Villars - Gryon

The area has some great trails (XC and downhill) and beautiful terrain. This trail mixes some beautiful backroads, fairly grueling climbs, challenging and fun downhill through meadow and forest around the Villars - Gryon ski areas.

I chose a route that combined the top of two of the ski lifts and two passes. Many of these trails are described in local VTT maps that you can find at the Tourist information and ski lifts. Most of them can be ridden separately and/or in combination with ski lifts or mountain trains to ease the climbing.

I picked a route from the quaint town of Huémoz to Panez, then Plambuit and picked a climb from there up to Roc d'Orsay (the top of one of the chair lifts). The road has a very steady grade and a luxuriously paved surface. You'll cross a downhill trail and get acquainted with the many signs for mountain bike (VTT) trails in the area.

From Bretaye, I wrestled my way up to Roc d'Orsay, thus offering a wonderful view of the area and Mont Blanc. I followed the steep downhill trail back down to Bretaye and then followed the wonderful ridge trail (some unpaved road though mostly singletrack) over to Col de la Croix.

From there, you follow the road for a little while before following the somewhat confusing but fun trails to Taveyanne and then the climb to Les Chaux. From there, it is fun and flowy downhill to Gryon; enjoy the fruits of your labor here.

From Gryon, it is an easy pedal to Villars where you can start the challenging downhill of the Maxi Avalanche. Don't worry about walking certain sections; it is fun anyway. you can follow the Max all the way down to Bex (where you can take the train) or take a local favorite downhill from Gryon to Bex. I stopped in Huémoz because I started there.