Morzine Mtb Guide
Feat. Every Portes Du Soleil Bike Park!
4 minute read…
The Portes Du Soleil has one of, If not the largest area of lift assisted trails in the world.
In this Morzine Mtb guide you’ll find tips and info to help you get the best out of your mtb holiday.
Les Gets
A small french town with loads of riding on its door step!
Les Gets in the Portes Du Soleil has everything from Xc loops, beginner trails and off grid gems for all skill levels.
Bike Park trails
The trails in Les Gets are split across 3 lifts; Chavannes, Nauchets and Mont Cherry.
The Chavannes is home to the family green run which is perfect for first timers. The blue and reds trails here have a great flowing style but can get rough quickly. Be sure to catch them early in the season to get them at their best.
For more advanced riders, be sure to check out the Canyon Black trail and keep your eyes peeled for off piste trails peeling off alongside the Chavannes red.
Nauchets has a maze of runs with some fun sections. Perfect for riders if you want to improve cornering and session one area. Big senders and mellow flow trails are all here!
Mont Cherry has the steepest and biggest feature trails in Les Gets. Les Gets Airline is one for going big! Mont cherry is also the home to the Les Gets DH world cup track. Unfortunately this is not accessible to the public at any time.
XC trails
Les Gets also has 2 XC trails which take roughly an hour each. Both come with some pretty big climbs and cruise double track. Expect nice scenery and a way to get away from civilisation for a while on these routes.
Finish your ride with a swim in the lake and a beer at Les Apres bar!
Camping in Les Gets
Les Gets has a campsite called Le Frêne which is like no other! Take in views of Mont Blanc as you unzip your tent or whilst chilling out in the pool!
The only drawback is it’s a popular location and it gets busy. The site is perched mountain side, a few kms up from the town; bus/car is your only way to access to local bars and restaurants in the evening.
If you are looking for free parking then head to the Chamois carpark. It’s massive and free. Alternatively you can park undercover below the Chavannes chair lift.
Morzine
A lively atmosphere in the core of the Portes Du Soleil.
The best area in the Portes Du Soleil for nightlife. Great bars and great food in abundance.
Be sure to try a few mutzigs, fondues and raclettes while you’re there!
Morzine bike park trail network
As for the riding, the trail network across Morzine is spread across 4 main lifts; Le Pleney, Super Morzine, Zore and Seraussaix.
The Pleney mountain bike trails are steep and technical. Off piste trails make up about 75% of this area!
The marked trails are more forgiving with great flow and so really fun sections. You can also use The Pleney gondola for access to Les Gets too.
Find the Super Morzine trails underneath the Zore chairlift. This is the busiest area of the whole of the Portes Du Soleil.
A great mixture of all types of trail here which is what makes it so popular. These are well maintained trails and really well built by the Avoriaz Bike Park crew.
Seraussaix is the best place to ride for first time visitors to Morzine. A handful of fun flowy greens and blues await you!
At the top of the Zore chair lift, keep riding straight on for access to Chatel, Linderets, and Champery!
Lac du Montriond
Don’t miss out on a chilled out day/ evening at Lac du Montriond. It really is a postcard worthy view and incredible part of the Alps. It also has pay per hour kayak and paddle board hire during daytime hours.
To access the lake you can ride up hill from Morzine village for roughly 2-3kms.
Or preferably from Linderets (Goat Village), you can roll down the mountain roads and stop by the lake as you pass. It’s the perfect way to end a scorching summers day on the trails.
Linderets
Access to Chatel and Switzerland as well as some quiet burly trails.
This is a good mid station to drive to if you have a vehicle. It’s far easier to drive to this point and save some energy for what lies ahead of you.
Free car park
Find the free car park 15 min drive past Lac Du Montriond. Watch out for the goats!
Access to the Swiss national trail
This valley has access to the legendary Swiss national (Mossettes chair) and Chatel Bike Park (Chaux Fleurie). There is also a selection of rider friendly restaurants to choose from.
The trails in Linderets
The trails in Linderets are probably the most overlooked in the entire Portes Du Soleil. Which means quiet trails for you!
90% of riders use Linderets to only access other trails or take pictures of goats! If you like technical rocky trails then you’re going to love this place.
There are only a handful of trails here, but what is here will leave a long lasting memory!
They even used sections of this trail network in the 2023 EWS and French National races, which speaks for itself.
Take Spares
Be sure to take a spare tube and run tubeless on these trails, the terrain can be brutal on the bikes.
It would be rude not stop here for a few quiet runs before heading to Chatel or the Swiss National.
Chatel
Home To Some Big freeride lines, Steep trails and the fantasticable!
Chatel Bike Park has some amazing mountain biking which is made up of two chairlifts.
Mtb Trails in Chatel
Home to the legendary River gap, Vink lines, Black Shore and many steep technical trails.
If you fancy some mellow runs then we also look at Serpentine and Panoramic.
This place really is top draw with some big features as well as great flow runs.
Chatel has held many European DH races along other big races.
