Ski area in Morzine

Morzine is a traditional Savoyard town dating back to the Middle Ages. The resort primarily faces north, north west and has been welcoming skiers since the 1930s. The first ski run was created in 1925. However, it wasn't until 1934 that Morzine became a bona fide ski town, when the Pléney cable car (the second ever to be erected in France), was inaugurated. 

It is in the Haute Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alps region, near to Geneva and the border with Switzerland on the Western edge of the French Alps. Morzine is part of one of the largest linked ski areas in the world.

The highest point from Morzine is the Pointe de Nyon, at an altitude of 2,019 meters. This peak provides access to various ski runs and spectacular views of the surrounding mountain landscape.

The ski area is loosely comprised of three areas:

• Pléney/Les Gets
• Nyon and Chamossière
• Super Morzine and the vast Portes du Soleil

Read more about where to stay in Morzine.

You can buy a ski pass for either Morzine and Les Gets or Avoriaz, or if you want access to the whole area you can buy a Portes du Soleil ski pass.

Le Pléney/Les Gets

• Ideal for families
• Good beginners area
• Good intermediate skiing
• Easy access from town centre
• 120km of pistes
• pretty tree lined slopes

Les Gets

Les Gets is a charming and accessible ski area with beautiful tree lined runs and lovely views, especially from the top of Mont Chéry. It’s a great spot for cruising, with wide, scenic blues that are perfect for beginners and intermediates.

The Chavannes area offers a free beginners' zone and plenty of easy blues. Intermediates can explore the Chavannes Bowl, where five lifts access a mix of blues, reds, and two black runs, all converging at the bowl’s centre – ideal for groups with varied abilities.

Mont Chéry, on the opposite side, is a quieter mountain with steeper mogul runs, mostly red and black, and a sunny south-facing aspect. It’s a great option for advanced skiers but can get slushy in late season.

Nyon and Chamossière

• Very good intermediate and advance skiing
• Good selection of red and black runs
• Easy direct access from Nyon bypassing The Pléney area
• Several wide open blue runs

For those looking for more advanced adventures you will enjoy the slopes here (see the piste maps).

Pointe de Nyon offers advanced skiers the Aigle Rouge red run, a steep, winding descent with an Alpine pass feel. Skilled skiers can take off-piste shortcuts to rejoin friends on the piste below. It connects to the mogul-filled Aigle Noir or the wide, knee-friendly Combe red, both leading to the TS de la Pointe lift. Alternatively, continue down the Chamois red through the trees to join the Lièvre blue, which goes all the way to the Nyon cable car.

Access Nyon directly from the TPH de Nyon car park, which has plenty of space. Beginners may find the Nyon Plateau’s wide blues ideal, with more challenging options like Lièvre and Pâquérages further down.

Chamossière is compact but impressive, with the steep black Creux and the versatile red Arbis that starts narrow and steep, then mellows into a wide, good for carving slope.

Super Morzine

Located opposite Pléney, the Super Morzine gondola connects to Avoriaz and the Portes du Soleil. A full area pass isn’t necessary for beginners, but opens up extensive terrain for more adventurous skiers.

The Portes du Soleil offers snow sure skiing and is spread across 12 different ski resorts in France and Switzerland.

• 600km of pistes
• 307 pistes
• 30 snowparks
• 208 ski lifts
• 39 green runs
• 130 blue runs
• 105 red runs
• 33 black runs

Avoriaz

Perched 600m above Morzine, the snow-sure resort of Avoriaz can be reached via three access points from Morzine: 

• Super Morzine gondola from the centre of town
• Prodains gondola
• Lindarets Express

It has some of the best snowparks in the Alps and is home to Europe's first freestyle park: 

• Six snowparks
• Great area for beginners
• Good for families
• Very good intermediate and advance skiing
• 250km of blue and red runs
• Powder fields in Lindarets and Châtel
• Mulitple black runs
• The infamous Swiss Wall - experts only
   

Linga and Châtel 

These areas of the Portes du Soleil offer a great mix for all levels, with some challenging reds but no blacks. For experienced skiers, the steep reds in the Linga sector, accessible via the Chaux Fleurie lift from Lindarets, are excellent. Most reds funnel down to Plain Dranse into the long Les Rochassons run, except for Les Voraches. Off-piste enthusiasts will love the lift-accessible powder fields along the ridge between Pré la Joux and Lac du Montriond—just a short 10-minute hike from the top of Chaux Fleurie or Rochassons.

Further into Châtel, the TS des Combes leads to the red Le Linga, a long, top-to-bottom descent into Villapeyron. From here, you can explore more with the Gabelou and Portes du Soleil lifts, which take you around Châtel with plenty of runs and button lifts.

Châtel also has a good freestyle park, featuring an airbag and modules from the Nike Chosen Series. For powder seekers, this area has quieter fields, though watch out for rocks and trees. Remember to catch the last lift back to Lindarets to avoid an expensive taxi home!

St Jean d'Aulps

St Jean d’Aulps is a quieter, stand-alone area in the Portes du Soleil, though not connected by lifts or pistes to the main resort. Just a 20-minute drive from Morzine, it’s a hidden gem covered by a full area pass. With mostly blue and red runs, plus one black, it’s ideal for mixed abilities. The high points, Col de Grayon and Grande Terche at 1,800m, offer scenic, long red runs back to the base.

The Swiss resorts of the Portes du Soleil

• Les Crosets
• Morgins
• Champoussin
• Champery
• Val-d'Illiez
• Torgon

The Swiss resorts in the Portes du Soleil are accessible from Avoriaz or Châtel but require more planning if coming from Les Gets. Expect snowparks, steeper reds, and the notorious Swiss Wall—the toughest run in the area, with a 1km un-pisted mogul descent and a 331m vertical drop, strictly for experts.

