Exciting Toboggan Run from Preda to Bergün in the Albula Valley

(This post created and published on January 25, 2026. This outing took place in February 2014, but I am currently reminiscing). 

Thursday February 27, 2014 -- Today we went looking for snow, and this is what we found!

This 6-km sledding track along the Albula railway line is very popular and is specially maintained for this sport. In summer it is an alpine pass road, but no vehicle traffic is allowed in winter. The track starts near the train station in Preda, and you end about 1½ km from the train station in Bergün, so you have to pull your sled back there again each time. In winter a special sledding train runs back and forth between the two stations. We ran the track 3 times, and it got faster as the day wore on. Our maximum speed was 35 km/hr (there is a meter near the end which displays your speed). No crashes! It took us 3½ hours to get here from home, so it was easily a day trip.

(At the bottom of this blog I added a video I made from piecing together the various videos I took as we raced down the track. It's a bit wobbly because I had a small hand-held camera, but it's fun to watch!)

Heading along the Albula Railway Line, a world heritage site. On the way from Thusis to Tiefencastel we pass the Punt da Solis bridge over the Albula River. This is one of many beautiful bridges in this region. 

VIDEO:

The train heading toward the Landwasser Viaduct on its way to Filisur!

(Note: Not great Quality)

The train approaches Bergün, which is where the sledding run ends. 

VIDEO:
The train leaves Bergün and starts to make its way up the valley over several bridges and through several 360-degree tunnels. 

This is Preda, where the the sledding run "starts". Well, actually, you have to pull your sled for about a kilometer first before the actual downhill starts, but the landscape is pretty! We started on our first run here at 11:30.

A map shows how the sledding trail goes down the Albula Valley. It takes about 45 minutes to do one "run", which includes walking about one kilometer on each end.  

Current (2026) description of the Toboggan Trail on our Switzerland Mobility Map. 

One single photo from the first run down the trail. On the first run, it was kind of warm and the snow was soft, so it wasn't a very fast ride, but got faster as the day went on and more people used the track. 

At 12:15 we were back in the village of Bergün and headed for the train station to take the special sledding train back up to Preda. 

The train between Bergün and Preda crosses several such viaducts. You can just see the sledding trail down below, as it passes under one of the arches. 

A good look at the prepared sledding trail from the train window (as the train crosses one of the viaducts). In summer, this is a vehicle road. Unfortunately, this first part is level, and you have to pull your sled for about a kilometer (or 1.5 km) before the downhill section starts. 

A look at a couple of the viaducts that we pass under with the sleds. As it is a weekday, there are not too many people here. 

Back up at the Preda station now at just after 1 p.m., ready to start on the second run!

We actually brought our own sleds on the train (from home), but did not bring helmets, but that is recommended. You can rent the sleds up here at the little station in Preda. 

Enjoying the views on the first 1-km section where we have to pull our sleds. 

You have to pull the sled for the first 20 minutes or so, before the road dips enough to ride the sled. This here is about where we could finally start "sliding"!

Here's the little "sledding train" (pulling just one wagon where everyone just piles in with their sleds) heading back to Bergün to pick up the next load of sledders. 

View up the Albula Valley as we head down on the toboggan run now. (I stopped once in a while to take photos, and also some videos!)

The track runs beneath the arches of the train viaducts! This is the way tobogganning runs should be!

Here the train makes a 360-degree loop inside the mountains, that's why you see more than one bridge. 

A cargo train heads past slightly higher up

Urs follows behind to keep an eye on me! He's way more cautious than I am.

At 2 p.m. we are back in Bergün again, and making our way to the train station for the third train ride up to Preda for the third and last run down the mountain (no additional photos).

I laugh every time I see a sign like this! "Crap" means "Rock" in the local Romantsch language. 

VIDEO:

I didn't take photos on the third run of the day, 

but here is a video I put together of the videos I took on one of the runs! 

It is not great quality because I had just a small, handheld camera.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The red line is the railway, the blue track is the sledding path.

By 3:10 p.m. we were done the final run, which was pretty icy by then and we clocked a maximum of 35 km/hr! his is what the mountains to the north look like, as we started on our way back home. 

Heading back toward Thusis after crossing the Landwasser Viaduct from Filisur. 

Here's the approximate location of the Albula Valley withing Switzerland.

Here is an idea of how it looks in summer. The trains makes several loops in tunnels to gain altitude. (The Swiss are master tunnel builders!) You can see the road on which we ran the sleds.