French Morzine is often named as the largest bike park in Europe. The facts and figures are certainly impressive, because the place consists of such legendary places as: Les Gets, Chatel, Avoriaz, Pleney and Champery, which in total offer over 600 km of bicycle trails served by 25 ski lifts. However, does this size and popularity also mean quality? Is a week enough time to get to know such an extensive network of trails? We collected so many French impressions and materials that the report from the place will be divided into three parts. Today I would like to invite you to the third part of article in which You will find info about Chatel, Champery, and Les Crosets bike parks. If You plan to visit this region check also part 1 about the city of Morzine and the Avoriaz bike park, and part 2 about Les Gets and Le Pleney bike parks.
Portes du Soleil – France and Switzerland
The town of Morzine is located in the heart of the French Alps, close to the border with Switzerland. Its lower part is located in a deep valley, at an altitude of approximately 1,000 m above sea level, and the upper part, Avoriaz, at 1,800 m above sea level. The whole creates the largest resort in the area and is the heart of the Portes du Soleil region. In winter, it brings together a total of 12 smaller resorts, serviced by 208 ski lifts connected into one system. In summer, bikers take over these areas, and with one pass they can use the entire network of trails in places such as: Les Gets, Le Pleney, Avoriaz, Chatel, Les Crosets, Champery and Morgins. The last three are located in Switzerland.
Morzine – Chatel and Swiss bike parks
Morzine was our base for exploring the entire Portes du Soleil region. Our accommodation was located less than a kilometer from the Super Morzine gondola. Thanks to a huge network of bike trails, you can get to Chatel and the Swiss part of Portes du Soleil by bike. Just use the lifts and trails of the Avoriaz bike park. From the Lindarets valley, the Chaux Fleurie lift will take you straight to the top part of the Chatel bike park. From the same place, you can also take the Mossettes lift and go straight to Switzerland. There are three more bike parks: Les Crosets, Champery and Morgins. By using the lifts, you will be able to reach these places much faster than driving around the Alpine peaks by car.
Chatel – Best bike park for advanced riders
Chatel is a legendary bike park on the map of Europe. Almost every year new films are made here with the best freeriders going for amazing jumps and transfers. Of course, social media and marketing of a place is one thing, and the first visit to such a place is another. However, I can personally confirm that if I could choose only one bike park in the entire Portes du Soleil region to return to, it would be the Chatel. The map of the resort shows a network of 18 trails served by 2 lifts. As many as 12 of them are red – difficult and black – very difficult variants. The remaining 6 are blue and green marked trails, which are also suitable for beginners. However, advanced riders will find additional take-offs and flights for several (and sometimes even a dozen or so) meters, even on the simplest lines. Additionally, close to the parking lot there is a Slopestyle zone and the famous Reboul Jumps. There are so many options and jumps to try that during my 1.5 days spent only in Chatel, I wasn’t able to try and unlock everything. Beginners will be able to try their skills at few variants of trails, but only the most advanced will be able to unlock the full potential of the bike park Chatel.
Bike park Chatel – Green trails – Panoramica and Vink Line Lower
The simplest variants of the Chatel bike park are the Panoramica trail in the upper part of the resort and the lower Vink Line section. These variants are marked in green, but both are interesting options that will give more experienced players something to do. Panoramica will require a bit of pedaling at times, but as the name suggests, it will reward you with beautiful views. A few alternative jumps along the ride will keep you from getting bored. Another green variant is the lower section of the legendary Vink Line. That trail is fully passable for everyone and mostly leads down a very gentle slope. However, if you decide to get your hands of the brakes, pump up the speed and take-off sometimes, then whole sections of gentle rollers will turn into countless jumps and transfers. With more speed and confidence the entire trail will turn from a very gentle one into an amazing jump-line.
Bike park Chatel – Blue Trails – Fluid, People, Serpentine and Vink Line middle
The next level are the trails marked blue . These are mainly wide flow lines with countless large berms, rollers and jumps. By design, speeds on these trails are higher and flights are longer. Alternative take-offs on these blue runs may surprise you. For example this is the trail with, a large river gap visible from the lower lift. You can still go around the largest obstacles with smaller versions on their sides, but you must be aware that not all obstacles can be just ridden thru. My favorite blue line is the Fluid variant, which is very fast and offers several huge flights, e.g. on a large step-up or from equally large drop. The People variant also does not differ in speed and size of flights. This is where the previously mentioned river gap is located. Most flying options can be found on the Serpentine route, but you have to take into account that at times there will be short climbs there. The middle part of the Vink Line was unfortunately in the worst condition and, given the high speeds possible there, it required a lot of effort to keep control of the bike. In the new season, after renovation, it may be another very interesting variant.
