Mountainbike holiday in Verbier
Contents
Mountainbike routes
Verbier is located is the french speaking part of the swiss kanton Wallis/Valais. Verbier itself is located at 1500m. of altitude, the bike park lifts run up to 2475m. and it’s possible to descent all the way down to La Châble at 822m. and then take the cable car back up. For a total of 1650m’s of altitude difference.
There are 8 bike park trails, 25 enduro trails and over 500 km’s of xc trails, so everyone should be able to find a trail to there liking here.
Mountain biking in Verbier
Pro’s
- Awesome trails, not just standard bike park trails, but also a lot of enduro trails.
- Easy access to the high and beautiful mountains
- Easy to combine with other nearby bike spots
- Long trails with a lot of altitude difference
Cons
- Expensive
- No more parking next to the Médran lift station
The village
In the winter Verbier is a posh ski resort known for it’s off piste and heli skiing. So if you’re looking for a luxurious mountain holiday, this is the place for you. Your neighbor might be royalty or a movie star.
If you’re more on a budget, then it’s probably better to look elsewhere, because of the combo of the Swiss Franc and higher end prices.
You will find all sorts of summer activities here like two 18 hole golf courses, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hiking and climbing. And off course a lot of good bars and restaurants.
Hotels and apartments
The accommodations in Verbier are mostly aimed at the higher end of the market, if this is what you’re looking for there is a wide range of excellent hotels and self catering apartments and chalets. But make your booking well in advance, since most accommodations for the summer will be fully booked long before Christmas.
If you’re looking for a cheaper place to stay, it’s best to look down in the valley near La Châble, from here you can take the cable car up to Verbier.
Campings
There used to be a wild camping spot on the parking place near the lift in Verbier, but the entire parking has been blocked with boulders.
When you stay at first two campings you will get a Verbier Infinite Playground Pass which gives you an 50% reduction on the bikepark day ticket, which normally is quite expensive (38SFr.), so you basically get your stay at the camping for free.
Camping de Champsec Quiet and spacious camping, about 10 minutes cycling from the valley station of the La Châble cable car.
Camping Forêt des Mélèzes is a simple camping in a stunning mountain location about 20 minutes by car from the valley station of the La Châble cable car.
TCS Camping Martigny is a large and slightly more expensive campground near the city centre of Martigny. (No Verbier tourist card, so full price for the lifts)
Mountainbike trails
The bike park has 8 trails in different difficulties and styles, from easy flow trails, that are still fun to ride for experienced riders, to black trails that demand more skills.
01.Tire’s Fire is mostly a blown out, wide race track with some steeper sections and rock gardens, the bottom part in the forest becomes more difficult when it’s wet.
02 Tsopu is a perfectly build flow trail, the top part has some turns that are to steep and fast for complete beginners, but all other riders will have a lot of fun. If you’re not much of a jumper, then you will quickly become one after hitting the jump line with a large number of tables a couple of times.
03.Tû çuci is a freeride trail, which is actually a variation of the race track Tire’s fire, going around the most difficult parts. Tracks 2 and 3 are on gravel that dries out quickly after rain and stays grippy even when it’s wet.
04.Wouaiy is a natural trail through the forest, with some steep turns, your brakes will become hot! When it’s dry it’s a lot of fun and everyone should try it, when it’s wet it becomes more serious and you will have to bring some skills and commitment to have fun on this trail.
At the end of Wouaiy you will find the start of 05.Woooohhh. If Wouaiy was at the limit of your skills or the drop at the beginning of Woooohhh is to big for you, then it’s better to take the road down to the lift.
Take the Les Ruinettes chairlift up to get to the start of:
06.Bortabitche is a fast trail, the top part is a steeper flow trail, the middle is the long north shore through the rocks, that you see underneath the lift. And then some jumps and a couple of rock gardens bring you back to the lift.
07.Rôdze brings you to some very beautiful mountain views on a narrow build track, with a lot of jumps and berms.
**On the bike park map for 2019 the numbers 6 and 7 were mixed up, so 6 is underneath the lift and 7 goes of to the left (when looking down the trail)**
08.Chôtatai is a 5 km. long flow trail, that is more suitable for inexperienced riders, although there are still some steep and tight berms. The easiest way to get to the Savoleyres lift is to roll down from the end of 02 Tsopu (at the golf course) to the Les Creux parking.
Enduro trails
There are also a lot of exciting enduro trails at Verbier, due to the weather I couldn’t explore them. Have you ridden them? Please let us know in the comments below.
There is more info on the Bike park Verbier site, not all of this info is on the paper map, so have a good look at the site to plan your rides. Some of the routes involve a lot of pedaling, others a lot of riding down on forest roads, instead of trail.
Have a good look at Total length/On single tracks and Difference – to figure out which trails are interesting for you.
Books and maps
There are free maps at the lift stations. It is forbidden to ride on trails that are not on the map.
GPS
You can download the gpx files for the enduro routes around Verbier here (there is a link to a zip file with all the routes.)
It is also possible to rent a gps, with all the files at the tourist office and the lift station in Médran/Verbier.
Mtb trailmap Verbier
PDF’s of the maps are available on the site
Bike shops/ guiding/ Mountainbike rental
At the valley station in La Châble is a small shop that does repairs, but no rentals.
In Verbier you will find several shops that rent out all sorts of bikes including enduro and downhill bikes.
Here is a long list of companies that offer guiding in Verbier, some even offer heli-biking!
Tips and tricks
There used to be a free parking place near the lift in Verbier, but the entire parking has been blocked with boulders.
This is part of an overall effort to keep cars away from Verbier.
So you have to park down at the La Châble lift station and take the gondola up to Verbier. Bring some basic tools and spare parts with you, so you don’t have to go back down to the car.
At the end of the day, you can take the lift down or ride one of the enduro trails. See above to download the gpx files or use the Trailforks app.
The price for a lift ticket for one day is quite expensive, without the tourist card, which gives a 50% reduction on day tickets. Although tickets for multiple days are priced more reasonable it’s cheaper to buy multiple day tickets with the tourist card reduction.
Other useful links
Nearby
Portes du Soleil The largest mountainbike area in Europe, need I say more?
Aosta Nearby and Similar, long natural trails and flowing bike park trails, but in Switzerland everything is a bit more polished.
Crans Montana is more a standard bike park, but if you’re nearby it’s certainly worth a visit.
Similar
Aosta Nearby and Similar, long natural trails and flowing bike park trails, but in Switzerland everything is a bit more polished.
Tignes & Val d’Isere A nice mix of bike park and natural trails.
Dolomiti Paganella Bike A nice mix of bike park and natural trails.