La Clusaz has been making a real name for itself in the Mountain Bike world in recent years. With 2,000m of elevation, three summertime up lifts on two mountains, and a total of 18 marked, mapped and well-maintained trails, there’s something for all of the family.
Whether you are after gentle, family-friendly trails or white knuckle descents, the La Clusaz mountain bike trails have it all, and the best bit is that it is still very uncrowded, meaning no queues at the lifts and empty trails! All the routes now have visible markers to help riders navigate the tracks.
There are mountain bike trails and road cycling routes all over the Haute-Savoie. Visit our Cycling in Annecy page to find out more about getting around on two wheels in the area.
The Alps Bike Festival
For the competitive types out there, the Alps Bike Festival comes to La Clusaz in mid-July every year. A huge mountain biking competition in a spectacular setting, the Alps Bike Festival is the new name for Roc des Alpes, a fun event whether you’re participating or spectating. With shows, music, children’s activities, summer luge and much more, this is a great event for all the family.
Electric bikes
The La Clusaz mountain bike trails are all accessible on E-Bikes as well as regular mountain bikes. The advent of E-Bikes has made mountain biking accessible to everyone and E-Bikes are now all the rage, and most hire shops in the area stock them.
Mountain Bike hire in La Clusaz
Are you keen to hit the La Clusaz mountain bike trails but don’t have a ride? Take a look at the following links to see our preferred rental shops in the Aravis for mountain bikes, electric bikes and road bikes:
It’s also possible to have bikes waiting for you at your chalet by booking through Bcyclet, who offer a bike rental delivery service.
The La Clusaz mountain bike trails
Here are some of OVO Network’s favourite La Clusaz mountain bike trails.
Beauregard
The Beauregard gondola is found at the base of the village by the ice rink and is a family favourite in the winter. Summer is no different but also has some fantastic descent trails. Jump in a cabin adapted for bikes and you’ll be whisked up to 1,690m and the start point for a number of the La Clusaz mountain bike trails.
L’envers de Beauregard – 20 – Blue Cross Country
This family-friendly trail takes you on a mixture of 4×4 farm tracks and single track from the summit of Beauregard all the way back to La Clusaz centre.
It involves a short climb up past the Auberge Les Matins Clair and up to a summit. Make sure you take a moment to take in the view, it’s not called Beauregard (beautiful view) for nothing! Then you have a wide gravelly track all the way to La Croix Fry. If you fancy a stop for a drink or a bite to eat, why not try Les Sapins, with a big shady terrace and views down the valley.
From Croix Fry, you follow a path which circumvents Manigod hill round to Merdassier. From Merdassier the descent to the village starts on a fun trail which varies in width. When you hit the road, follow it downhill for about a kilometre and then take a left and follow the Hameau des Alpes return route, which is a pleasant jaunt through the forest and down to La Clusaz.
La Ferriaz – 24 – Red Downhill
This was one of the first La Clusaz mountain bike trails and it has stood up to the test of time. It is a fantastic, natural-feeling downhill route with exposed rocks and roots. Half way down you’ll find a ‘north-shore’ section with boardwalks and drops. You can loop this short section easily enough if you want to stick around and improve your skills! Otherwise follow this fast, fun route all the way back to the village and do it again!
Les Ecotagnes – 29 – Red All Mountain
Les Ecotagnes is a fantastically varied, long, all mountain descent back to La Clusaz. You’ll find the start of this trail by following the track past the Piste Bleu and Matin Clair restaurants. After a short climb, you descend on a gravelly path until you find a crossroads where you will take a left.
Don’t worry about losing too much height on the fire road at the start, there’s plenty of fun to follow! There is a fairly pedally section in the middle, traversing the hill which then drops down to Les Lombards on a fast flowing trail through the forest. Finish off with a short climb through Les Lombards, followed by a slightly technical, traversing trail back to La Clusaz through the gorge.
Le Tour de Beauregard – 18 – Red Cross Country
This trail is what cross country riding is all about. After a fairly tough, but not too long, steep climb up to the Colomban, follow this swooping, rooty rollercoaster through thick forest down to Croix Fry. It is a very enjoyable challenge and involves some truly technical sections.
Once in Croix Fry, follow L’Envers de Beauregard to get back to La Clusaz.
Crêt Du Merle
Crêt du Merle is accessed from the Crêt du Merle lift found just above the Church square in La Clusaz and is the start point for a number of fantastic trails for all levels! Please bear in mind that the bottom halves of most of the trails coming down from the Crêt du Loup (see below) can be accessed from here.
Bike Park
Opened in 2017, the Bike Park was an ambitious project, bringing something completely different to the La Clusaz mountain bike trails. The park is made up of three lines: beginner, intermediate and expert, offering somewhere to hone your skills or just have fun! The beginner trail is so gentle that young children and complete beginners can give it a whirl. And the difficult trail features jumps and tight berms, making it a great challenge for more experienced riders.
