The highest ski area is touched by the Penkenbahn, a trendy new supergondola from the middle of town, next to the large Sporthotel Strass with its bars, and across the road from Hans, the Butcher whose hot pork rolls make a perfect lunch to push into your hand.
On the top there are beginner runs inserted away with their own lifts while greatest skiers head down into the huge bowl that combines lots of attractive, tree-lined runs with the likes of Harakiri, the sharpest run in the Alps.
There are lifts up the other side of the bowl, not least the Tux cable car 150 to the resort’s high point at 2,590 m. Other pistes head to Finkenberg and Lanersbach while in the other direction an off-piste route will get you down to valley level at the Horbergbahn, for a bus hop back to town.
With access right from the center of town, Mayrhofen is perfect for families with the ski school meeting area as you pour off the Penkenbahn cable car.

Mayrhofen children on piste

Skiing is safe and away from roads. Intermediates can enjoy the gentle paths and the broad pistes – great for families who want to ski together. Boarders have fun at the Vans Penken Park probably one of Europe’s best snow parks.
There’s a full day’s skiing to be had title to the resort’s far corners, and plenty of mountain restaurants with fabulous cakes and children-friendly meals such as Wiener schnitzel and chips.
Don’t miss lunch at the Schneekarhütte, twin stone and glass pyramids sitting on a ridge at the top of the Horbergbahn lift, serving modern takes on hearty Austrian cuisine.
Just up the main road from the Penkenbahn is the Ahornbahn that reaches a distinct peak and ski area with plenty of space for beginners to improve, and to relax at the White Lounge bar, a real igloo with deckchairs outdoor. Or stay over in one of the 28 bedrooms.
They attach with all the other resorts on the Zillertal Superski pass. Hochzillertal, taking in the villages of Kaltenbach and Fugen, is a fine place in itself with plenty of large, zoomy runs that children just love. The Zillertal Arena, starting out in Zell-am-Ziller has plenty extra hills with attractive Tyrolean backdrops.
Head farther up the valley and you come to a dead end at the Hintertux glacier, one of Europe’s greatest varied glacier ski areas, somewhere that’s open every day of the year.There’s 60km of runs, everything from gentle pistes to bumps for experts, not to mention the Glacier Flohpark, at 3,250m the highest children’s playground in Europe with fun ski runs and tubing.

Mayrhofen – Resort

The lovely highest street is filled with coffee houses, bars and restaurants. The cakes in Kostner, with its smart Austrian design, are legendary and families descend on the place in late afternoon. The cool café/bar Pane-e-Vino Da Michele, run by the cheery Italian Michele Viteritti, serves up sophisticated pasta plus wine, grappa and giant tiramisu – perfect for a romantic evening.

 Spa Hotel Strass

The Sporthotel Strass is one of the energetic hotels in the Alps, drifting down the great street in several grand Tyrolean buildings (at one point linked by a first-floor glass . Its Ice Bar is the first stop for skiers’ after receiving the Penkenbahn down.
Then, for this season, there’s its huge new lounge and bar, with a touch of live music, while there’s also the perennial favorite, the subterranean Arena nightclub where Fatboy Slim has been a regular. And if you need to recover from that, there are two sanatoriums – one for the family with a big swimming pool, and another for those who like to strip down to essentials.
A stroll away, Scotland Yard is a late-night British pub that’s been part of the scenery for many years while Brück’n stadl, lively Austrian tradition, is near the bottom of the Ahorn.