Ofen Pass

The Ofen Pass (Pass dal Fuorn) links Zernez in the Engadine with the Val Müstair in the canton of Graubünden, and crosses the Swiss National Park on the way. The summit is at 2,149 m. The road from Zernez over the top to Santa Maria is 35 km, with a maximum gradient of 14.3%.

The north side climbs 21 km from Zernez at an average of only 3.1%. The south side drops 14 km at an average of 5.6% to Santa Maria, where the Umbrail Pass road begins.

The Ofen was never one of the big north and south trade routes. Zernez kept it open in summer and winter in exchange for the right to charge a toll, repairs around 1864 let horse drawn post coaches cross regularly, and the road from Zernez to Müstair was built from 1870 to 1872 with federal money. Postbuses replaced the coaches in 1922, and from 1934 they ran in winter as well.

• From Zernez the road climbs gently into the Swiss National Park, through the mountain pine forests of the Pass dal Fuorn area, the most extensive in the Alps.
• Numbered car parks along the park road are the starting points for the park's walking trails.
• The 2,149 m summit has a restaurant.
• The south side is steeper, dropping through Tschierv and Fuldera to Santa Maria in the Val Müstair.
• At Punt la Drossa a side road leads through the Munt la Schera tunnel to Punt dal Gall.
• Best way to experience it: drive or ride it yourself in your own car or a hire car or on a motorbike, or join one of the guided tours that run on it.

• The Ofen Pass is open all year. Winter tyres are compulsory for the whole winter, snow chains can be required for short periods, and the pass can close in bad weather.
• Roadworks close the road between Zernez and La Drossa from 2 to 6 November 2026, each night from 21:30 to 05:00, with a diversion over the B180 Reschen road.
• Heavy vehicles may tow trailers between Zernez and Müstair only when the road is free of snow.
• Inside the Swiss National Park, the car parks along the road are numbered P1 to P10 and have limited spaces. The park is open to visitors by day only, and sleeping in vehicles along the Ofenpass road is not allowed. Dogs are not allowed in the park, even on a lead, drones are banned, and visitors must stay on marked trails and posted rest areas.
• PostBus line 811 runs hourly from Zernez over the pass to the Val Müstair and Mals, with stops in the park including Champlönch P1 and Süsom Givè.

• Last verified: 3 November 2026