Mountain Biking in Chamonix

The chalet is perfectly placed for mountain biking, in the heart of the trails and close to the Flegere lift. We ride both cross-country and downhill ourselves, so feel free to contact us with any specific questions. Our shed can hold ten bikes, and has a steel door and security light. There's a maintenance stand and outside tap and hosepipe for washing bikes down. We'll be expanding this section as time goes on so if you'd like to be kept updated, let us know!

Cross-country mountain biking in Chamonix

From the chalet door, you can ride a multitude of beautiful and challenging cross-country routes. The circuits marked in green on the map (pdf format, 2 pages) are virtually flat, and ideal for family days out - perhaps progressing to the blue routes later on. The red routes are step up from these, and suitable for more experienced cross country riders - though you can easily cut the loops short at any point if you decide you've had enough! These take you along undulating trails through the pines, with rocky and rooty sections, some great climbs and descents. For those who really want to climb, the Col Des Posettes at le Tour is a tough and commiting ascent, rewarded by a marvellous downhill.

Downhilling in Chamonix

Vallorcine's downhill track is the first mountain bike only track to be opened in Chamonix, and proved such a success that it will be open for July as well as August this year. A massive twisting trail plummeting down the side of the valley, it's a fantastic ride. There's a handy bail out after the first section where you can switch to a fire road for the remaining descent if you don't want to do the commiting and technical lower part though the woods. This trail is so good that some days, we just rode it all day!
The other lift accessed "official" descents are fast and furious fire roads with some technical sections, especially at Le Tour and Les Houches, and from Lognan at Argentiere. Don't miss the shuttled descents on Wednesday afternoons from the Vert Hotel down the from the Merlet - this is a good place to meet up, as it's a very social occasion. Outside July and August,there's more technical routes available throughout the valley.

Days out mountain biking near Chamonix

From Chamonix you can easily have days out in other mountain bike areas. We like to go to Pre-la-Joux, near the Swiss Border,for its eye-popping cliffs and twisty singletrack, Les Gets for fast downhill and big berms and jumps, or Pila in Italy with its long scenic descents, massive drops, and Italian charm. These are all brilliant days out and not more than an hour's drive.
Pila and Les Gets are particularly good if you have any non mountain bikers with you - Pila's trails come down from a lovely restaurant with a swimming pool and gorgeous views, as well as separate walking circuits with a Marmot Trail for kids. Les Gets is a lovely Alpine town with plenty to offer apart from biking - see their site for full details.

Mountain bike shops in Chamonix

Zero G (+33 4 50 53 01 01 , zerogchamonix@hotmail.com) is probably the best place to head for if you want to rent bikes - they'll also sort you out with protection and have a good servicing area.

Another good shop is Legend'chx with its mini-northshore ramps for testing (+33 (0)450 902225, legendchx@wanadoo.fr, map)

Mountain biking and walkers

The attitude to mountain biking in France is noticeably more accomodating than the UK - the French love cyclists of all kinds and and calls of 'Bon Courage!" are more likely to follow you than anything else. We very much hope to see this continuing in Chamonix so it's good to have consideration on the shared trails - a cheery "bonjour" goes a long way to ensuring the future of mountain biking in the valley.

When to go

It's worth keeping in mind that in July and August, you are only allowed to ride bikes on the designated bike trails (map in .pdf format, 2 pages). These are extensive and very good.... However, outside these times, you can ride anywhere you want, opening up more terrain.

Balanced against this, the lifts open on June 16th 2008 and close on September 14th 2008 (Grands Montets is slightly shorter, full details here). After this time, the lifts are generally open at weekends only, according to weather. This means that around the last few weeks of June, and the first few weeks of September, the lifts are open, and you can ride anywhere. The trails are less busy with walkers too.

Cross-country riders who aren't bothered about lift access will find Chamonix a paradise in June, September, and October, with some great cross-country available right into November if conditions are good.
The Flegere lift usually opens in November for the French Toussaint holiday weekend around the beginning of November, providing the weather's good - last year we had some superb downhilling at this time!

N.B. At busy times, the train allows only five bikes on at at time, so this isn't reliable for large groups.

We'll be expanding the mountain biking section as time goes on so if you'd like to be kept updated, let us know!