Hiking in Méribel in summer

Hiking in Méribel in summer: 12 routes graded by level

In summer the Méribel valley looks like a different place. The ski runs go back to being alpine pastures, the lifts turn into gateways to the ridges, and a network of waymarked trails links the villages at the bottom of the valley to the high lakes. You can walk for an hour or for nine, depending on the mood of the day.

We have picked twelve routes, spread across the four waymarking levels, each with its start point, duration, distance and height gain. The figures are those of the resort's waymarked routes; check that the trails are open before you set off, as this depends on the snow still lying and on the time of year.

How to read the difficulty levels

The waymarking uses the ski colours, which is handy but misleading: a green trail is not flat, and a red one is not reserved for athletes. The colour combines duration, height gain and how technical the ground is, not just the effort involved.

In practice, a green can be walked in trainers with children. A blue calls for proper shoes and half a day. A red assumes you are used to the mountains and can genuinely manage your water and the weather. A black is prepared like a mountain outing: early start, full kit, weather check the evening before.

What height gain really means

Positive height gain is the best indicator of effort, well ahead of distance. Four hundred metres of climbing is more tiring than ten kilometres on the flat, and the rule of thumb in the mountains is around three hundred metres of ascent an hour for a regular walker.

Watch out for the descent too, which is often overlooked. Long descents, like those that follow a ride up by gondola, put far more strain on the knees than the climb does. Poles genuinely change how the end of the day feels on those routes.

Three easy hikes, for walking as a family

The green routes are concentrated around the plan de Tuéda, the villages at the bottom of the valley and the altiport. They share a rare quality: they are beautiful from the first few minutes, which counts when you are walking with children who need to see something straight away.

None of them calls for any particular equipment beyond closed shoes, water and a waterproof. All of them fit into a morning or a late afternoon.

The walk round the Tuéda reserve

Starts at the plan Ravet, above Méribel-Mottaret. One hour, 1.8 kilometres, 30 metres of height gain: this is the most accessible route in the valley, and probably the most photogenic. The trail loops around the lac de Tuéda, in the heart of the nature reserve attached to the Vanoise national park.

It is the ideal route for a first day, while you get used to the altitude. The Swiss stone pine forest lining the lake is one of the most remarkable in the French Alps, and the walk can be done with an all-terrain pushchair without difficulty.

The Poetry trail (sentier de la Poésie)

Starts at Les Allues, at the bottom of the valley. Two and a half hours, 4.2 kilometres, 160 metres of height gain. The route follows the edges of the village and alternates between meadows, copses and views of the opposite slope.

Its relatively long duration for a green comes from the strolling pace, not from any difficulty: you stop often. It is a good option for a day when the weather is uncertain higher up, since you stay low in the valley.

The Animals trail (sentier des Animaux)

Starts at the altiport. One and a half hours, 2.8 kilometres, 150 metres of height gain. The route crosses forest and pasture around the altiport plateau, a shaded sector that keeps the walk pleasant even in the middle of an August afternoon.

This is the route we suggest most often to families with young children: short, varied, and on forgiving ground. The altiport plateau is also easy to reach by car from Méribel Centre.

Three moderate hikes, for a proper half-day

The blues are the core of what the valley offers. They take between two and four hours, with height gains of between two and five hundred metres, and they give access to the alpine pastures without any technical commitment.

This is the level where you start needing to leave early, before the heat sets in, and to carry a real picnic rather than a snack.

Along the water (Au fil de l'eau)

Starts at Méribel. Two hours, 2.8 kilometres, 251 metres of height gain. The ratio between distance and height gain sets the tone: it is short but it climbs steadily, on a route that follows the streams of the area.

It makes an excellent first outing to test your form at the start of a stay. The way back is along the same path, so you can turn round at any point if the group runs out of steam.

The Bear's Hollow path (chemin du Creux de l'Ours)

Starts at Méribel-Mottaret. Two hours, 4.5 kilometres, 225 metres of height gain. The route runs along the heights above Mottaret, through open pasture with clear views down the valley.

At 1,750 metres, Mottaret is the highest starting point in the valley: you gain altitude and cooler air straight away, which makes this route comfortable even in high summer.

The villages circuit (circuit des villages)

Starts at Méribel. Four hours, 10 kilometres, 482 metres of height gain. It is the longest of the blues, and probably the most interesting if you want to understand how the valley is put together: it links several hamlets on the slope, through hay meadows and woodland.

Allow a full day rather than a half-day, and plenty of water: the route passes few places to stock up. Our neighbourhood pages describe each of the villages it goes through, if you want to plan the stages.

Four hard hikes, for experienced walkers

The reds take up the whole day. Height gains go beyond six hundred metres, distances reach fifteen kilometres, and some routes combine a ride up by lift with a long descent on foot.

At this level the weather stops being a matter of comfort and becomes a decision criterion. A late-afternoon storm high up is nothing like a shower down in the valley, and you have to be ready to give up or cut things short.

The col de la Loze

Starts at the altiport. Four hours, 8.6 kilometres, 620 metres of height gain. The pass links the Méribel valley to the Courchevel one: you walk up to a tipping point where the landscape changes completely.