Balcon Du Vorêt – 21 – Blue Cross Country
This is a wonderful singletrack blue descending from just above the Crêt du Merle lift. The trail traverses through forest and Alpine pastures down to Lac des Confins. After a short loop around the lake, you retrace your tracks for a kilometre or so, where you join a 4×4 track back to La Clusaz.
Sud Aravis – 13 – Red Cross Country
This is a varied cross country trail which traverses from the top of the Bike Park across to what is the Juments piste in winter. At this stage, the trail is open and mostly on a 4×4 track. On arriving at the Juments piste area please be aware that there are often cattle in the field, so please dismount and push by on foot.
After the cattle, the track becomes a singletrack footpath which winds its way steadily upwards for a few hundred meters. It can be a bit of challenge to stay on the pedals here, but keep going until you reach a beautiful chalet in a clearing with views down to the Col des Aravis. Listen out for riders coming off the Juments trail which joins this trail just before the chalet as they could be coming down fast!
From the chalet, the trail starts its descent on a snaking footpath with a few tight corners to contend with. After a short steeper section, the trail traverses across to the Col des Aravis on a fast section through luscious alpine meadows.
After joining the main road, head up for 100m or so and follow the trail past a small chalet below the road and across a small wooden bridge. The trail traverses cow fields and on singletrack and 4×4 tracks and finishes with a relatively straight but fun descent through the valley back to the village.
Crêt Du Loup
Crêt du Loup is where the real fun starts! From a height of 1,870m riders of all levels can blast nearly 800m of descent back to the village on a range of trails from the fire roads of the Family Run to the technical, steep and swooping Les Encarnes singletrack.
Family Run – 38 – Green Downhill
Family Run, as the name suggests is a fantastic ride for all of the family. It is technically classed as a ‘downhill’ route, which might put some families off, however, this trail is a mostly gentle 4×4 track which should be manageable for anyone who can comfortably ride a bike and is looking to experience what the mountains can offer.
Starting from 1,870m this trail snakes down from the Crêt du Loup all the down to the village on a 4×4 track. The thing to bear in mind when doing this trail, especially with children, is that it is long, so it is wise to factor in a couple of breaks for younger or less experienced riders. The trail passes right by the Bike Park just above the Crêt du Merle, which makes a nice stop point. There are a number of picnic benches nearby and those not wanting to stop can loop the Bike Park (see above).
Descente Du Loup – 9 – Blue Downhill
The Descente du Loup is a fast and flowing blue downhill route which descends all the way to the village.
The trail is accessed by turning right at the top of the Crêt du Loup chair, it’s hard to miss! It starts off on a wide-open section which features a number of small jumps, all of which you can bypass if you don’t feel comfortable tackling them.
The trail pops out at the bottom of the Crêt du Loup lift, where you can opt to head back up and do the first half again, or you can choose to continue on the trail as it descends into the forest back to the village. This is a fun section with berm after berm going over a number of short wooden walkways.
La Trace – 37 – Red All Mountain
This is the newest addition to the La Clusaz mountain bike trails. La Clusaz ambassador Kilian Bron, a local mountain bike pro, cut the trail himself, with a bit of help from some friends. Watch Kilian Bron himself run this fun trail below:
The trail takes you steeply through the Bois de Motte forest and is full of jumps, gaps, berms and rollers from start to finish.
You can link on to this trail from the blue Descente du Loup trail, just after the large wooden wall ride. After crossing a 4×4 track a few hundred meters later you rejoin the blue. It is easy to miss the join back onto La Trace, which is just after the first left-hand turn, where you need to stay right.
Les Juments – 36 – Red All Mountain
This run is one of the best-kept secrets in La Clusaz! All that’s needed to keep the crowds away is a short descent on Family Run… don’t get put off by the height loss though. The trail starts off with blissful berms snaking down through a gulley and then winds its way onto a technical yet flowing singletrack through thick forest overexposed routes. The trail finishes on a fast traversing section through lush alpine meadows leading to the Col des Aravis.
From here, either head back to the village via the road or, if you fancy a bit more trail and don’t mind a little bit of pedalling, head up for 100m or so and follow the number 13 trail ‘Sud Aravis’ back to the village.
Les Encarnes
Les Encarnes is the crème de la crème of the La Clusaz mountain bike trails, but is not for the faint of heart! It requires a five-minute or so push/ride from the top of the lift to get to the peak, which seems to put the majority of people off, making this another quiet trail. It is definitely worth the climb!
After a short fire road descent, you find the start of this completely hand-cut trail, which plummets all the way back to La Clusaz 800m below! It is fast, steep and flowing from start to finish, using all that the mountain has to offer with a series of perfect turns, crests and natural rollers in the luscious forest. The last section through the lower reaches of the forest is brutally steep so hold on, there are a few well-placed berms to kill speed on!
This really is one of the best kept secrets in the Alps and definitely worth the climb at the start. A true OVO Network favourite!
Whatever your age or level, the La Clusaz mountain bike trails have something for everyone who wants to get out on two wheels! Discover all of the La Clusaz mountain bike trails on the VTT trail map below.