I wanted to start my adventure with discovering the Chatel bike park from the upper section of the Vink Line, but it was closed for renovation on the first day. So I chose the Haute Tension variant to start with. This is an interesting trail with a more natural character. Among the tight berms, there are also a few very rocky sections. This was one of the special stage in the main EDR race (former EWS) at the end of the 2023 season. Another interesting variant that I really liked was Vorachatak trail. Its beginning and ending were in not briliant shape and required a lot of attention. However, the middle section offered some very nice jumps and transfers.
The upper section of the Vink Line was opened after a few days during my second visit to Chatel. Unfortunately, strong wind and some small rain slightly dampened my ambitions for the biggest flights. Even though the newly improved berms allowed me to ride with very high speeds, I only decided to do a few standard table jumps and a road gap. Some transfers known from pro edits require very high speeds, and even these “normal” jumps offer a solid dose of flights. In the lower part of the resort, the only red variant is Ric et Rac. A fresh and very interesting option was its new upper part. It’s new begining starts straight from the Serpentine trail. The steep and winding path, with a more natural character, was prepared mainly for the previously mentioned EDR race. The lower section of Ric et Rac has several large gaps, table jumps and few good transfers.
Bike park Chatel – Black trails – Gueps, Dre dans l’Pentu, Coup d’Fouet, Bike Patrol and Cha-Nada
These black variants require a short ride along the Serpentine trail. All of them are located on the steepest wall of the mountain surrounding the Chatel bike park and require good skills and great bike control. The first option is the Gueps variant, which welcomes us with several large double jumps and then takes us by the naturals steeps straight to lower part of the Ric et Rac route. A bit after the turn off to the Gueps variant there is the beginning of the Dre dans l’Pentu trail, I haven’t tried it personally, but it probably offers a similar atmosphere. The next one is the Coup d’Fouet variant. This trail starts with a big drop and some tight turns. Then a short ride along the ridge and at its ending a steep descent into the valley. Another variant is Bike Patrol, which offers an interesting natural descent with several steep parts to ride. The final variant is the Cha-Nada trail. It seems to me the most difficult of them. Steep descents along the network of roots sometimes additionally traverse the slope. There is also an interesting drop, big transfer and some double jumps on the way.
Bike park Chatel – Black trails – Zougouloukata and Black Shore
The Zougouloukata trail is located below the previously mentioned steep mountain wall. You can get to its beginning by taking the Gueps variant or the lower part of Ric et Rac. The main difficulty here are the built obstacles in the form of large jumps, drops and transfers. High speed and great confidence in your abilities are required. As a reward, You will have some big flights here. At the end of this trail you reach the blue Fluid variant, from which you can soon turn onto the Black Shore trail. This short fragment with lot of footbridges, drops and interesting transfers is my absolute favorite when it comes to having fun on a bike. Since it can be the ending point for many different descents of the Chatel bike park, I rode it a dozen times and each time I was as happy as a child. This is also the part where is located the famous northshore section on YouTube. You have to be careful there with the speed, but this mix of technical riding, several flights and cool wooden footbridges is what I personally like the most.
Bike park Chatel – Black trails – Komatrautrail, Air Voltage, Slopestyle and Reboul Jumps
On the other side of the valley than the black variants described above, there are another black trails. To get to the Komatrautrail and Air Voltage variants, you need to ride a short distance along an asphalt road. Turning off the asphalt serpentine, you will enter the Komatrautrail variant. It is a difficult and technical descent with a natural character. It runs over numerous rocks and roots, although there are also profiled turns and a few jumps. This is another trails that served as a Special Stage during EDR 2023 race. After covering a short part of it, you can turn in to the Air Voltage variant. It has few large jumps with gaps, drops and wooden transfers incorporated into this natural terrain. Personally, due to lack of power and time to unlock further obstacles I didn’t check it. But I will be happy to know it in the future, because it looks very impressive. Both runs connect again near the Slopestyle zone, where more jumps, drops, a new dual track and much more awaits. A bit further there is also a Pro jump line for the best riders, the Reboul Jumps. If someone want to focus on flying on the bike, in the Chatel bike park he will feel like in paradise.
