Hiking in the French Alps – Serre Chevalier

The Serre Chevalier valley is a high-mountain environment on the edge of the Ecrins National Park. The peaks surrounding the valley are extremely popular with mountaineers. They include: the Barre des Ecrins (4102m) as well as the Pelvoux, Meije, Les Agneaux and Mont Thabor and Le Grand Galibier. Ailefroide, in the Vallouise valley, is France’s second most popular mountaineering destination and was explored by great names, such as Whymper and Coolidge.

Ecrins National Park – Rich in Biodiversity
The Ecrins National Park is home to around 210 of the 440 known species of bird found in Europe and almost 110 other species of vertebrae. There are 1800 species of plants in the park and its surrounding areas, 40 of which are rare or endangered and 35 endemic to the park and the Park request, that visitors do not touch the plants to ensure their well being.
Le Monêtier les Bains is a picturesque village within the park boundaries and has narrow streets between old buildings with lovely facades and wooden balconies. There is also visitor centre in the village housing several exhibitions of the National Park.

Animal Look Out
Chamois; studies have shown that there are 12,000 chamois living in the park.
Ibex; nearly 200 ibex in the Cerces Massif.
Marmots; they’re everywhere, you can’t miss them! Why not visit ’La Montagne aux Marmottes’ an hour from Serre Chevalier in Le Sauze du Lac
Golden eagles can be seen circling overhead

Walking routes
Serre Chevalier in a network of fully marked-out hiking trails almost 5,000 kilometres long, running from Trieste (Italy), on the Adriatic coast to Monaco, on the Mediterranean!

Long routes
The tour of the Combeynot lake in the Ecrins National Park or the famous Chemin du Roy overlooking the valley from Le Lauzet to Le Granon.
Walks with a geological theme
’Sentier géologique du Rocher Blanc’ is a path that takes you on a tour of the geology of the Briançon region, covering its 300 million year history. Tours are organised by the Centre Briançonnais de Géologie Alpine. Other visits include Le Chenaillet at Montgenèvre: where you can dive at altitude and explores the best underwater fossil volcano in the Alps.

Themed walks
Le Bez botanical walk, takes about an hour and passes through beautiful alpine flora.
Recommended historical walks include the irrigation canals walk, where you can follow the canal routes and learn of their history of the Briançon region.
The Hearts of stone walk takes in the sundials, oratories and chapels in Saint Chaffrey.

Accommodation
You could not be in a better location in Serre Chevalier, our Clubhotel Frejus 2* is just metres from the Telecabine in the village of Villeneuve. With 24 comfortable en-suite rooms, sharing 2-6 beds in each, you can relax in the evening, enjoy our delicious food and excellent service. There is a spacious bar area featuring a large DVD player and also a Karaoke system!