Snowshoeing, cross-country and ski touring in Les Carroz

Not everyone comes to Les Carroz to rack up descents. Some have never skied, some have bad knees, and some simply want quiet after three days on the pistes. The good news is that the resort is well set up for all of them — and these activities are worth arranging now, before the slopes open on 12 December 2026.

Snowshoeing: the easiest way in

This is the activity that needs the least technique and the smallest budget. ESF Les Carroz runs weekly three-hour outings at €30, snowshoes and poles included, led by a qualified mountain leader. You meet outside the ESF office, and transport to the trailhead is provided for the first eight people to sign up — beyond that, you'll need your own car.

The most memorable version is the tipi outing at €40: a walk followed by a meal under canvas, with head torches supplied for the way back. Bring €20 in cash for the meal. Going independently, the Col de la Pierre Carrée sector, on the Flaine road, holds most of the marked snowshoe routes around the resort — around thirty kilometres of them.

Cross-country skiing on the Agy plateau

Twenty minutes by car, above Saint-Sigismond, the Agy plateau is the area's reference nordic domain. The Nordic Center on site advises on and hires out equipment, and passes cost a fraction of an alpine ski pass. It is an excellent plan B on days when visibility is poor higher up: the forest shelters you from the wind.

For lessons, the ESF offers classic and skating technique for adults, groups for children aged 6 to 14, a nordic Piou-Piou club for the youngest, and — best of all — biathlon sessions combining cross-country skiing with rifle shooting, the activity that reliably wins teenagers back over to the mountains.

Ski touring, with no kit and no experience

Ski touring is the fastest-growing discipline in the Alps, and ESF Les Carroz has a genuinely good introduction: the Pack Trace, taught in small groups and free outside French school holidays. You need reasonable alpine ski ability — you climb on skins, but you ski back down. A mountain snack is included, and the beginner lift pass is enough.

If you would rather head out alone, remember that climbing on the ski area's pistes is governed by set routes and time windows, published by the resort each season. Check before you clip in.

Finding the right rhythm from the Lodge

These activities slot neatly into a classic ski week: a snowshoe outing on Wednesday, a nordic day when the weather closes in up high, and the rest across the Grand Massif's 265 km. The heated ski locker on the ground floor takes snowshoes and cross-country skis without trouble, and the Nordic bath on the south-facing terrace handles the rest. Our concierge Clémentine can help line up bookings before you arrive.