Bike park Chatel – My visit
I went to Chatel on the 3rd day of my visit to Morzine. I was already well warmed up, but also a bit tired. My inner drive to explore different variants and trails worked well in both Avoriaz and Les Gets. In Chatel it was much more difficult. I usually feel comfortable even when I discover the trails and their various elements on my own. In previous spots, I had no problems unlocking most of the bigger obstacles after one look. Chatel sets the bar much higher and it is clearly best to ride here with someone who knows these routes and will guide you through various options for jumps, transfers and powerful flights. Unlocking the elements of the trails by myself was a very big challenge. And although I’m still happy with my riding, I had to skip some tempting options. Constantly stopping and checking out what was around the corner and thinking about speeds for jumps and etc was killing the fun. So on the second day I stuck more to the moderately difficult variants where I could really enjoy my ride. If you come here with a team, it is definitely worth devoting more time to this place and unlock some amazing features. As for the end of August, most of the trails were in good condition. Although of course you cannot count on a complete lack of brake bumps. However, renovation crews worked here non-stop, closing and opening subsequent sections all the time. The place attracts a lot of people, and it is clear that great care is taken to keep the trails in best possible condition throughout the season.
Bike park Chatel – Infrastructure and pricing
The Chatel bike park maintains a high level of infrastructure and preparation for bikers, just like the entire Portes du Soleil region. Both lifts are fast and will take 2 bikers with their equipment per chair. During my August visit, everything went very smoothly and the longest I had to wait in queues was like 3-4 minutes to ride up. There are well-kept and clean toilets, springs with drinking water, and several bars and restaurants to choose from. Basic tools are available at the upper lift stations, and there is a small shop and bike service in the lower parking lot. The trails markings are simple and clear. It is worth checking the route schedule board on an ongoing basis. It shows which variants are currently closed and which are open. It takes into account renovations, but also temporary closures of trails when, for example, someone had a crash and bigger help is needed. The Chatel bike park uses the same bike pass as in the entire Portes du Soleil region, which costs approximately EUR 35 per day. More information about prices can be found in first article from Morzine. It is also good to check the official website of Chatel, where you can find the most up-to-date information and detailed descriptions of each zone and trail. When booking Your accommodation in this area, it is worth remembering that the bike park is located a few kilometers away from the city of Chatel.
Bike park Chatel – Summary
I have already heard from many people that for them the Chatel is the best bike park in Europe. I think I can confirm this choice, although with the indication that it is the best for experienced or very experienced bikers. Those who don’t fly big things, are scare of strange transfers and stick to reasonable speeds on descents won’t be able to unlock the full potential of this place. On the other hand, amateurs who visit Morzine area should also take a trip along the Panoramica route and the lower section of the Vink Line. Personally, I liked the mix of technical and steep descents with big flights the most. Although it is not the largest possible bike park, the number of downhill variants allows You to ride very interesting combinations of trails characters. However, this is one of those places where you have to assess your possibilities very soberly and you have to be careful not to overdo it. As I mentioned at the beginning, if I could go back to only one bike park in the Portes du Soleil region, it would be the Chatel. However, having 6 days of riding in this region at my disposal, I would not give up riding in Avoriaz, Les Gets, Pleney or Switzerland. My desire to explore would not allow me, for example, to spend full 3 days in a row in Chatel, and not to visit other places.
Portes du Soleil – Swiss bike parks- Les Crosets, Champery and Morgins
At the end of the story about my visit to Morzine, I left the bike parks that are waiting for you on the Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil region. As part of one large network, the bike parks Les Crosets, Champery and Morgins are included in the bike trail system. As I mentioned earlier, everything is designed so that even from the furthest Les Gets bike park, you can get to any of the Swiss bike parks by bike. This is possible by the Mossettes lift, which starts from the Lindaretes valley. You can reach its lower station by taking the Transfer Mossettes trail that is accesable from the Bleue des Brochaux trail of bike park Avoriaz. This lift takes us straight across the Swiss border to the incredibly scenic Pointe de Mossettes peak.
