• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Join us on

Ultimate France

A Thrill-Seekers Guide

MENUMENU
  • Bike
    • Mountain Biking South France
      • Auron-Saint Etienne
      • Le Dévoluy
      • Diois
      • Isola 2000
      • La Moulière
      • Les Orres
      • Montgenèvre
      • Orcières
      • Pra Loup
      • Queyras
      • Riviera Borderlands
      • Roubion
      • Serre Chevalier
      • Sospel
      • Ubaye Valley
      • Valberg
      • Val d'Allos
      • Vars
      • Verdon
    • Mountain Biking French Alps
      • Portes du Soleil
        • Avoriaz
        • Châtel
        • Les Gets
        • Morzine
      • Alpe d'Huez
      • Chamonix
        • Tour du Mont Blanc
      • Courchevel
      • Les Arcs
      • La Clusaz
      • Les Deux Alpes
      • Méribel
      • Sainte-Foy
      • Tignes
      • Val d’Isère
      • Valloire
    • Mountain Biking French Pyrenees
      • Cauterets
      • Luchon
      • Saint Lary
      • Mountain Biking Basque Country
      • Mountain Biking Northern Italy
      • Finale Ligure
    • Cycling Holidays
      • Mountain Bike Hire
      • Cycle Shops & Repairs
      • Airport Transfers
      • Campervan Hire
      • Road Cycling
      • French Alps
      • South of France
      • Cycling Holidays
    • Bike Directory

      • Finale Ligure Freeride - MTB Uplifts & Guiding
      • Whiterides - Private Airport Transfers to the Espace Killy, Paradiski and 3 Valleys
      • France Bike Trips - Mountain Bike & Road Cycling Tours
      • Natureo Surf Camp - Seignosse
      • RIDE ON NOLI - MTB Uplifts & Guiding
      • Bike Alp - MTB Holidays in the Southern French Alps
  • Surf
    • South West France
      • Anglet
      • Arcachon-La Salie
      • Biarritz
      • Bidart
      • Biscarrosse
      • Capbreton
      • Guéthary
      • Hendaye
      • Hossegor
      • Lacanau
      • Messanges
      • Mimizan Plage
      • Moliets Plage
      • Saint-Jean-de-Luz
      • Seignosse
      • Vieux Boucau
    • Brittany
    • Surf Holidays
      • Surf Camps
      • Campsites
      • Surf Shuttles
      • Campervan Rental
      • Basque Country Beaches
      • Surf Webcams
      • Hossegor
    • Surf Events
      • Quiksilver Pro France
      • World Surfing Games
  • Kite
    • Kitesurf Spot Guide
      • Almanarre, Hyères
      • Beauduc, Camargue
      • Cap d’Agde
      • Carro
      • Espiguette, Camargue
      • La Ciotat
      • Lac de Serre-Ponçon
      • Le Jaï-Etang de Berre
      • Leucate-La Franqui
      • Saint-Laurent-du-Var
      • Sète-Etang de Thau
    • Kitesurfing Holidays
      • Campervan Rental
      • Campsites
        • Almanarre
        • Leucate
      • Kitesurf Schools
        • Almanarre
        • Cannes
        • Hyères
        • Leucate
        • Montpellier
        • Sète
  • Snow
    • Resort Guides
      • Les 3 Vallées
        • Courchevel
        • La Tania
        • Les Menuires
        • Méribel
        • Val Thorens
      • Alpe d'Huez
      • Arêches-Beaufort
      • Avoriaz
      • Bourg-Saint-Maurice
      • Chamonix
      • Châtel
      • Isola 2000
      • La Clusaz
    • Resort Guides cont.
      • La Grave
      • La Plagne
      • La Rosière
      • Les 2 Alpes
      • Les Arcs
      • Les Gets
      • Les Houches
      • Megève
      • Morzine
      • Sainte-Foy
      • Serre Chevalier
      • Tignes
      • Val d’Isère
    • Backcountry
      • Off-Piste Skiing
        • Tignes
        • Val d'Isère
        • Les 3 Vallées
        • Vallée Blanche
      • Ski Touring
        • Les 3 Vallées
      • Heli-Skiing & Boarding
      • Extreme Steep Skiing
      • Snowshoeing
        • French Alps
    • Ski Holidays
      • Airport Transfers
      • Chalet Accommodation
      • Ski & Snowboard Lessons
        • 100% Snowboard
      • Ski & Snowboard Holidays
      • Ski & Snowboard Rental
      • Off-Piste Guiding
      • Last Minute Deals
    • Webcams
      • Alpe d'Huez
      • Val d'Isère
  • Adventure
    • Canyoning
      • South of France
        • Gorges du Verdon
      • French Alps
        • Vercors
      • Canyoning Guides
      • Aqua Trekking Guides
    • Hiking
      • South of France
        • Gorges du Verdon
      • French Alps
        • Tour des Ecrins
        • Tour du Mont Blanc
        • Mont Blanc Ascent
      • Hiking Guides
    • Paragliding
      • South of France
        • Saint-André-les-Alpes
      • French Alps
      • Paragliding Schools
      • Tandem Flights
    • Rafting
      • The Ubaye
      • The Verdon
      • Rafting Companies
      • Tandem Kayaking
    • Rock Climbing
      • Gorges du Verdon
      • Climbing Guides
      • Mountaineering
      • Mont Blanc
      • Mountaineering Guides
    • Via Ferrata
      • South of France
      • French Alps
      • Via Ferrata Guides
  • Active Holidays
    • South of France
      • Aix-en-Provence
      • Ardèche
      • Avignon
      • Briançon
      • Cannes
      • Cévennes NP
      • Dordogne
      • Ecrins NP
      • Gorges du Tarn
      • Gorges du Verdon
      • The Luberon
      • Massif de l'Esterel
      • Mercantour NP
      • Mont Ventoux
      • Nice
      • Ubaye Valley
    • French Alps
      • Bourg-Saint-Maurice
      • Chamonix
      • The Vercors
      • Mountain Bike Parks
      • Ski Resorts
      • Last Minute Ski Deals
      • Ski & Snowboard Lessons
      • Airport Transfers
      • Chalet Accommodation
      • Webcams
    • Atlantic Coast
      • Arcachon
      • Biarritz
      • Biscarrosse
      • Bordeaux
      • Capbreton
      • Cap Ferret
      • Hossegor
      • Île d'Oléron
      • Île de Ré
      • Lacanau
      • La Rochelle
      • Royan
      • Saint-Jean-de-Luz
    • Featured Accommodation

