Morzine & Portes du Soleil Road Biking Routes

Head straight for the Col du Joux Verte and onwards to the Avoriaz ski station 14km at the head of the road. Start in Morzine old town and follow the signs for Avoriaz, once you are through the two roundabouts (ensure you don’t head up the Valley des Ardoisieres which is sign posted Prodains and Avoriaz) just follow the road D338 all the way. When you get to the tourist information at the top drop down the way you came for a kilometre and take the right hand turn signposted Les Linderets on the D228. Exercise caution through Linderets village avoiding the goats and tourists spread over the road. The road flattens to take you past the stunning views of Lac Montriond and onward to Montriond village where you can follow the signs back to Morzine itself.

The reverse route is much harder as the climb up to Linderets offers a much steeper gradient.

Time 1 ½ to 2 hours for a distance of approximately 35km

Drop out of Morzine in the direction of Thonnon on the D902 through the village of St Jean D’Aulps. Take the right turn to Le Biot and the Col du Corbier on the D32. This climb is a little shorter than those featured but is still massive by UK standards offering the true alpine switchback experience. Drop down from the ski station and take a left turn to briefly follow the D32 in the direction of Evian-Les-Bains taking the first left turn for Ecotex and onwards to the Col du Grand Taillet. The descent to le Forclaz and the reservoir below is spectacular with a great mixture of hairpins, fast corners and super fast straights. Return to Morzine on the steadily rising D902 road. This is a great route in reverse but expect to spend much more time climbing the Col du Grand Taillet in this direction resulting in a harder ride.

Time 1 ¾ – 2 ½ hours for a distance of approximately 45 km.

Route 3 – Climb up out of Morzine in the direction of Les Gets on the main road D902. Drop down the descent through Pont des Gets and onwards to Taninges. Ride briefly through the town and take a right turn signposted Rond to climb up to the Pont des Gets and return to Morzine the way you came through Les Gets. Although the D902 is a busy road the descent to Taninges is fast so not many cars will overtake. The climb up to Rond for the return to the Pont des Gets is very quiet.

Time 1 ½ – 2 hours for a distance of approximately 35 km.

Drop out of Morzine in the direction of Thonnon on the D902 through the village of St Jean D’Aulps and onwards to le Jotty. At le Vernaz take the left turn climbing to Vailly on the D22. Carry on to Bellevaux on the D26 climbing the relatively easy Col du Jambaz on route to Megevette via the D226. This ultimately brings you out just short of Mieussy on the D907. Ride through the town and follow the signs, situated at the roundabout at the head of town, for the Col de la Ramaz which rears up immediately. If you’re low on energy and the supplies to remedy the situation you could try the Patisserie in the centre of town. At this point you’ll have been riding for 1 ½ - 2 hours and will need another 1 ½ – 2 hours to complete the route. Up to an hour or so of this is the climb of the Ramaz itself - be prepared. After descending through the Praz-de-Lys join the D903 at the Pont des Gets and return to Morzine via the main road through Les Gets. The little climb to Les Gets can be very tough if you have spent all your energy on the Ramaz.

Time 3 – 4 hours for a distance of approximately 80km.

Head for Essert-Romand and climb la Cote-d’Arbroz followed by the Col de Encrenaz. These are tough little climbs followed by a bumpy narrow descent. The D328 is a quiet road and ultimately joins the decent of the Col de la Ramaz and onwards to the Pont des Gets. Drop down the decent through the gorge to Taninges and take a right turn towards Verchaix and ultimately the picturesque town of Samoens along the D902. You can refill your water bottles in the town square here and it might be a good idea as the super hard climb of the Col du Joux Plane waits. For those who cant wait to get back to Morzine for refreshments drop into the Café near the lake at the top and take in the views of Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles accompanied by a coffee or maybe a beer. Don’t get too carried away on the latter as the decent to Morzine will require your entire bike riding skills to negotiate safely.

Time 3 – 4 hours for a distance of approximately 70km.

Head to Taninges on the D902 through Les Gets via the long descent through the gorge. Follow the signs for the A40 and Cluses taking in the climbs to Chatillon-s-Cluses and the super fast decent to Cluses itself. Head for centre ville and onwards to Scionzier via the D26. This marks the start of the Col du Colombiere as described in the Major Climbs section previously.

After labouring your way to the top you’ll be greeted by the welcome site of a café. We recommend a stop for coffee at this point, approximately half way round, and the excellent myrtille tart, the best in the area apparently. Quite hard to dispute when you have spent an hour climbing this Tour de France classic.

Descend into le Grand-Bornand and onwards taking the turning for Bonneville via the D12. This is a great scenic twisty road gradually descending through the gorge des Eveaux all the way to Bonneville itself – very spectacular. Head through the town and take the D19 to Marignier and onwards via the D6 to return to Chatillon-s-Cluses. Descend back to Taninges and return to Pont des Gets via the climb through Rond and onwards to Les Gets. If things are really bad at this point enjoy freewheeling to Morzine.

Time 4 – 5 hours for a distance of approximately 100km

Drop out of Morzine in the direction of Thonnon on the D902 through the village of St Jean D’Aulps. Take the right turn to Le Biot and the Col du Corbier on the D32. Descend from the ski station to Bonnevaux taking a right turn onto the D22 to Abondance and onwards to Chatel, a nice road gradually gaining height to Chatel.

Here the climbing starts again via the relatively short Pas de Morgins, descending from which you’ll pass through the French/Swiss border. You are unlikely to need your passport despite the border post but I guess you never know. The long descent to Monthey is wide and must be paved with the smoothest tarmac in the Alps. The decent is super fast with some major braking zones into the 180 degree corners – fantastic.

The route skirts the admittedly rather un-scenic industrial town of Monthey but you are soon past that onto the Rhone valley road, direction Lac Geneva/Lac Leman. The valley road and the lake side road to Evian is the longest continuous flat piece of road in the area and it feels great to bowl along at speed taking in the spectacular views of the Lac. Continue towards Evian-Les-Bains and yes it is the Evian of bottled water fame. It may be worth stopping for refreshments before you get to Evian, the prices are a little high but the views of the Lac are amazing.

Closer to Thonnon-Les-Bains the area becomes a little built up and busy but the turning for Morzine is soon signposted taking you quickly out of town on the D902. From here it is a long steadily rising road all the way to Morzine through gorges and switchbacks giving way to more open mountain views. This is not the most mountainous of rides but still a considerable undertaking.

Time 4 ½ - 5 ½ hours for a distance of approximately 130km.