Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis probably isn’t high on your list of overseas riding locations, but if you like smooth singletrack, berms and ski-lifts then perhaps it really should be. The Austrian resort, which has gone out of its way to accommodate families with kids as well as more experienced bike-park riders, has two new trails open this summer and together they’re over 10km long.

Called the Leithetrail and the Bifitrail, the new tracks are graded green and blue and cover 6.9km and 4.3km respectively. The riding is a mix of mellow rollers and berms, with the Leithetrail dropping some 390m before dropping you at the Waldbahn bottom station for the ski lift back up. The Bifitrail is a blue, packs in rollers, doubles and easy berms before adding in some steeper bends and northshore further down.

The Leithetrail has berms, rollers and doubles and looks amazing for riders of all levels

Add that on to the existing high alpine singletrack trails and the nine bike park lines on offer, there are now over 56km of trails to be had, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis says. It’s also hosted some pretty famous riders in the past, including a 14-year-old Jackson Goldstone.

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis family focus

It’s what happens around the trails I found so family friendly though, on my first visit to the park nearly ten years ago. Ten years before that, in 2004, the North Tyrolean region decided to get serious about bringing in the summer cycling and holiday trade, building playgrounds, adventure parks, water features and even something called the Fisser Flitzer — a toboggan run from the mountain top to Serfaus below. 

Cable cars riddle the mountainside like a Swiss cheese, and there are swimming lakes with aqua-marine waters, floating swimming pontoons and picnic spots in the woods surrounding them. There are literally hundreds, maybe even thousands of things to do here for kids. I can’t list them all here but we saw a gold panning area, zip lines, aeroplane rides, snow slides, airbags to jump onto, a zoo, trampolines, sandpits, climbing walls.

Hard to believe given how good this looks, but the Bifitrail is graded green and is suitable for new riders

The new trails

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis gets its names from the three alpine villages that banded together to form a ski and bike resort. The new Bifitrail trail is 6.9km long and descends 390m vertically. It’s reached from the Waldbahn cable car and then splits of the Milky Way bike park line. It has rollers and berms, and northshore features that don’t exactly seem that green-friendly but we’re betting are options on the side of the trail. We do know there are “numerous small obstacles” as extra features on the side of the trail to hit up, if you’re a more practised rider.

The 4.3km long Leithetrail trail comes off the Bifitrail, it’s blue graded and it’s there to connect the bike park to the singletrack alpine trails. There are rollers, doubles and easy berms, before spicing things up with “steep bends and Northshore elements” further down the trail. 

I rode the Frommestrail nearly a decade ago, it’s a high Alpine masterpiece of trail building, with more exposure and rough sections for more experienced riders

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis festivals

The resort opens to bikes on June 15, but there are also camps and workshops, throughout the summer season to draw in riders. There are women’s workshops planned, as well as men’s and women’s camps and, a Propain Rookie Camp, which will take place this year from 5-9 August.

There’s a bike park at Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis too, and it’s loaded with jumps, drops and berms

Around a month later, from 6-8 September, the Bike Festival Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis will take place for the second time. Just like last year, a great programme awaits festival guests. With an expo area and free testing opportunities on the event site, music from Mountain Reggae Radio and a trampoline park, party atmosphere is guaranteed. Furthermore, you can put your bike skills to the test at the Cash for Trick Sessions on the pump track or at the Braap Off Session – and of course on the above-mentioned bike park lines and single tracks.    

For more information on biking in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, visit: www.bike-sfl.at/en.
Details about the holiday region Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis can be found at: www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at/en.