      • Seignosse Surf Villa
      • Christiania Hotel - Valloire
      • Camping International Giens, Campsite - Almanarre
      • Camping Huttopia Gorges du Verdon
      • Chalet du Mont d'Arbois - Megeve
      • Camping La Ferme de Castellane
      • Camping Huttopia Lanmary - Dordogne
  • Events
    • Mountain Biking
      • Raid VTT
      • Terres Noires Enduro
      • CRANKWORX – Les Gets
      • Megavalanche
      • Pass'Portes du Soleil
      • MTB Instructor Course
      • Roc d'Azur
    • Outdoor Sports
      • Spadtribu - Ubaye Valley
      • Natural Games
    • Skiing & Boarding
      • La Grave Off-Piste Adventure
      • Snow & Rock Backcountry Skiing
      • Val d'Isère Photo Comp
  • Gear
    • Waterproof Cycling Jackets
    • Expedition Duffel Bags
    • Backpacks under 30l
    • Mountain Bike Helmets
    • Snowboard Boots
    • Snowboard Helmets
    • Base Layers
    • Waterproof Jackets
    • Shimano CM-1000
    • Lapierre X-Control
    • Soft Roof Racks
    • Wetsuit Buying Guide – Everything you need to know to choose the right wetsuit
  • Magazine
You are here: Home / Mountain Biking / Mountain Biking in the Pyrenees / Mountain Biking in Cauterets

A guide to Mountain Biking in Cauterets

Mountain Biking in Cauterets

Cauterets is one of the most picturesque mountain resorts in the Pyrenees. 2 lifts provide access to some great mountain biking and a whopping 1500 m of vertical drop. Read more.

Downhill
Enduro
Spectacular setting. Huge vertical drop. Super fun trails.
Only enough riding for a weekend. Slow lifts.

Elevation

Summit 2400 m

Vertical Drop 1470 m

Base 930 m

Lifts (2)

Cable Cars 1

Chair Lifts 1

MTB Trails

XC Good, beginner to advanced

Downhill Good, beginner to advanced

Enduro Fair, intermediate

Total Riding Unknown

Bike Park Yes

Bike Wash Yes (1 at the top and 1 bottom of the cablecar)

Beginner Trails 0

Intermediate Trails 1

Advanced Trails 1

Expert Trails 1

Trail Map

View Printable Version

Practical Information

Opening times

09 July to 04 September

Resort prices

Day pass: 17.50 €, Week pass: 52.50 €

Nearest airport

Pau Pyrénées (1 h 19 min)
Biarritz (2 h 12 min)
Toulouse-Blagnac (2 h 14 min)

