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 second part in which You will find info about Les Gets and Le Pleney bike parks. If You plan to visit this region check also part 1 about the city of Morzine and the Avoriaz bike park.
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 – Le Pleney – Les Gets
Morzine was our base for exploring the entire Portes du Soleil region. Our accommodation was less than one kilometer from the Le Pleney gondola. Thanks to it, we can reach the trails of this bike park in just a few minutes. From its upper station you can also easily get by bike to Les Gets, where another bike park awaits you. Specially marked connecting trails, of course, work in both directions. After riding in Les Gets, just take the Chavannes lift up, from where you have the option of returning to the Le Pleney bike park or directly to Morzine. I gladly took advantage of the option of exploring by bike and went to Les Gets without my car.
Bike Park Les Gets
The Les Gets bike park is located along 3 lifts: Chavannes, Nauchets and the Mont Chery gondola lift. In total, there are about 20 trails with varying levels of difficulty. The vast majority of them are flow trails with lots of berms and a lot of possibilities to jump. As is standard for the entire Portes du Soleil region, at each lift you will find the necessary infrastructure, tools for emergency bicycle repairs, bike washers and catering facilities. The bike pass is one for all of the bike parks in the Porte du Soleil region. For prices and more info please check part one of article from Morzine.
Bike Park Les Gets – Chavannes area – Trails
Coming from Morzine by bike, along the Le Tour du Golf trail, we will first reach the area served by the Chavannes lift. On the way from Le Pleney gondola, you sometimes have to pedal a little, but it’s not a big deal and after a few minutes of descent, you reach the end of the Roue Libre trail and straight to the small Jump Park and pump track training zone. This place is perfect for warming up. To get to the lower station of the lift, just choose between the green Ecureuill or red 4x trails. I stuck to the second variant, which offers a descent with giant berms and a few interesting transfers. Unfortunately, the condition of the end of the red trail was not very good, but the profiled turns were high and wide enough to allow me to find a line where we could reach higher speeds without brake bumps.
Chavannes – Tomawak i Roue Libre
The Chavannes lift is a long but fast chairlift. Along it, from the upper station, there are 2 variants of descents. The blue Tomawak trail is quite fast and surprisingly You can get nice airtime over there. There are a lot of nicely profiled table jumps, some with optional larger take offs. The red-marked Roue Libre is even faster. Riding along it, You will encounter fewer but larger jumps. The blue variant is finishes in 1/3 of a mountain. You can choose to go the Roue Libre trail, which continues along other berms and jumps. Its last forest section was closed for renovation during my visit. The trail definitely needs a facelift, because the brake bumps were very strong at times. The Roue Libre trail ends at the previously mentioned Jump Park.
Chavannes – Le Canyon
From 1/3 of the descent you can decide to go deeper into the forest, to the black variant of Le Canyon. You have to ride a bit on an asphalt road to get there, but it’s worth it. Clear signs direct you to the beginning of the trail. The descent is in a natural style. During it, you ride through narrow canyons that offer many interesting obstacles. There are also some double jumps at the bottom section. The Le Canyon variant ends similarly to the Roue Libre trail at the Jump Park. In the forest, in the middle section of the Chavannes ski lift, there are also a few less official descents.
Bike Park Les Gets – Nauchetes area – Blue Trails
Another zone of the Les Gets bike park is Nauchets. There are several interesting trails along the chairlift of this name. Virtually all downhill variants in this zone are twisted flow trails. Many of them are marked in blue, so they are suitable for beginners. The countless number of berms, rollers and table jumps can be overwhelming. Although the area and its terrain has been used so well that riding here will not get bored quickly. The most interesting blue trails are The Shore, Triple 8 and L’Arpette.
Nauchetes – Red trails
After the easier variants, it’s time for those marked in red. They are characterized by higher speeds and longer flights. For time to time there are also double jumps with gaps. My favorite red variant is the Dejantee descent, which nicely incorporates flow elements and small jumps into the forest path. It is also worth to check for yourself Vion-net variant. The last proposition is the quite long L’Encape trail, where you can also have some fun.
Nauchetes – Jump Park
The crown jewel of the Nauchetes zone is the Jump Park line. This trail focuses primarily on large jumps. On a relatively short section, You will encounter a lot of different jumps, transfers, drops and huge profiled turns. Most obstacles have no detour option and this trail is only for experienced riders. You can get into a nice rhythm here and have a lot of fun. The Jump Park line combined with the Dejantee variant is my favorite when it comes to the Nauchetes zone.
Bike park Les Gets – Mont Cherry
The last zone of the Les Gets bike park is Mont Chery, which is located on the other side of the valley from Chavannes and Nauchetes. There is a gondola lift available for bikers, which does not reach the very top of the mountain, but still covers 350 meters of altitude. Officially, there are only two variants of descents available here, and both are intended for experienced riders who are not afraid of jumps with gaps and steep slopes. On Mont Cherry there is also a famous trail known from recent Downhill World Cup competitions. It is not included in the trail list, and is not prepared for riding besides the event, but you can easily find its lower part, which intersects with the official variants of trails.
Mont Cherry – Dans l’Gaz and Ellipse Line
The main descent from Mont Chery is the Dans l’Gaz variant. This fast and sometimes steep variant offers some typical downhill sections with a lot of interesting jumps in the upper part. Its lower part is mainly fun in profiled berms and a few interesting transfers. The trail is intended only for advanced downhill riders and is marked as black. An alternative start to Dans l’Gaz is the new Ellipse Line variant. It takes the form of a typical jump line with drops, large double jumps and also some interesting transfers. After a short but intense descent, you smoothly enter the air section of the Dans l’Gaz trail, which takes you to the very bottom to the gondola.