Swiss bike parks – Les Crosets
The first bike park we come across abroad is Les Crosets. It offers four downhill variants, marked in red, which are served by 2 chairlifts. A visit to this Swiss bike park was recommended to me mainly because of the views and the alpine nature of the trails. Indeed, the slopes here are the most scenic in the entire Portes du Soleil region. The formerly known narrow alpine paths are now undergoing a transformation and now offer good flow, large profiled turns, nice rollers, and sometimes even large flights.
Bike park Les Crosets – Grande-Conche and Le Loquet
The first trail you will take when going from Mossettes peak is Grande-Conche. You have to ride a bit along a gravel road to get to its beginning. From its start, however, You will enter a great single trail that winds nicely along a rocky slope. It is currently being modernized. The new line is wider, shapers also are adding more rollers and other interesting obstacles. Nice and smooth trail leads between incredibly scenic pastures and takes us to the town of Les Crosets. From there we can choose the lift back towards Mossettes or another one towards Champery. Halfway through the descent, it is also possible to take a short road ride to the Le Loquet trail. This short variant is another smooth and very flowy winding path with great views. It also ends at Les Crosets.
Bike park Les Crosets – Crosets and Sundance
Taking the Crosets lift towards Champery, we can choose the Crosets trail. This is a very fast flow trail that offers plenty of well-shaped berms with several large jumps. That day I focused more on discovering new things rather than unlocking obstacles, so I didn’t use the potential of this trail, but you can definitely have some fun here. Another available variant of the Bike park Les Crosets is Sundance descent. Unfortunately, I didn’t check it out personally because it is located below the town and the lifts, and I had limited time that day. There is an option to go back up by cable car from Champery, but it is a large loop with several kilometers of access roads. However, my friends rode this trail and said that it was really good.
Swiss bike parks – Champery
Champery is best know as the place of the legendary downhill World Cup races. Even best downhill riders in the world described the trail in Champery as extremely steep and demanding. The Champery bike park is limited only to the mentioned Coupe du Monde variant and to the slightly lighter Chevreul trail. The lifts located by these trails saddly do not operate on a daily basis and transport to the top is provided by a mountain cable car that runs from the center of Champery city. This again means a lot of riding at access routes, so I decided to do only one descent along the famous Cup route to check it out.
Bike park Champery – Coupe du Monde
From the upper station of the Crosets lift, you need to go down a bit towards Champery. Despite the signs and Trailforks, it is worth to do short uphill to the top of Croix du Culet peak. This is where the beginning of the Coupe du Monde trail (World Cup DH) is located. Its upper section is also common to the Chevreul trail. From the begining it already shows the first signs of the steep slopes for which Champery is best known, but this is only a warm-up. When there are only black markers left along the trail on the World Cup Track, the real fun begins. I treated this descent as an exploration and I didn’t even try to fly the few jumps or drops that are on the trail. The conditions were good, although dry, and at times I had a lot of trouble with braking. However, the vast majority of the trail involves maneuvering in high and well shaped berms, so it is relatively safe and you have to try hard to fell out of the trail. Despite the calm ride and rather low speed, it was still fun and coll experience. Considering such a single and rather rarely visited route, I was positively surprised by its very good condition. The descent ends with a connection to the asphalt road. This one will take us to the center of Champery. From there, the cable car starts and climbs almost vertically back to the top of the Croix du Culet.
Swiss bike parks – Way back to Lindarets
To return from Champery to the French side, it was a short ride to the Crosets trail. I took it down to the lift that goes to the Mossettes mountain from the Swiss side. From there we have 2 options to return to Lindarets. We can stick to the gravel road marked on Trailforks as Mossettes, or return via single trails through the Col de Chesery. I chose the second option. It requires a short climb to the Col de Chesery pass, but offers beautiful views along the entire route. It also passes very nice Lac Vert lake and the de Chesery refuge. From the pass there is a nice traversing singletrail that reaches the Chesery route of Avoriaz bike park. With this scenic and excursion variant we pleasantly return to the Lindarets valley.