If you’re riding in Chatel, you know at some point in the day, you will be sending it! Chatel has lots of gap jumps, drops, doubles and table tops.
Ride the Fantasticable
The fantasicable is made up from two massive zip lines which span across 3 mountains! Clip in and fly like superman.
Last lifts home
Do not miss the final Rochassons chair lift back to Linderets if you’re based in Morzine. From the top of this lift you can get back to Morzine. If you miss this chairlift it’s going to be an expensive taxi ride home.
Camping in Chatel
There is a campsite in Chatel, staying here can take the rush out of your days if you want to explore this side of the Portes Du Soleil. Find more details here.
Chatel is a lovely French village with it’s own lake. Stay here if you want to avoid the hustle of Morzine.
Chatel village is small, but it has everything you need. If you plan to stay here you will have to drive. You also have prime access to Morgins which is a 5-10 minute drive away.
Crosets and Champery
Quiet world class flow and tech trails!
Welcome to the Swiss side! The Crosets Chair lift is empty and has one trail underneath. It’s a fun flow trail for all skill levels.
Crosets and Champery Bike Park trails
You can access the Champery area by riding on from the top of the Crosets chair lift. This area is not for the faint hearted, you will find the old Champery downhill world cup track which is very steep and technical!
The gondola in Champery village runs at set times through out the day which is every 45 minutes roughly.
Champery Village
The village in Champery is what you’d expect from a typical alpine postcard. It’s a small village which isn’t over run with riders.
When you make it this far away from Morzine you really feel like you’re out on an adventure.
Keep an eye out for the supermarket next to the gondola which will be your best spot for a bit of lunch.
Prepare for everything to be expensive in Switzerland. (Even more than Morzine!)
Don’t get stranded in Switzerland
If you are based in Morzine and visiting the Swiss trails then you MUST make sure you catch the last Mossettes Suisse chairlift. From there you are still along ways from home, but you can access Morzine without a mountain to climb.
If you miss this lift you will be stranded and faced with a HUGE taxi ride home!!!
Enjoy these quiet trails and soak in the views too. It’s beautiful!
Morgins
As far as your pass can take you.
Welcome to heaven!
Morgins is the KING of the Portes Du Soleil! It’s quiet and the trails are simply the BEST!
How to access Morgins Bike Park
The only problem with Morgins is….. it’s difficult to access. which is why it’s so great! The easiest way is to access the trails in Morgins is to drive which will take 1-1.5hrs from Morzine.
It is possible to ride to Morgins bike park, however it will take 2-3ish hours out of your day getting there and back. The route back involves cycling to Chatel and catching a free bus.
New Lift
As of summer 2024, Morgins will have a new high speed gondola which will be open for mountain bikers! The old lift was slow, the new lift will sweep you off your feet!
Morgins bike park trails
Morgins is aimed towards intermediates and above. Although they have a blue trail marked on the trail map, this would be classed as a red trail anywhere else. You need a good level of bike skill to get the most out of these trails
It is home to 4 incredible trails which are really well built and maintained. Big gap jumps, Steep tech, road gaps and perfectly sculpted berms.
The trails are very progressive and before you know it you will be picking up some serious speed.
A word of warning, the trails here can lead you into a false sense of confidence.
They are incredibly confidence inspiring, these trails come at you fast. There are sections of these trails which leave you with no margin for error.
Take it steady and don’t go crazy until you know the trails like the back of your hand.
Where to eat?
Morgins is expensive. Use the supermarket to get lunch, take bike spares as you don’t want to be paying excess of £30 for a set of brake pads!
If you’re staying in Morzine and riding back, give yourself plenty of time.
Allow time to ride 3 miles to Chatel and then catch a free bus from the town centre to the bottom of Chatel bike park.
The last lift you MUST catch to get back to Morzine, is the Rochassons chair lift in Chatel. Miss this and you’re screwed.
Final thoughts…..
Each area of trails has its own feel and style of riding. Ride them all to find out your favourite.
If you want to get some big riding in, Don’t be lured into eating the mixed grill in Linderets! You’ll be so full afterwards, your only option will be to roll home!
Don’t get stuck in the queues
at Super Morzine and Zore. If you plan to explore into the Swiss/Chatel side of the trail network, make sure you’re at first lifts. The Super Morzine/ Zore area is the busiest area of the whole of the Portes Du Soleil.
Consider a day trip to Samoens bike park
You can hire a guide and descend from the top of Les Gets to Samoens. Ride the lift here for the remainder of the day and then get the bus back to the top of Les Gets. Please note – Samoens lift pass is not included as part of the Portes Du Soleil pass and you will need to pre book your shuttle back to Les Gets. You can book shuttles here.
Don’t spend your entire holiday lapping Super Morzine
As great as the trails are, the Portes Du Soleil offers so MUCH more. Pick up a map and get exploring!
Prefer to listen?
Check out the Trail Hub Portes du Soleil audio guides here.
Join us for a holiday?
Visit Scotland, French Alps or race the Megavalanche. See our Trail Hub trips below.