Bike park Les Gets – Retour de Morzine
After a full day of good riding, it was time to head back to Morzine. I thought it would be a simple descent down a gravel road to the top station of the Le Pleney gondola. However, while riding, I took the Retour de Morzine trail, which turned out to be quite a surprise. I didn’t have high expectations for this blue flow trail, but after a while it turned out that you can have a lot of fun on this descent. First, gentle turns in the forest and some small jumps, then a whole section of impresive berms. Only the last section of descent to the gondola take place on a gravel scenic traverse. The trail is very long, but also interesting. As this is a connecting variant, you can see that there is less traffic here and there are not as big brake bumps as on the most popular trails. A very pleasant end to a day full of good riding.
Bike Park Les Gets – Summary
I spent practically the whole day in the Les Gets bike park. I’ve done almost 75 km of distance and more than 6200 m of elevation. Three zones offer a solid dose of riding and each of them has a slightly different character. Overall, Les Gets can be called as the kingdom of flow trails and people looking for this type of trails will have great time here. Almost all downhill variants have plenty of nicely shaped berms and plenty of places to get up in the air. But you definitely can’t say it’s boring here. I spent most of my time in the Nauchetes zone, where I flew at the jump line. I also spent a lot of time on Mont Chery to unlock the obstacles on the Ellipse and the Dans l’Gaz trail. I loved it here and if I go back to the Portes du Soleil region next time, I’d love to come to Les Gets for more time. Possibly more natural terrain can be found here on marked enduro loops. Our local guide highly recommended checking option F, which is the almost 14 km long Le Tour to the plateau de Loex. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for it.
Bike park Les Gets – condition of trails and infrastructure
Unfortunately, the trails in Les Gets were not in perfect condition at the end of August. A huge number of kilometers of flow trails and hundreds of berms make it difficult to keep it all in good condition throughout the whole season. There were large brake bumps in some sections. Several parts of trails were freshly renovated, but the lack of rain resulted in riding on loose sand. As usual, the most difficult trails were in the best condition, i.e. Jump Line, Ellipse line and Le Canyon. When it comes to infrastructure, Les Gets maintains a high level known from all of the Portes du Soleil area. The lifts run fast and provide a convenient bike loading system. Only the gondola on Mont Chery shows its age and with the heat over 40 degrees, it clearly lacked the ventilation. Basic bicycle service tools are available at several points, and in the town near the lifts there is also a spring with drinking water. There are no problems finding a place to eat or drink.
Bike park Morzine – Le Pleney
The Le Pleney bike park is not as huge as the one in Les Gets or the Avoriaz bike park. The trails here are served by one gondola lift, which starts directly from Morzine. Officially, according to the map, we have four trails available here. The map available on Trailforks shows several additional variants of the descent, but in reality there are practically countless paths to take and it is probably impossible to explore them all. It is these unofficial variants that Le Pleney is best known for.
Bike park Le Pleney – Blue and red trails
I started my ride with the official blue Family variant. Despite family in the name, it is not a super easy descent for everyone. The slope here is not steep, but along the way we will encounter many berms, some rollers and tables. It’s quite tight at times, but some parts allow you to accelerate well. This is a nice warm-up option. I didn’t test the next blue Atray trail, and I jumped straight to the red Super 8 trail. This variant is fast and surprisingly “airy”. There are a lot of transfers and jumps with gaps here.
Bike park Le Pleney – Noire de Morzine
Of the official descents, the most interesting is definitely the one marked in black, Noire de Morzine. Many people call this trail ‘the most fun downhill trail in the entire region’. It really encourages you to ride very fast. Track offers some well-shaped turns and interesting jumps. This is also the trail with the legendary berm jump, which appears in numerous videos of pros and YouTubers. Trail definitely worth to check out for yourself.
Bike park Le Pleney – Secret of the tunnel, Another Freeride and other steeps
Secret of the tunnel and Another Freeride variants are marked on Trailforks. These are one of many descents of with more natural character on the famous Le Pleney steeps. More options and paths can be seen practically all the time on the sides of the official trails. These are usually natural paths in steep or very steep terrain, additionally crossed by entire sections of roots. These are not official bike park trails and if you ride them, you do so at your own risk. We talked about this with the locals and there would be more legal options on the slopes of Le Pleney, but there are a lot of land owners in this part of mountain and it is hard to persuade them to allow the riders there. We know well that many people visit Pleney especially for these unofficial vertical rides. The very urgent request is that if you see some blocked sections in the form of branches or fences, do not ride further. There are plenty of other paths you can take. Please respect the locals and their lands.
Bike park Le Pleney – Summary
To be honest I was not very lucky when it came to riding in the Le Pleney bike park. Twice I had to return to my accommodation earlier because of technical problems (first a flat tire, then a broken brake lever). Overall, I managed to ride a lot here and check out some of these famous verticals. You can definitely ride well here. Among the official variants, the Noire de Morzine trail is really worth checking out, as it can really be a lot of fun to ride. Le Pleney bike park is served by a modern gondola lift. In the 2023 season, additional bicycle racks have been added, so each carriage can take up to 4 bikers with their equipment. Even if there was a queue of people in the morning, it took literally a moment to clear it. An interesting bonus was the fact that the Le Pleney gondola operated until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, allowing for a longer ride. When in Morzine, you definitely cannot miss the Le Pleney bike park.
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 3 – Chatel, Les Crosets and Champery
- 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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