It is a clear, readable objective, which helps on a long route: you know where you are going and why. The pass is also well known among cyclists, which gives the top a particular buzz in summer.

The Ridges trail (sentier des Crêtes)

Starts at the top of la Tougnète, reached by gondola. Five hours, 14.6 kilometres, 399 metres of height gain but above all 1,686 metres of descent. It is the opposite profile to most hikes: you go up by cabin and come back down on foot, following the ridge line.

The views are uninterrupted for the whole route, which makes it one of the most spectacular in the area. In exchange, those 1,686 metres of descent are paid for the next day: poles strongly recommended, and shoes with good ankle support.

The refuge du Saut by way of the bois des Ramées

Starts at Méribel-Mottaret. Four and a half hours, 13.9 kilometres, 525 metres of descent. The route leads to the refuge du Saut, in the side valley above the Tuéda reserve, well inside the Vanoise national park.

This is the route to choose for wildlife: marmots, chamois and birds of prey are seen there regularly, particularly early in the morning. The refuge makes a stop possible and turns the outing into a real mountain day rather than a simple walk.

The Bathers' trail (sentier des Baigneurs)

Starts at Les Allues. Four and a half hours, 7.4 kilometres, 668 metres of height gain. The modest distance set against the height gain points to a route that climbs hard, from the valley floor up to the pastures on the slope.

It is the most physically demanding of the four, but also the shortest: it suits a day when you want the effort without spending eight hours on it. An early start is advisable, as the climb is exposed to the sun.

Two black hikes, for a big day out

The valley's blacks are two routes of eight to nine hours, with height gains of over a thousand metres. They are not mountaineering outings, but they are full days that call for real preparation.

Leave at dawn, two litres of water per person as a minimum, a windproof, and a careful read of the forecast the evening before and again on the morning itself. Tell someone your route and what time you expect to be back.

La Tougnète and the lac de la Chambre

Starts at Méribel. Eight hours, 17.2 kilometres, 683 metres of ascent and 1,410 metres of descent. The route crosses la Tougnète to drop over towards the lac de la Chambre, on the far side.

The profile, with twice as much descent as ascent, makes it a traverse rather than a loop. Sort out the way back before you leave: the end of the route does not bring you back to the start.

The lakes tour (tour des lacs)

Starts at Méribel-Mottaret. Nine hours, 20.3 kilometres, 1,288 metres of height gain. It is the longest waymarked hike in the valley, and the one that gives access to the high lakes of the area, among them the lac des Fées.

A trained walker can do it in the day, setting off very early. Many prefer to split it in two with a night in a refuge, which makes it noticeably more enjoyable and leaves time to make the most of the lakes rather than march past them.

Kit for walking in Méribel

Three things make the difference, whatever the level: shoes with ankle support, serious sun protection and plenty of water. At 2,000 metres the sun is much stronger than at low altitude and dehydration comes on quickly, even in cool weather.

Always carry a windproof, even in fine weather: the temperature drops fast as soon as you reach a ridge or a cloud passes. Poles are not a gimmick on routes with a lot of descent, they really do spare the knees.

The lifts in summer

Several routes rely on a gondola to gain height, la Tougnète in particular. It is a sensible way to do a big hike without wrecking your legs, and it opens up ridge routes that would otherwise be out of reach in a day.

Times and opening dates vary from one season to the next. Check them before building your day around a lift, and keep a fallback plan in case it is closed.

Beyond hiking

The valley has around 150 kilometres of trails and nine routes dedicated to trail running, for those who would rather run. The network overlaps largely with the hiking one, so a mixed group can set off together and meet up at the same point.

For a different kind of effort, the via ferrata on the Dent de Burgin is at 2,700 metres. It calls for a guide or real experience of the environment, and specific equipment.

Watching wildlife

The Plan de Tuéda nature reserve and the side valleys of the Vanoise national park offer good chances of seeing marmots, chamois and ibex. The lac de Bellecombe is particularly known for its marmots.

The best times are the first two hours after daybreak and the late afternoon. Stay on the trails, keep dogs on a lead where it is required, and keep your distance: these are wild animals, not scenery.

Where to stay for hiking in Méribel

The choice of neighbourhood changes the nature of the stay. Méribel-Mottaret, at 1,750 metres, gives the most direct access to the Tuéda reserve and the high routes: several hikes on this page start there. Les Allues, at 1,100 metres, opens onto the trails at the bottom of the valley and the villages.

Our properties are open in summer as well as in winter, and rates are noticeably gentler. Bed linen is made up before you arrive and the end-of-stay clean is included, as it is the rest of the year.

Booking direct

Our thirty properties are booked directly with us, with no platform commission. We are a concierge company based in the valley: you have a single contact, reachable on site throughout your stay.

Tell us what you are planning to walk and we will point you to the neighbourhood that keeps journeys down. Over a week of hiking, setting off from the door rather than taking the car every morning changes a great deal.

Carry on exploring the valley

To choose your starting point, compare the neighbourhoods: Méribel-Mottaret, Les Allues, Méribel Centre and Méribel Village.

Our guide to Méribel in summer covers the rest of the season, and the weather and conditions page gives you the state of the sky before you head out to walk. For accommodation, see our apartments and our chalets.