perhaps using poles if the conditions are icier). As a keen hiker back home, this was great news.

In the Engadin, hiking trails are marked with pink poles, clearly differentiated from the green-poled cross-country tracks. As you follow the paths, you’ll often hear the rhythmic swoosh of cross-country skiers gliding along the nearby trails, their effortless pace a reminder of just how fit they are. It’s a magical experience.

Clear signage and well-marked maps make everything navigable for the hiker new to the valley. I’ve explored miles of forests, walked to remote huts in the mountains and crossed frozen lakes (on marked trails, obviously) feeling the altitude pushing my lungs and the mountain air clearing my head. There’s no better way to spend time in a ski resort, in my view.

My favourite hike is through woodland from St Moritz to Lej da Staz where there’s a wonderful coffee stop in a gleaming, silver caravan trailer set in an amphitheatre of mountains. Another fantastic walk starts at St Moritz Bad through the woods across the frozen lake of Champfèr, where a heated tent with deckchairs and sheepskins awaits you by Surlej Bridge for a coffee or mulled wine.

As a woman hiking solo, I feel incredibly safe in Switzerland. But it’s always worth being aware of your surroundings, even somewhere as benign as St Moritz. Also remember that conditions change quickly in the mountains so pack all the necessary kit in the event you get lost or injured. Tell your hotel reception where you plan to walk and make sure your phone is charged.

There are plenty of other things to do as a non-skier if you’re also a non-hiker. What about some R&R for the body? The iron-rich waters that drew 19th-century visitors remain a central part of the town’s identity. Most hotels offer extensive treatments, and the spa at the Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz is legendary.

In most mountain spa towns and ski villages, there’s also a more reasonably priced municipal facility to soak up the healthful mountain waters. In St Moritz for example, there’s the Ovaverva Hallenbad, Spa & Sportzentrum (currently undergoing refurbishment and due to reopen in May 2026) with pools, slides, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, wellness areas and a full gym. It’s a cracking place to spend a good few afternoons without spending a fortune.

Coffee shop culture is a staple of ski resort life. There’s nothing better than watching the world go by while reading a good book, writing, journalling or sketching. I always try to focus on an ‘analogue’ activity while on holiday to take me away from the hurly burly of the online world. Having the time to enjoy an old-school activity feels a real luxury. My favourite coffee shop in St Moritz is the world famous Conditorei Hanselmann, with its mountain views, traditional bakery and elegant service. I love to mooch around the heavenly bookshop opposite, Schuler Wega Bücher then spend an hour over a coffee and pastry, watching the beautiful people.

On the subject of shopping, hold onto your credit card in St Moritz. Every street corner bears a luxury logo and temptation lurks wherever you turn. Saying that, it’s not all Prada and Gucci. There are plenty of independent shops when you head down the backstreets… and a well-stocked Co-op on the hill down towards St Moritz Bad. Stock up there and you can cut your room service bill by a significant margin.

Museums and galleries are another gift to the non-skier, and again the tourist office is a rich source of information, wherever you’re staying. I especially enjoyed the NOMAD art and design fair this year in St Moritz. As for museums, the town is packed with them. A new discovery was the tiny Forum Paracelsus, dedicated to the town’s spa heritage. The healing springs were recognised for their iron-rich water by the physician Paracelsus back in the Middle Ages and people have flocked to drink the sour water ever since. It’s revolting to the taste but clearly does the trick, as people have sworn by it for centuries.

I also spent a happy afternoon at the Engadiner Museum, where intricately panelled stüvas recreate traditional Engadin interiors. With audio commentary guiding you through, it offers an immersive introduction to Alpine domestic life and the Romansh language.

Finding quirky museums that offer an insight into the real life of these villages, the life that existed before the chairlifts and the Aperol spritz, is one of the great privileges of the non-skier. You have time to get below the surface of a place, to burrow beneath the glitz and the glamour. Learn what came before: the heritage, the people, and the language of these special places, where we are mere passers-through.

However I spend my days, I return to the hotel as dusk falls. The children come off the mountain, rosy-cheeked and exhilarated. I offer silent thanks for their safety… and for the blessed fact that I no longer have to join them on the slopes.

Over an evening drink, reflecting on a day of walking, reading, wandering and wondering, I sometimes ask myself: how on earth did I ever find the time to ski?

Deborah Lyon is a writer, editor and hospitality entrepreneur based in the Lake District. She left London two decades ago to restore a derelict Victorian estate near Windermere, now The Heaning — a five-acre collection of self-catering properties rooted in local craftsmanship and Cumbrian heritage. Alongside running the estate, she writes about landscape, place and belonging, drawing inspiration from the fells and literary traditions that surround her. Her first novel, the acclaimed children’s book Timewaif & The Roman Road, was praised for its evocation of Roman Cumbria and its “human stories told with tenderness and truth”. She is also the author of Lake District Unlocked, a family travel guide to the region’s hidden landmarks.

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