Well? myself and a few friends are heading to the alps on a road trip after catching Le Tour start in monaco. We all enjoy camping and are taking the bikes. Can you recommend campsites? particularly in Chamonix, Interlaken, Lake Lucerne, Vaduz and Tirol?

If you have satyed elsewhere in these areas i am fully open to ideas!

Thankyou 😀

anyone?

I’ve just been in Chamonix, it was VERY quiet – I guess because of the current economic situation. Not sure about campsites but the Belvedere hostel in Argentiere (near Cham) is highly recommended by my brother.

Oh and here’s a pic (been looking for an excuse to post it ;))

cheers grumm. i will look into it. go on, post another pic….. 😀

Matterhorn

Over an hour long decent into Zermatt

HI there,

Was in Chamonix last year camping. Good campsite just outsite Chamonix called Mer de Glace, there are trails running near to the site and Le Praz cablecar is 2 mins away….highly recommended
M.

Three of us hired a chalet in Les Houches (Chamonix valley) for a week last September. Was a great deal – it should sleep 14, so no shortage of space between 3 😀 I’m now sat here dreaming of Tartiflette.

Worth grabbing a copy of the MTB guide book written by one of the local guys from Zero G (the LBS in Chamonix) – http://www.tworide.com/article.asp?ID=130

A 2nd recommendation for Camping Mer de Glace in Chamonix. Great location and facilities. I wasn’t biking but it looked fantastic, and I am planning a trip there again this year.

If you want general Intelaken / Luzern / Berner Oberland area then I can totally recommend Alpen camping at Meiringen. Centrally located to access all of above, but in a large semi-tourist semi-working village rather than heaving in tourists like lauterbrunnen / Grindelwald etc.

http://www.alpencamping.ch Spotless facilities and by far the best site in the area. Sometimes a bit breezy when the fohn wind blows down the valley…. Also http://www.derfli.ch looked good higher up the valley side.

We are going back again this summer. Currently investigating having a day of guiding to try and find the secret singletrack http://www.bikekultour.ch

Ischgl looks promising in Austria for MTB but not found any camping yet. http://www.ischgl.com/en-bike-guide.htm

Finners

you are starting from Monaco and you are not checking out the trails around Monaco???

There are awesome trails above there on the French side and even better along the Italian side, way more varied and quiter than the mainstream resorts.

There are lots of uplifts available San Remo, Triora, Calizzano, Sospel, Finale ligure etc…

check out Rivierabike for more info on the area.

Finners,

Go to Rivierabike, it’s ace, even if you only go for a few days 🙂

I had a week with RB in 07, and a week in Morzine / Les Gets in 08.

Morzine and Les Gets was good, but you will be sharing the trails with 0000’s of other riders. (think busy, rutted, braking bumps etc) Not necessarily a bad thing, but during the week with Rivierabike, we rode every day and Im struggling to remeber seeing more than 5 other mtb’ers apart from a shared day with some people who had come over from france for the day.

The trails around Molini (where we rode) are fantastic, natural trails in truly stunning surroundings.

Horses for courses, but I know which I preferred.

Riviera Bike

Another plug for Riviera Bike, superb riding and awesome location. Must get back down there for another week with Adi and Jo, maybe next year.

thats great guys, thankyou very much 🙂 does anyone have anymore info on Interlaken or surrounding areas?

Try here for routes:-
http://bikeland.myswitzerland.com/en/welcome.cfm
and
http://www.singletrailmap.ch/singletrailmap/index.php

Switzerland has lots of signposted bike routes but won’t generally send you on any interesting singletracks.

Interlaken area is beautiful but finding routes will need maps or guiding. Tourists from all over the world flock there but luckily they generally stick to a limited rail tour and don’t head for the hills! Places like Brienz and Meiringen are much quieter. Luzern is nice.

If in north / central england then overnight hull-rotterdam ferry is expensive but really straightforward. You’ll be on the road in Holland fresh and ready to drive before 9am. travelling with kids we break in southern Germany for a run about and overnight near http://www.technik-museum.de/museum_sinsheim_deutsch.html but you could easily drive to Luzern / Interlaken in one hit with no motorway tolls (apart from swiss motorway vignette). I’ve got it in writing somewhere that tourists don’t need a bike vignette (insurance sticker bought from post office).

chamonix

Grand Raid Cristalp, if racing a lycra is your thing.

The Alps in general made my jaw drop almost constantly. Everything you look at is jaw-dropping.

“racing AND lycra” I meant. Grrr.

I’ve been to La Clusaz which is close to Chamonix. Lifts are open for biking and its very quite on both DH and XC trails, bit limited but if your only there for a few days or so it would be good. Nice local town/village too.

It’s late in the day, you’ve been on the bike for 7 hrs and you are “facing” a 1000m descent to Courmayeur. That’s when this picture on the TMB was taken.

Or how about, you’ve left the crowds in Morzine behind and descended 1000m to Samoens, filling up with water in the town square before heading up to “commune” 50/50 lifts/grind for another long descent.

Or spending a few days in Alp d’Huez to try out the Mega Avalanche course (it’s all hype by the way – forget Mega, Mega, Mega and think – nice XC and long descents.

All the photos here
And some further info here

Going tomorrow, cant wait

Tracey

bivi?

polarisandy

pic no2, did you climb up that or is it just a view from the top ? That is STEEP! Balls of steel if you climbed that!

I live here. Awesome singletrack, some DH stuff around too. Check us out for catered chalet accommodation, or you can camp in Bourg Saint Maurice, Seez or Val d’Isere. Photies:

Climbed it with two pals as a group of three on a rope.
Ice axes for belays..

It’s quite an easy climb when you get to the ridge above it.

Petit Aiguille Verte

Stevomcd, where is that run in the last pic ? Looks like fun!

Spent a week there last summer staying in Alpe d’Huez – downside was every road ride ended in an ascent of Alpe d’Huez, hence did over 15km ascent in 4 days!

more photos

heathy: ’tis a secret… 😉

The town in the background is Bourg Saint Maurice.