Morzine – Trip to Swiss bike parks
For my trip to Swiss bike parks I planned the 4th day of riding in the Morzine area. The main idea was to treat this day a little bit like a rest-day. The ride was quite ambitious at times, but overall the trip was very pleasant. I can definitely confirm that the trails in the Les Crosets bike park are the most scenic and for this reason alone it is worth going there. However, in my opinion, the ride here was also very good and the Grande-Conche + Le Loquet variant gave me a lot of joy. The new changes on the Les Crosets trail from the bike park crew also looked very good. It was also interesting to experience the steepness of the Champery Coupe du Monde trail. Since You will have these Swiss bike parks in your Portes du Soleil bike pass, it’s really worth going there and checking them out for yourself.
Bike park Morgins
The big miss from my trip was the Morgins bike park. The local guide says it is a very nice place worth visiting, but unfortunately it was closed for the entire 2023 season. The reason for this is the replacement of the main lift that operates this bike park. From the 2024 season, the Morgins bike park should operate regularly on daily basis. It offers 4 trails with different levels of difficulty. It is located slightly to the side from the others, but getting there by bike should not be a problem, because there are special access routes marked.
Swiss trip from Morzine – Practical advice
To get from Morzine to Champery, you can ride a bike using the lifts of the Avoriaz bike park and the Mossettes lift. A car trip would mean a loop around the mountains that lasts over an hour. To shorten the travel time a bit and to have emergency tools and spares at my disposal, I used the combined variant. In the morning I drove straight to the Lindarets valley, and park a car up there. From there I had a straight trail access to the Mossettes ski lift. I used the same option to get to the Chatel bike park efficiently and quickly. The important thing is that road from Montriond to Lindarets is available to incoming cars only until 10 a.m. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. you can only go down with it towards Montriond. Another important issue is the functioning of the ski lifts. It’s worth checking them out on Portes du Soleil web site. Additionally, there are many special boards and signs by the trails and lifts that tell us what is open and what is not. You should also bear in mind that if the weather is uncertain and a storm comes, the lifts may be turned off earlier and it may not be easy to get back from Champery to Morzine. When going to Switzerland, you must also remember that this country is not in the EU and if your phone connects to the Swiss network, the Internet will cost you a lot. It is worth setting the French network permanently or simply turning off data transfer during your stay in Switzerland.
Morzine – Bikers paradise – Summary
To sum up the entire trip to Morzine and all the places I visited, it was definitely one of the biggest and most important bike trips in my life. Lots of varied riding, from scenic single trails, through endless flow lines, to steep slopes and natural paths. It was very active stay and there was definitely no time for boredom. Apart from riding at bike parks, we managed to visit several other scenic and interesting places. The weather was kind to us almost all the time, and although it was tiring hot, it didn’t limit our options. 6 days of riding allowed me to see what the Portes du Soleil region has to offer. But definitely it wasn’t enough time to check all of the the available options. This trip rather whetted my appetite for more, especially since I still had some unfinished topics in Chatel and I didn’t manage to start checking the interesting enduro variants at all. We definitely want to come back here for more and I hope we will be able to do it next season. To sum up, I highly recommend a trip to the Portes du Soleil region. A week is the absolute minimum to get to know these places. Two weeks of stay in Morzine will certainly not be enough to exhaust all posible options, but it will allow for a bit more rest. For the 2023 season, all bike parks have already been closed, but we hope that our series of articles will help you plan your stay in Morzine in the following seasons. It is definitely worth to check out!
More articles and materials from us about Morzine area:
- 43ride – Morzine – Bikers paradise: Part 1 – Morzine i Avoriaz Bike Park
- 43ride – Morzine – Bikers paradise: Part 2 – Les Gets and Le Pleney bike parks
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej [PL] – Jak zaplanować aktywny urlop w Morzine? Praktykalia!
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej [PL] – Atrakcje Morzine i okolic – przyrodnicze cuda i punkty widokowe
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej [PL] – Morzine aktywnie: jazda w bike parkach, bieganie, trekkingi
This article was made in cooperation of 43RIDE with Rasoulution and Morzine-Avoriaz.
About Morzine i regionie Portes du Soleil
Bikepark Morzine, the largest network of bike trails in Europe and a combination of several legendary bike parks. One pass includes the famous trails of Les Gets, Chatel, Avoriaz, Le Pleney and Swiss Champery, and more. In total, bikers have at their disposal over 600 km of trails served by 25 ski lifts and cable cars. The resort of Morzine is the beating heart of the Portes du Soleil region in summer and true bikers paradise.
Oficiall website: morzine-avoriaz.com
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