Savoie Grand Revard

If you are in Sevrier and looking to go nordic skiing for the whole day, we highly recommend Savoie Grand Revard. It is the nearest major nordic ski resort.

For a few short loops, there are also nordic trails on Semnoz, but it is a smaller network. If you are looking for a full day on the trails, Savoie Grand Revard is well worth the drive.

The trail network is accessible from several locations - La Féclaz, Crolles and the Bauges astronomical observatory - but the most popular is La Féclaz. It is some 45 minutes by car.

The resort gets crowded during high season, but there is ample parking space. We usually leave the car at Place Centrale, which is close to several ski shops/rentals and boulangeries and very close to the trailhead. If you need ski equipment, check out the nearby Guerraz Sports and Féclaz Sports shops.

Before departing, it's useful to check the trail status and the snow conditions on webcams. The trails are open between 09:00 and 17:00 (not counting night skiing) and it pays off to start early, when the snow is freshly groomed.

The trails

As is common in France, access to the trails is paid. For the 2024/2025 season, a one-day adult pass costs 12 €, plus 2 € for the (reusable) card. You can buy it online or near the entrance turnstiles. For real enthusiasts, multi-day and season passes might be a good deal.

Once you are all geared up and ready to go, you have endless possibilities for connecting various loops. The trails are color-coded: green, blue, red and black, in ascending order of difficulty. Blue are for everyone; red and black are usually longer loops containing steeper inclines that may require some skill and physique. For real enthusiasts, it's possible to connect up segments and loops totaling 50 or more kilometers without getting bored.

In our experience, all of the trails are very well groomed (when snow conditions allow). This is especially important for skaters - nobody likes to be out of control a bumpy and unkept trail! 🙂 The trails are also usually very wide, so unless you encounter exceptional traffic (or groups of beginners blocking the way), overtaking is safe and the descending is fun. The trails are often surrounded by woods, but there are a few open areas as well. It makes for a very pleasant experience, especially if you're lucky with the weather.

If you're in the mood for nice views, it is possible to visit Mont Revard, although it takes some determination. You need to get to Crolles, at the norhtern side of the trail network, and then take the Crolles-Revard liaison. At the end, you will reach a small open area adjacent to a road, where you need to take the skis off and cross over. Then you take a right and climb along a sleigh slope; it's approximately 70 vertical meters.

At the top, there are nice eastern views of Mont Margeriaz ridge, and further away, the mountains beyond Lescheraines. Then, when you cross the parking lot, there is a little meadow facing west, atop a cliff directly above Aix-les-Bains and Lac du Bourguet. That view is well worth the extra effort. Depending on the weather and time of day, you can get anything from foggy valley inversions to brightly lit vistas as far as the eye can see. (Theoretically, on a good day and with binoculars, it might even be possible to see a bit of Lyon, but I haven't been able to confirm this.)

When returning back to La Féclaz for lunch, we can recommend the O'Givréss restaurant to replenish your energy. The food was decent and the restaurant is close to the trails.

See you trailside!

P.S. Returning back to Sévrier, beware of Google Maps routing you via Arith, especially in case you have a large van. This is a secondary road with some narrow and unpleasant sections. You are unlikely to save any time compared to the main road to Lescheraines.