Best tips for skiing in Valdezcaray (La Rioja)

Skiing It is one of our great hobbies and there are already several ski resorts that we have visited over the years.

And to skiing in Valdezcaray We have to admit that we have been surprised.

Valdezcaray It is the ski resort that has the Community of La Rioja, and I'll tell you in advance, a privileged place with amazing views

Due to its location, from the highest point you can see several of the most important peaks and mountain enclaves in northern Spain.

It is a family station perfect to spend the day, and with the great incentive that at the foot of the mountain is the town of Ezcaray, and very close corners of La Rioja with as many attractions as Haro o Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

In this way, in your getaway to Valdezcaray you have a wide variety of options nature activities, bicycle rides, wine tourism y gastronomy to complement your ski day on a weekend or long weekend.

Information about the Valdezcaray ski resort

But let's start at the beginning and break it down. What is Valdezcaray station like?.

Valdezcaray It has a skiable surface of 22 kilometers, and is located on the northern slope of the peak of San Lorenzo, the highest of the Sierra de la Demanda Rioja and the second highest peak in the Iberian System.

The base of the station is just over 1.500 meters away, but the maximum elevation of the Valdezcaray station It is at 2.125 meters of altitude.

It is a ski resort not of large dimensions, which has 6 green slopes, 6 blue, 10 red and 2 black, and to move around them there are 7 chairlifts and 3 ski lifts that can move 16.400 skiers per hour, with the novelty this season of the new Corrales de ski lift. four seats

A very interesting fact is that, for its size, it offers a very large parking lot with capacity for up to 1.400 cars and 100 buses.

How to get to Valdezcaray in La Rioja

Access to the station is by road through the valley that leaves from Ezcaray, a town located at 1.130 meters above sea level.

If you have a private car, you can get there via the LR-416, but at specific times when there is a large influx of skiers, it is also possible to take a bus that takes you from Ezcaray to Valdezcaray, with a price of 3 euros and 55 seats capacity.

Although the resort is not usually full, it is advisable to visit it during the week since the influx of skiers is clearly lower.

This was our case when we visited the station last year in mid-December, a real luxury to have the station to yourself, without having to wait in line.

Of course, during the weekends the resort has many more visitors due to skiers who mainly arrive from Bilbao and the Basque Country, but also increasingly from people who arrive from Madrid to spend the weekend or a long weekend.

As soon as you arrive at the station and next to the parking lot you will find the ticket offices where you can buy the ski pass.

2022-2023 ski pass prices in Valdezcaray

Los ski pass prices in Valdezcaray for season 2022-2023 They are the same as in the previous season, 22,50 euros for adults and 19 euros for children.

These are the basic rates, but the ideal is to visit the Valdezcaray website where you can see the full prices, as there are different rates and discounts depending on the visitor profile and the time of year.

Si vas a rent snowboarding equipment, it is here in the lower part where you should rent it because upstairs you can only rent skis.

From this first height of the station, you take the first lift that takes you to what is in practice the base of the station.

What are the ski slopes like in Valdezcaray?

Once you arrive at the base, you find the main building where they are the schools, the ski rental and the restaurant with a terrace which has views of the slopes.

Next to the building is the initiation area, also designed for the little ones, with a space so they can learn without running into any danger.

And of course, two chairlifts that give you access to the slopes.

These two chairlifts They basically do the same route, since in reality they are unfolded to be able to take on more people.

With these chairlifts you access the heart of the station, where you can now go down the blue and red slopes.

From this point you have access to the entire station, either descending to the base or taking one of the two chairlifts that take you to the highest area of ​​the station, each of which goes in a different direction.

El chairlift on the right. Colocobia, takes you on a tour of the eastern end of the station, the northernmost slope where the sun never usually shines.

Furthermore, the central chairlift White Fields takes you to the highest part of the station and the closest point to reach the Saint Lawrence Peak.

This is where the best views of the station are, from left to right, from the Picos de Europa and the Cantabrian mountain rangeUntil the Mount gorbea in Vizcaya and the Moncayo, the highest peak of the Iberian SystemAnd including the pyrenees.

Also, if you are lucky like we were, you can see the impressive cloud sea landscape which in winter usually covers the entire area with fog the Rioja.

This makes this point so special and gives the resort incalculable value, since all of us who ski love to enjoy the mountain and its views.

What are the best slopes to ski in Valdezcaray?

This point of the station gives way to what, in our opinion, is the best track at Valdezcaray station and it has the advantage that it is a blue track suitable for all levels.

This is the Campos Blancos track, with 2.100 meters in length and 325 meters of elevation gain, which allows you to ski non-stop from the highest to the lowest part of the resort.

This track has two strong points.

On the one hand, the quality of the snow, because the sun usually hits here, which makes descending the slope much more pleasant, and on the other hand, the excellent panoramic views that you can enjoy.

It is a very easy slope for skiing, which borders the station.

Finally, it is worth highlighting the boom that the practice of ski touring in Valdezcaray, so you will not be surprised to find numerous skiers who, not without great effort, climb up the sides of the slopes to the top of the aforementioned Saint Lawrence Peak.

Here you can download the pdf with the Valdezcaray piste map.

Activities to do in summer in Valdezcaray

Now, ski resorts are increasingly aware that those of us who like the mountains also like to enjoy them in summer, or simply when it hasn't snowed.

And specifically, it is to be expected that in a short space of time it will be possible to carry out other activities at Valdezcaray station.

There is a project to incorporate a bike Park to be able to ride the bicycle on the ski lifts and thus be able to explore mountain trails.

Apart from this project, currently you can do the activity of downhill mountain bike from the highest area of ​​the station to the village of Zaldierna.

This enhances the appeal of Valdezcaray as a destination where it is possible to live the experience of one of the sports that are beginning to catch on among mountain lovers.