Tourist Office

Office de Tourisme de Cauterets
Place Maréchal Foch
65110 CAUTERETS
France

Phone: +33 (0)5 62 92 50 50
Web: www.cauterets.com
Email: infos@cauterets.com

Featured Listings

Advertise

Your business here

Votre entreprise ici

More >>

Advertise

Your business here

Votre entreprise ici

More >>

Advertise

Your business here

Votre entreprise ici

More >>

Cauterets MTB Gallery

  • Airborne on the fast flowy blue trail in Cauterets

    © OT Cauterets

  • Mountain Biking in Cauterets, Pyrenees

    © OT Cauterets

  • Plenty of wooden modules to test your MTB skills in Cauterets

    © OT Cauterets

  • Kicking up some dust at the Cauterets Bike Park

    © OT Cauterets

  • cauteCruising back through Cauterets town in the Pyrenees

    © ultimatefrance.com

  • Single track through some epic mountain terrain in Cauterets, Pyrenees

    © ultimatefrance.com

Cauterets MTB Videos


Cauterets is a popular mountain resort in the Pyrenees in south-west France. During the summer holidays the town is buzzing with bikers and outdoorsy types who flock here for the spectacular mountain setting, spa and activities on offer.

A cable car and a chairlift, in that order, bring you and your bike (slowly) up to the top of the resort at 2400 m. The chairlift is painfully slow – it takes a long 20 minutes to reach the top. That’s fine on a nice day, but bring an extra layer if it’s anything less than scorchio. As with most resorts in the Pyrenees, every 2nd chair has a bike holder so the bike goes first and you sit on the chair behind watching your beloved steed hang precariously over the rocks and rivers below. Craftily, the lifty makes it clear that you’re responsible for putting your bike on the rack, and ironically this needs to be done in a nano second as the chair whisks round in front of you. Get it wrong and it’ll be a nail-biting 20 minutes. The Cauterets bike park is open from early July to early September and the lifts run from 9am to 12pm and from 1:45pm to 5:15pm.

The Trails

Downhill

If you look at the map you’ll see that there are just 3 downhill tracks in Cauterets. In reality, because you transition on fireroad between them, you could look at the trails above and below the Gare du Lys lift station as being separate sections, which would add an extra blue and a red to the offering.

The blue Maouloc trail is wide open, smooth and fast and good as a warm up. There’s nothing there to catch out even novice riders and you’ll see families with kids as young as ten ride this trail. The only obstacles are the wild horses and cows that seem to be partial to a bit of singletrack shrubbery. A motorway blast from the top of the chair leads into some nice winding singletrack peppered with some small jumps and drops. Each new section is labelled with a number and interlinked with a short section of fireroad. For more experienced riders it’s a fun run as a warm up, but given how long it takes to get back up for another go, you’ll want to hit the red as soon as possible.

The red Tobo is the highlight of the resort. Fast, a bit technical at pace, and regularly embellished with some nice little step-ups, a couple of lovely drops and hip jumps. Below the Gare du Lys lift station, you drop into the forest and the singletrack features some nice banked turns and a sequence of well-built wall rides. A top to bottom ride at full steam will test your fitness as you drop nearly 1500 m. It’s all well sign-posted but two thirds of the way down the lower section, the track spits you out onto the road and you need to ride down a few hundred meters of tarmac switchbacks before rejoining the trail. Everthing’s been built with fun in mind and all the jumps have chicken lines, but there’s nothing too challenging for a good intermediate rider. One thing’s for sure, you’ll finish this trail with a big smile on your face.

Cross-country

Cauterets is part of the Vallées des Gaves FFC mountain biking area and there are 5 waymarked trails which loop out from the town. Pick up trail maps from the tourist office or book a guided ride with the Bureau des Guides. Their office Office Montagne is located next to the Tourist Office in Place Maréchal Foch. A highlight is the 10.5 km La Reine Hortense trail which climbs to 1120 m with superb views over Cauterets and the Pic du Midi.

You may also like...

Pyrenees

Luchon

Saint Lary

Arcachon

Hossegor

Ardèche

Primary Sidebar

Book Pyrenees MTB Accommodation

Footer

Ultimate France

About us
Contact us
Advertise
Events
Gear
Magazine
Webcams

For Business Owners

Add your business
Rejoindre l'annuaire

Assoc. Atout France

Top Mountain Bike Resorts

Portes du Soleil
Morzine
Les Gets
Avoriaz
Châtel
La Clusaz
Chamonix
Tignes
Les Arcs
Les 2 Alpes
Alpe d’Huez
Valloire
Val d’Allos
Pra Loup
Roubion
Les Orres
Montgenèvre

Directory

Airport Transfers
Campervan Hire
Canyoning
Cycle Hire
Cycle Shops & Repairs
Hiking
Kitesurf Schools
Mountain Bike Holidays
Rafting & Kayaking
Ski & Snowboard Hire
Snowshoeing
Via Ferrata

Secure Payments

Secure Payments with Stripe and PayPal

Copyright © 2021 Hang Ten Media SARL. All Rights Reserved | SIRET: 821 011 590 00014 | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions