Set to be off to French Alps in July. Pouring over IGNs I wondering which path types MTBing is permitted on?
Obviously anything signed or mapped (on resort map) as a graded bike trail is for biking, but what about footpaths?
On my 1:25k (blue fronted, paper) IGN map there are:
-solid black lines, described as car tracks
-dashed black lines, described as footpaths
Some of each of these have red highlights to them, the key showing these signposted routes, (also some red dots for hard for hiking)
Which of these is biking allowed on?
Are there other restrictions an IGN might not throw up as obvious or is it mostly fair game for bikes?
I believe you're not allowed (to bike) in national parks, such as vanoise
And yes Im aware of the difference between footpath dashed black lines and those used for various boundaries
Footpaths were fair game when I was there 🙂 (Riding in National Parks a big no-no though).
France is pretty big. This means that the rules can be (and are) different everywhere, and that there are too many paths to put signs on.
Generally anything goes, except certain national parks (Ecrins for one)
But you need to check local commune/department byelaws.
Generally the FFC centres give a good idea of what's possible, and the GPS track sites like utagawa give an idea of alternatives.
Being polite and not bombing down walking tails at 100mph generally enabled me to ride anywhere.