All year round: Summer hiking, Winter snowshoeing or winter hiking
Day hiking Chamonix means a compact patchwork of trails and great mountain views!
The Chamonix valley offers an incredible variety of accessible day hikes. During winter we offer guided snowshoe tours or winter hiking.
Join a local UIMLA mountain leader and discover the beauty of the natural environment, the history and the local fauna and flora.
Are you ready to escape the daily routine and dive into nature?
Let us take you to one of the deep blue mountain lakes overlooking Mont Blanc or explore a high balcony walk on the south or north side of the valley with us. We also like to hike to small mountain chalets to enjoy a local speciality and pick some blue berries or wild strawberries along the trail.
If you rather like to do a high alpine hike above tree line, Chamonix offers that too. We take one of the many cable cars to start and will find some alpine flowers, maybe a group of ibex but for sure lot’s of great views!
Let us know what your wishes are and we design a great day outdoors for you.
A few day hiking options
Find some carefully selected day hiking options below. These options would fill up an active Chamonix hiking week. We would be happy to guide you on these trails.
Aiguillette des Posettes – Col de Balme from Le Tour
Fabulous views over the Chamonix and Vallorcine valleys during this loop hike. Wonderful panorama of Mont-Blanc and le Tour Glacier, le Buet and les Perrons in particular. We visit a typical Alpage on the way back down to Le Tour but not before stepping one foot into Switzerland at the Balme.
- (12km, +800m, -800m)
Mountain lakes: Lac des Cheserys and Lac Blanc from Col des Montets to Flégere or shorter from Flégère and Index chair
If you have ever seen a picture where the whole Mont Blanc range reflects in deep blue mountain lakes, that’s here. Lac Blanc and the Cheserys lakes lie in the Aiguille Rouge Nature reserve. Thanks to it’s protection wild animals like ibex, mountain goats and marmots enjoy this place as much as many wild flowers like Alpenrose and Arnica.
- (Long version: 11km, +940m, -400m)
Brévent 2525m and Refuge Bellachat 2183m
We start our hike above tree line at Planpraz and climb up to Col de Brévent and on to Brévent. We might spot Ibex today as this is their habitat. On over lush meadows towards the lovely Bellachat refuge for an outstanding blueberry cake.
- (13km, +700m, -900m)
Typical mountain Chalet with glacier views, Le Chapeau
Viewpoint over the Mer de Glace from a different angle, the Gorges de l’Arveyron, the Aiguilles and the Chamonix valley. But not only!
Le Chapeau is a hidden treasure and a good family hiking option. Enjoy a hiking day let yourself treat to a delicious mountain lunch on the lovely terrace in the forest.
- (8,5km, +300m, -300m)
Le Grand Balcon Nord with Mer de Glace
Scenic Balcony trail underneath the impressive Chamonix Granit needles. The highlight is the Signal Forbes viewpoint overlooking Mer de Glace glacier. We also visit the informative Glaciarium before taking the little red train down to town.
- (7km, +400m, -700m)
Chalet des Pyramides 1895m, above Glacier des Bossons
Splendid view of the Bossons glacier, with its beautiful seracs and ice pinnacles. We try the typical Tartiflette at the Chalet with it’s panoramic terrace.E
On the way down we visit an informativ trail that explains all about Le Bosson glacier, the first climbers to Mont Blanc and the wild flowers.
- (8km, +800m, – 800m / less if we take the Bosson Chairlift)
Winter hiking options:
Snowshoe hiking opposite Mont Blanc
Our itineraries takes place under the cliffs of the Fiz massif and faces the Mont Blanc massif and in the forests of the Chamonix valley.
In the middle of a snowy setting, we will offer you some exceptional views of the Mont-Blanc. We offer half or full day tours. We can stop at a mountain restaurant for lunch or organise a picnic style lunch for the group. A nice idea is also to take the train to the village of Le Buet and do a wonderful loop in the Berard valley by the frozen river and in the forest. Check with us for your perfect itinerary!
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- Snowshoe Tour Chamonix
Chalet Loriaz snowshoeing
At an altitude of 2020m, this alpine chalets in the heart of the Aiguilles Rouges massif offer an exceptional panorama of the famous Aiguille Verte and the Mont-Blanc massif. A beautiful spot for snowshoeing!
- (+670m, – 670m)
If you would like to do a 3 day hike sleeping in mountain huts, check out our Chamonix hut to hut itineraries.
Perfect for families and privat groups!
Costs:
- 420.00€ for a certified UIMLA hiking guide per day
- Not included: equipment, lift passes
- Groups up to 8 hikers
Packing list for day hiking Chamonix:
- Hiking shoes and usual hiking clothes
Day backpack
Gore-tex jacket
Water bottle
Sunglasses and suncream
Camera
Telescopic poles
Lunch pack
How to get to Chamonix, France
Chamonix lies on the foot of Mont Blanc very near the Swiss and Italian border. If you are travelling from outside of France, then flying into Geneva (GVA) is the quickest way to get to Chamonix. Geneva has a great choice of airlines offering good value on flights all year round. Once at the airport you can take an airport transfer that brings you to the valley in a bit more than an hour. Once here, buses and trains are free with an overnight stay. From Milano (ITA) you can find buses to Aosta, Courmayeur and than trough the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix. From Martigny (CH) take the scenic Mont Blanc Express train to Chamonix that takes a bit over an hour.
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I had a wonderful day hiking with Ella. She is very experienced and a great hiking companion. Highly recommend for any Alpine adventures!
Thank you very much Becca!!
An EXTRAORDINARY experience and a lifetime of memories.
Ella led us in a full day snowshoe excursion and every moment of the day was incredible. She educated us on what we were seeing from near and far, shared stories of the area and we atopped for a picnic lunch by the hut which provided us incredible views…. And the workout we got was fantastic. I highly recommend the full day excursion and I am excited to return to do more in other nearby mountains.
Thank you Ella!
Thank you so much Kimberly! It was great to hike with you again and this time in the snow! Ella
What an epic day! Snowshoeing with Ella was a tremendous experience. We started our day by stopping at an amazing bakery along the way. Our group consisted of 3 friends from California. We embarked on an elevation climb of around 700 meters. The views along the way were breathtaking! Ella pointed out landmarks, types of trees and vegetation. At the top of the climb we reached a hut and had a picnic along with espresso, pastries and drinks @ 2,020 meters. She took lots of great pictures and shared them with our group… something we will cherish for years to come.
I highly recommend booking a guided tour with Ella!
Thank you so much Randy!