Walking & Hiking
With altitudes ranging from 700 to 3100m, the beautiful Giffre Valley surrounding Samoëns is a hikers and bikers paradise.
There are over 900km of marked alpine walking trails and over 600 km of mountain bike tracks around Samoëns. Either explore the lush alpine valley floor or take the Grand Massif Express cable car (open throughout July and August) up to 1600m where there is an even greater choice of walks and mountain biking.
Between the 1st July and 31st August, Samoëns visitors can take advantage of the many mountain refuges providing hikers the opportunity to experience some of the more challenging tracks by providing overnight accommodation.
From Samoëns, walkers can join the renowned GR5 multi-day hiking trail that leads onto La Cascade du Rouget where beautiful waterfalls abound, up to Lac d’Anterne and finally down to Le Brevent and into Chamonix.
‘The alpine portion of the GR5 long distance hiking trail is one of the most beautiful and personally rewarding multi-day hiking experiences in the world.’
The region is also extremely popular with road cyclists, especially those looking to challenge themselves against the world-renowned Col de Joux Plane. With an average gradient of 7.4% over 13 km, the Joux Plan is one of the top six toughest mountain passes in France making it a favourite with the Tour de France organisers.
For those preferring a more sedate cycle then the tracks along the Giffre valley floor offer a number of options. To the west find the bustling village of Morillon. Heading east to the quaint village of Sixt Fer a Cheval, visitors will be rewarded with the beauty of the Sixt Fer à Cheval Nature Reserve, the largest reserve in the Haute-Savoie region that is home to numerous snow melt waterfalls and the stunning Cascade Rouget waterfall.
