Region of Portes du Soleil is the home to largest bike park in Europe. The facts and figures are certainly impressive, because it gathers into one big system of trails places like Les Gets, Chatel, Le Pleney or Champery. Together they offer over 600 km of bike trails, easy accesible with the help of 25 different lifts. Does this size and popularity also come with quality? Which of the bike parks offers the most interesting trails? Today I will take You to the Les Gets and Le Pleney bike parks, which are located in the French part of the Portes du Soleil. For those planning to visit this region, I recommend also taking a look at our other articles about bike parks in the area: Morzine and the Avoriaz bike park, Chatel, Morgins, Champery and Les Crosets.
Morzine – Le Pleney – Les Gets
Morzine was our base for exploring the entire Portes du Soleil region. Our accommodation was close to 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 which is very convenient option.
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. Les Gets was also a host for spectacular World Cup Downhill races in 2023 and 2024. As is standard for the entire Portes du Soleil region, at each lift you will find the necessary infrastructure. The lifts are fast and equiped with easy transportation systems for bikes. By all the lifts You have available tools for emergency bicycle repairs, bike washers, toilets and some bars or restaurants.
Bike Park Les Gets – News for 2024 and plans for future
For the 2024 season in Les Gets there arent any new trails. However, this does not mean that nothing is happening here. After being closed for a longer period in the 2023 season and undergoing a reconstruction and in few places with completely new line, the Roue Libre trail is opened again. Previously it was marked as red trail, and now it is officialy easier blue line. The L’Encape trail has also undergone a thorough renovation process. It also seems to me that the fluidity on the Airlines trail has been improved. Apart from the reshaped berms, it was much easier for me to clear a double jump after the step down, which I had some problems with a year earlier. In Les Gets, I also managed to catch up with a team from the local tourism organization, who told me a bit about the plans for the future. There will certainly be built another long green route in the bike park, which will be an extension of the offer for beginners. It is also planned to open another lift and a zone for more advanced cyclists. This time, these are to be trails with a more natural enduro and dh style. The third major plan is to replace the gondola lift on Mont Cherry, which in the new version is planed go to the very top of mountain. This will allow for official trails from the top and the opening of the entire DH trail known from the World Cup at Les Gets. The last two projects may not be ready for the 2025 season, but they show that Les Gets is very serious about developing biking topics in this region.
Bike Park Les Gets – Chavannes area – Trails
Coming to Les Gets from Morzine by bike, You will first reach the area served by the Chavannes lift. On the way from Le Pleney gondola by Tour de Golf trail, you sometimes have to pedal uphill 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 trail. I went with the second variant, which offers a descent with giant berms and a few interesting transfers.
Chavannes – Ecureuil, Tomawak and Roue Libre trails
The Chavannes lift is a long but fast chairlift. Along it, from the upper station, there are 3 main variants of descents. The easiest way to go down is the green trail Ecureuil. It is perfect option for beginers to learn how to ride on flowy berms and rollers. Next variant is Tomawak trail marked as blue one. It is quite fast and surprisingly there are pretty large jumps on its way. There are a lot of nicely profiled table jumps, some with optional bigger take offs. The blue-marked Roue Libre is even faster. Riding along it, You will encounter fewer but larger jumps. At begining of 2024 season its upper part was still under renovation and closed for the riders. But already from the lift I saw some amazing new features, and now it is already opened in new version. The Tomawak 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. There arent any very big obstacles on the way of it. Roue Libre trail ends at Jump park mentioned earlier.
Chavannes – Le Canyon
From 1/3 of the Roue Libre or Tomawak descents 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. In 2024 that trail have biger renovation so now it should have awesome flow.
Nauchetes – Airlines
The crown jewel of the Nauchetes zone is the Airlines trail. It 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 Airlines line combined with the Dejantee variant is my favorite when it comes to have fun on 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, 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
During my first visit to Portes du Soleil region I’ve spent whole day riding Les Gets bike park. I liked it a lot, so when I was again at Morzine it was a pleasure to come back to this trails. 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 lots 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. Possibly more natural style trails 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 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 to high speeds aswell. This is a nice warm-up option, but if You want really easy family trails then it will be better to on green one in Les Gets. Another blue trail at Le Pleney is Atray. Saddly to get to the most interesting part of it You need to cover some normal dirt connector roads, but middle woods section is really cool mix of flow and easy enduro style. Next variant is Super 8 trail marked as red. This one is fast and surprisingly “airy”. Already from the start You will have there are a lot of transfers and jumps with gaps here. Lower part is more about having fun on the steeps and in the berms. The Super 8 is pretty long and fun.
