Black ice skating on Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana

In a cold, dry early winter the lakes of the Upper Engadin can freeze before the first heavy snow, and the ice stays as clear as glass. Locals call it Schwarzeis, black ice: you skate over dark water and watch cracks and trapped air bubbles run beneath your blades. Lake Sils (Silsersee) is a short walk from Hotel Schweizerhof, and Lake Silvaplana (Silvaplanersee) starts just beyond the hamlet of Sils Baselgia. When the conditions line up, Lake Sils alone offers a natural skating surface about 5 km long.

How black ice forms on the Engadin lakes

Black ice needs a hard frost and a dry sky at the same time. When a lake freezes in still, very cold air and no snow falls while the ice forms, nothing clouds it and it stays transparent. The lakes freeze in a fairly fixed order. Lago Bianco on the Bernina Pass goes first, followed by Lake St. Moritz and the small Lake Champfèr, normally in December. Lake Sils takes longer because of its size and exposure to wind, and Lake Silvaplana, the deepest of the group, usually freezes last. A single snowfall on fresh ice ends the black ice phase on that lake, so in some winters it lasts a few days and in others it does not form at all.

Who checks the ice, and who does not

The municipalities of the Upper Engadin never officially open lakes with black ice. A lakes commission advises the five municipalities of Celerina, St. Moritz, Silvaplana, Sils and Maloja on ice safety, and the municipalities take responsibility only for marked routes and organised events on the ice. Everywhere else you skate at your own risk, as you would ski off-piste. In January 2026 two people broke through the ice on Lake St. Moritz and had to be rescued. Before you go out, ask at reception or at the Sils tourist information office about the current state of the ice. Never go out on the ice alone, and keep away from inflows, outflows and grey or milky patches. The European emergency number is 112.

Rent skates and use the Muot Marias rink

Skates can be rented at Giovanoli Sport in Sils Maria during the rink's opening hours. The natural ice rink at Muot Marias, Via da Marias 38, is in the village and is the dependable option when the lakes are snow-covered or still open. It has a 45 by 50 m skating field, a boarded 45 by 25 m hockey field, curling rinks from December to February and a children's area. The rink opens as early as conditions allow, usually in early or mid December, and runs to mid or late March, daily from 9:00 until dusk. In the 2025/26 season it was floodlit until 20:30, and until 22:00 on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Ice skating lessons with a figure skater can be arranged on request.

Black ice beyond Sils

If Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana are not ready, Lago Bianco on the Bernina Pass is usually the first lake in the region to freeze. By March the picture changes. The lakes are snow-covered and prepared as cross-country trails, and on the second Sunday in March the Engadin Skimarathon crosses both Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana on its 42 km route from Maloja to S-chanf. Guests who come for the ice in December can return for the trails; our page on cross-country skiing in Sils Maria has the details, and winter hiking along the lake shore is possible all season.

Skating from Hotel Schweizerhof

Hotel Schweizerhof is in the centre of Sils Maria, a short walk from both the Muot Marias rink and the shore of Lake Sils. After a cold afternoon on the ice, dinner in the Arvenstube is a few steps from your room. Ask us about the ice when you plan your winter stay, and come and skate with us.

Schweizerhof, Sils Maria, a Faern Collection Hotel