Les Crosets

The largest resort in Swiss sector, Les Crosets is easily reached from Lindarets via the Express Mossettes lift. From here, a long red run descends all the way to Champéry, and there’s a large snowpark accessible via TS Crosets II.

Morgins and Champoussin

Further out, Morgins and Champoussin can be reached by following the long blue run from Mossettes. Morgins offers enough terrain for a full day’s skiing, but be mindful of the last lift back to France.

For a quieter experience, Torgon is often overlooked and has fewer crowds. It’s reachable from the Châtel sector, and offers empty pistes and stunning views, especially from the Morclan summit. The Tronchey chairlift area also has a fun freeride section when conditions are right.

If you head over to the Swiss resorts in The Portes du Soleil, ensure you leave enough time to reach the lifts you need to get home - taxis home aren't cheap.

Snow conditions permitting the ski season in Morzine usually runs from mid-December to early April.

That strong winter sun means the snow can turn from ice to slush pretty quickly if you're here late in the season. But whenever you choose to come, the local pisteurs will make the best of the conditions and groom the pistes to perfection.

If you're coming skiing early or late in the season

It's a good idea to check which lifts are open in Morzine. You might want to check the Morzine webcams too, for an up-to-the minute view of conditions on the ground.

While Morzine and Les Gets might not be known for extreme steeps, they do offer some very good advanced runs to test your skills.

Le Pléney

The south-facing red runs Rénard, Fouine, and Abeille are steep, wide, and great for carving. You can repeat these runs using the Atray chairlift, with the challenging Olympique black nearby for an extra thrill. The Hermine red is a scenic, thigh-burning descent down to Morzine. For moguls head for the Aigle Noir under the TS de la Pointe lift.

Les Gets - Chavannes

For blacks, hit Yeti and Myrtilles, accessed via the La Rosta and Grains d'Or lifts. These runs get bumpy by afternoon, so morning’s the best time to enjoy them before the moguls take over. Off-piste options weave through the trees and link back to main runs, so there’s minimal risk of getting lost.

Mont Chéry

A quieter area with fewer runs but some great reds and blacks on the shaded (north) back side. There’s also lovely off-piste here, off the side of the pistes and through the trees – ideal after a fresh snowfall, just mind the icy spots.

If you like long red runs with a few rollers, head to the Mélèzes run, just don't go whizzing past the 'danger' signs towards that inviting pocket of powder - you'll end up in the river!

Nyon

Reached via the Pléney gondola, Nyon boasts steep north-facing slopes with advanced reds like Aigle Rouge, and the mogul-filled Aigle Noir. For a gentler ride, the Combe red is a fast, wide run great for carving.

Chamossière

At 2,002m, Chamossière has some of the best views around. Les Creux, a black run, and Arbis, a steep red, both offer thrilling descents. Be cautious, though – Chamossière is avalanche-prone, so always check conditions.

The trick is to head for the pistes that are tree-lined; the trees help provide definition when everything else seems to be white.

Morzine
The many runs accessed via the Pléney are tree-lined, making them ideal for low visibility days. The Pointe du Nyon is high and exposed, but the runs coming down from the Nyon Plateau to the Charniaz bowl or to the base of Nyon itself are tree-lined, making them a great choice on a white out.

Les Gets
The off-piste run under the lift line of the TC des Chavannes provides a number of lines that reconvene at the bottom of the télécabine, and rather than being exposed to the elements the bubble keeps you warm in-between runs.

It's always a good idea to check out the webcams in Morzine.

You can read more about where to go on our dedicated bad weather page.

Le Pléney

This area is ideal for beginners, with plenty of gentle, tree-lined greens and blues to practice on. Of the 69 runs here, three are several greens and 29 are blues, including beginner-friendly runs like Piste B, Corbeau, and Grizzli, which all lead back to the Pléney télécabine.

Les Gets

The Chavannes area of Les Gets offers free beginner zones, or “Mappy's Areas,” with two magic carpets and a tow rope, plus a kids' ski park with fun decorations, small jumps, and face painting. When you're ready, head up the Chavannes Express for some long, scenic blues.

Nyon

For beginners, the Nyon Plateau has wide-open beginner blues like Lièvre and Pâquérages, accessed from the Lavouet drag lift, with some narrower blue options leading to the Troncs chair.

Super Morzine

Super Morzine links Morzine to Avoriaz and has great wide blues nearby, like Zore and Tetras, which offer a bit more challenge, ideal for building confidence.

Morzine

Above Morzine, the Nyon and Chamossière peaks are the highest in the area and top spots for powder seekers. Both peaks offer lift-accessed off-piste, eliminating long hikes. Nyon has multiple lines between the pistes, while Chamossière features a wide, unpisted bowl to skier’s left. Though it gets tracked out quickly, there’s usually time to get a few good lines in.

Les Gets

In Les Gets, the quiet Mont Chéry side is a prime off-piste area. From the top of the TC Mont Chéry and Grande Ourse chair, you can skirt the Bouquetin black run or drop off the back for fresh lines. The Chavannes Bowl also offers clear off-piste, with plenty of between the tree options and all runs leading back to the lifts.

Always check avalanche conditions and consider hiring an off-piste guide for safety.

Portes du Soleil

Freestyle paradise with 11 snowparks, 4 boardercross courses, a superpipe, and airbags for all skill levels. Most parks are in Avoriaz, but options are available throughout the area.

Nyon

Small snowpark, had a major upgrade in 2023. Has narrow kickers and short landings, can get a little crowded with ski schools.

Les Gets

Beginner/intermediate features rails, boxes, pole jam, hip, spine and a seasonal airbag. The Boardercross is located under the Chavannes lift, it's the best in the area, hosting international competitions. Features tabletops and banked corners, ideal for advanced skiers.