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 and jump from many obstacles. Track offers some well-shaped turns and interesting jumps. This is also the trail with the legendary berm drop jump, which appears in numerous videos of pros and YouTubers. In 2024 season there is prepared whole new jump section on it. It is on the second half of descent and it has really flowy jumps, transfers and step down albong the way. Noire de Morzine 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 a;; 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
You can definitely ride really well at Le Pleney. But because of the steep terrains and pretty rough trails I would recomend it mostly to experienced riders. 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. Already in the 2023 season, additional bicycle racks have been added, so each carriage can take up to 4 bikers with their bikes. 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.
Portes du Soleil – Bike pass prices
Whole region is connected to one system so everytime You will buy bike pass, it will work in all of the area. A one-day pass for adult in the 2024 season costs EUR 34. Of course, there are also several-day options available. 6 days of riding costs EUR 185, and 13 days costs EUR 348. These are not very expensive, considering that this pass entitles you to use all bike parks in the Portes du Soleil region on the French and Swiss sides. The prices are not much higher than in Poland or the Czech Republic and definitely lower than, for example, in Leogang in Austria (approx. EUR 57/day). The prices showed are valid when purchased thru online system. Directly at the ticket office, it is a few EUR more expensive. Interestingly, bike passes also entitle you to enter other cable cars that operate in the summer for tourists outside the bike parks. So when You plan rest day from riding, you can go on a trip on the lift leading to the Point de Nyon viewing platform, the gondola in Chatel, or the Prodains cable car.
E-Bike trip: Morzine – Les Gets
On the Morzine – Les Gets bike park map, in addition to the typical bike park descents, You will also find enduro/trek trails that will be perfect for a simple E-bike trip. During our second visit to Morzine, thanks to the courtesy of the local tourist organization and La Clinic rental, we had E-bikes at our disposal, so we took advantage of the extra power and went to the mountains, beyond the areas served by the lifts that work at summer season. First, we decided to climb up to the area of the incredibly scenic pass by the Lac de Joux Plane lake.
E-bike trip – Le Tour des Cretes
The next stage was a route around the Les Gets bike park marked with the letter E, or Le Tour des Cretes de la Rosta. It took us to a very scenic ridge on the other side of the Nauchets lift. This route mainly leads along gravel access roads to the lifts located here and does not pose many technical difficulties, although it is quite steep at times so propably this is why it is marked as red variant. It is worth going here in good weather and visibility to look at the vast area of the Les Gets bike park from a different perspective. At the bottom of the descent, you can turn off the gravel road onto the green Ecuruil trail, which is perfectly shaped for an easy descent. We also stopped for a moment at the training Jump Park and around the Lac de Ecoles lake. In Les Gets, we took a short break before setting off on another excursion route.
E-bike trip – Tour des Alpages
For the next part of the trip we decided to use route B, the Tour des Alpages. However, instead of taking the gondola lift to Mont Cherry, we reversed its direction and rode from the city along the asphalt road to the scenic spot of Mont-Caly. After a short break on a scenic bench, we continued along the road traversing the slope of Mont Cherry. After reaching the gondola lift, we set off on other mtb bike routes towards Lassare. From there we rode down to Les Gets and then returned to Morzine.
E-bike trip in Morzine and Les Gets
Our entire trip was over 54 km of riding and almost 1800 meters of elevation without using the lifts. Of course, in the entire Portes du Soleil region you can use all the lifts with E-bikes, but that day we wanted to see areas further away from the bike parks. Our route did not have any more difficult technical sections and is passable for average mountain bikers. I had the opportunity to check out a few more e-bike routes during my trip as part of E-Pass Portes MTB 2024. There, among others, I also rode a section of the red route D, Le Tour du Mont Cherry. However, I recommend the descent towards the de l’Encrenaz pass only to more advanced mountain bikers. I have also heard a lot of good things about the black variant F, Le Tour du plateau de Loex, but I haven’t been there myself yet. Really hope to do it next time!
More materials about Portes du Soleil region:
- 43ride: Morzine i Avoriaz Bike Park
- 43ride: Chatel bike park
- 43ride: Morgins bike park
- 43ride: Champery and Les Crosets bike park
- 43ride: Pass Portes MTB 2024
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej (only in PL) – Chatel rowerowo, biegowo i kulinarnie
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej (only in PL) – Jak zaplanować aktywny urlop w Morzine? Praktykalia!
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej (only in PL) – Atrakcje Morzine i okolic – przyrodnicze cuda i punkty widokowe
- Travel Blog Bałkany rudej (only in PL) – Morzine aktywnie: jazda w bike parkach, bieganie, trekkingi
About Portes du Soleil
Portes du Soleil region is the home to the largest bike park network in Europe. It connects such legendary places as Chatel, Les Gets, Avoriaz, Champery and a lot more. One pass for the whole area will give You acces to more than 600 km of bike trails which are operated by 25 different lifts.
Official website: www.portesdusoleil.com/
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