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You are here: Home / Mountain Biking / Mountain Biking in the South of France / Mountain Biking in Orcières

Orcières Mountain Biking Guide

Mountain Biking in Orcières

Orcières is one mountain biking resort in the Southern Alps that has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Now with 8 downhill tracks, 5 enduro trails and access to some 750 km of FFC waymarked XC trails, Orcières should be well up there on your bucket list.

Downhill
Enduro
Dry, dusty trails, sunshine, no crowds.
Long transfer times. Bike park's only open in July and August.

Elevation

Summit 2650 m

Vertical Drop 1300 m

Base 1350 m

Lifts (3)

Cable Cars 0

Chair Lifts 3

MTB Trails

XC Excellent, beginner to advanced

Downhill Good, beginner to advanced

Enduro Good, beginner to advanced

Total Riding 27 km DH, 47 km Enduro

Bike Park Yes

Bike Wash Yes

Beginner Trails 2 DH

Intermediate Trails 3 DH, 1 Enduro

Advanced Trails 2 DH, 2 Enduro

Expert Trails 1 DH, 2 Enduro

Trail Map

View Printable Version

Practical Information

Opening times

01 July to 30 August

Resort prices

18.50 €

Nearest airport

Grenoble Saint Geoirs (2 h 16 min)
Marseille Provence (2 h 26 min)

Tourist Office

Office de Tourisme d’Orcières
Place des drapeaux
Merlette – 05170 Orcières
France

Phone: +33 (0)4 92 55 89 89
Web: www.orcieres.com
Email: info@orcieres.com

Featured Listings

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Orcières MTB Gallery

  • Mountain biking in Orcières

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Enduro mountain bikers take a break to enjoy the view in Orcières

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Enduro mountain biking in Orcières, Ecrins National Park

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Freeride mountain biking in Orcières, Ecrins National Park

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Cross-country mountain biking in Orcières, France

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Styling it up at the bikepark in Orcières

    © OT Orcières | Gilles Baron

  • High Alpine mountain biking terrain in Orcières

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Downhill mountain biking in Orcières

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

  • Riding fun northshore modules at the Orcières bikepark

    © OT Orcières | Chris Caprin

Orcières MTB Videos

Orcières in the spectacular Ecrins National Park is the biggest and highest ski resort in the Champsaur Valley. In July and August 3 lifts whisk bikers up to 2650 m and a network of graded trails wind their way back down via banked turns and jumps to the valley below.

The Mountain Biking

Orcières is a bathed in sunshine for 300 days a year. That means dry, dusty trails for your riding pleasure. And, the mountain biking is extensive, especially if you factor in the hundreds of kilometres of FFC waymarked singletrack in the Champsaur and Valgaudemar valleys.

The bike park’s not huge but there’s plenty of riding to keep intermediate and advanced riders entertained for a few days. And they’re adding new trails all the time and working hard to improve the existing ones.

Downhill

The downhill tracks have a classic, flowy profile that just makes you want to let off the brakes and fly. Wooden modules and berms add some technical interest from time to time. If you’ve ever been to the Portes du Soleil you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the quiet trails and lack of braking bumps.

Enduro

It’s Orcières’ enduro tracks that really show off the terrain though. Natural singletrack snaking through a wild Alpine landscape. Don’t miss the 1000 corners descent that covers a huge 1370 m of vertical drop. The trail spits you out, calves burning, at the bottom of the valley where a free shuttle bus brings you back to Orcières 1850.

You just need to time your descent to coincide with the bus times. It’s a times like this that you’ll be glad you fitted dual-ply tyres!

Testament to the quality of the riding in Orcières, the Maxiavalanche mass-start enduro event was held here for three years in a row from 2013 to 2015. The YouTube video above will give you the full flavour of the event.

Cross-Country

Making great use of the Ecrins Alpine terrain, the Champsaur and Valgaudemar FFC mountain biking area offers 230 km of waymarked, graded trails. And, it’s actually possible to extend that further by linking into the adjacent Gapençais MTB area.

There are a number of easier loops around the village of Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes. If you’re feeling fit, consider the 130 km Tour du Champsaur which most people like to do in 4 days.

Depending on snowfall, the XC trails are accessible from May to October.

Orcières MTB Holidays

Undiscovered Mountains run mountain biking holidays to Orcières and offer the opportunity to mix up time in the bikepark with enduro uplifts and cross-country riding. You can also choose to have a day off the bike and have a go at whitewater rafting, rock climbing or any number of other high octane outdoor pursuits.

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Montgenèvre

Diois

Queyras

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