The best things to do in Morzine in summer
Leave the snow behind and visit Morzine in summer, an outdoor playground in the French Alps with hiking, mountain biking, lake swimming, adventure sports and fantastic mountain scenery.
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It’s summer in Morzine ski resort in the French Alps. The wooden chalets and mountain peaks are the same as in winter, but I’ve swapped my ski jacket and gloves for shorts and sunglasses. Snow-covered pistes for meadows full of wildflowers. Skis for hiking boots and mountain bikes. And the vin chaud and fondues for picnics and chilled rosé.
The Alps might not be the most obvious destination for a summer holiday. But with summer temperatures around the Mediterranean coast getting hotter, the mountains are a great alternative, with beautiful scenery, lots of activities, great food and lower prices.
So here’s a rundown of the best things to do in Morzine in summer, for all the family – from mountain hikes and lake swims to whitewater rafting and mountain biking.
About Morzine
Morzine is part of the huge Portes du Soleil ski area on the border of France and Switzerland, 70m east of Geneva in between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. It’s one of the largest ski areas in the world, which covers 12 resorts and 650km of pistes.
In winter it’s packed with skiers and boarders, squeezing in as much time as possible on the pistes by day then partying all night. But Morzine in summer is a lot more relaxed.
Morzine is one of the Alps’ more established summer holiday destinations, with a good selection of places to eat, drink and stay. And as summer is low season in the Alps, you can grab a bargain, even if you’re travelling with kids and tied to school holidays.
You can have a low-budget break by renting an apartment and self-catering. Or take advantage of the lower prices to splash out on a luxury hotel or catered chalet. Whichever you choose, there’s plenty to occupy you during the summer in Morzine.
Summer weather in Morzine
The summer season in Morzine runs from mid-June to early September. It’s pleasantly warm, with average high temperatures around 22°C (72ºF) in July and August. And even when if gets hotter it’s still normally cool at night and up in the mountains.
The days are long in the summer, with 15.5 hours of daylight in June and July. But pack a raincoat as it’s fairly wet year-round, with an average of 15 days of rainfall in July.
Things to do in Morzine in summer
Walking and hiking in Morzine
Morzine is surrounded by gorgeous mountain scenery, and the easiest way to explore it is to take a walk. You don’t have to be a hardcore hiker though – there are tons of different options, from extreme climbs up mountain peaks to gentle riverside walks.
If you’ve been to Morzine in winter you can have the slightly surreal experience of walking along the slopes you’ve skied on, though they can be hard to recognise without the snow. It’s fascinating how a change of season alters the landscape so much. Winter’s snowy pistes become meadows dotted with colourful wildflowers in early summer.
There are over 200km of signposted walking routes around the Portes du Soleil area, and you can access many without needing a car. Paths are fairly well maintained and easy to follow, though you might have to share some sections with mountain bikers.
Yellow signposts point you in the right direction and tell you how far you’ve got to go. Though they use times rather than distances and can be a bit inconsistent – I had 45 minutes to go on one walk, walked for 15 minutes then had 50 minutes left!
There are cafés and shops in towns but not a lot along the paths. So it’s a good idea to pack a refillable water bottle and snacks. The weather can change pretty fast in the mountains with lots of summer storms, so carry a waterproof and sunscreen. Many paths are stony so you’ll need decent walking shoes or sandals and might want a walking pole.
The Portes du Soleil has a summer scheme called the Multi Pass, which gives you access to lifts, local buses and activities for €4 a day if you’re staying at participating local accommodation. It means you don’t have to climb a mountain to start your walk, or can walk to another town and get the bus back rather than having to retrace your steps.
You can pick up a booklet of suggested walks at Morzine’s Tourist Information Office. But these were four of my favourites – none too strenuous and all accessible without a car.
1. Morzine to Les Gets
Take the Pleney gondola to the top, where there’s a chalet restaurant with a terrace overlooking Morzine. Follow the path towards the hamlet of Nabor and down through Les Folliets to the ski resort of Les Gets, which has lots of places for lunch.
The walk takes around 1.5 hours. You can then either catch the Balad’Aulps bus back to Morzine or take the Chavannes lift back up into the mountains, and walk along the high path to your original start point and then catch the Pleney cable car back down.
2. Morzine to Avoriaz
Take the Super Morzine cable car from Morzine and then the Zore chairlift. At the top you’re up on a ridge with some amazing views towards Morzine. And it’s about an hour’s walk through the forest to the neighbouring ski resort town of Avoriaz.
There’s no easy way to get back to Morzine from Avoriaz so you’ll have to retrace your steps – double check timings if you want to catch the Zore chairlift back down though as it’s only available for pedestrians to descend at certain specified times.
3. Morzine to St Jean d’Aulps
I spent six weeks in St Jean d’Aulps one winter so this was a real trip back in time. It’s an easy flat walk starting from Morzine leisure centre and following a path by the river.
It takes around 1 hour 40 minutes to reach St Jean and then it’s another 15 minutes’ walk up through the town to the Abbey. The ruins are worth a visit and there’s a café where you can get lunch before catching the bus back to Morzine, which stops just outside.
4. Lac de Montriond
Take the bus from Morzine to Lake Montriond, where you can swim, kayak or paddleboard on the lake. There are couple of restaurants for lunch, including a good crêperie. It’s an easy 30-minute circuit around the perimeter of the lake, but you can extend it by following the path at the far end up to the Ardent waterfall (around 40 minutes each way).
Or you can follow the path from the lake car park through the woods to Montriond village (40 minutes) and catch the bus back to Morzine from there.
Mountain biking in Morzine
The Portes du Soleil is one of the world’s biggest mountain biking areas, so Morzine is a real hub for mountain bikers in summer. It’s a good sport to try if you miss the adrenaline rush of hurtling down the pistes in winter. But the ground is a lot harder in summer so make sure you have decent protective kit – helmet, gloves and elbow, knee and shin pads.
You can hire a bike in Morzine or bring your own. There are over 100 trails, from beginners to advanced, downhill to cross country, with five linked bike parks in Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz and Châtel. Slopes are graded green, blue, red and black in the same way as pistes. And beginners can take a guided trip with an instructor to try it out.
Bikers can use the lifts to take their bike up the mountain then pick a trail and cycle back down. You can buy individual tickets or get a mountain bikers’ lift pass, which covers the whole Portes du Soleil area and costs €40 for one day or €237 for a week.
The area is also popular with road cyclists, though it’s non-stop hills so you need to be seriously fit if you want to follow in the tracks of the Tour de France (or there are electric bikes for hire if you need an extra burst of power to help you get to the top).
Swimming in Morzine
Morzine has a big leisure complex in the Parc des Dérêches. It has a heated Olympic-sized outdoor pool that’s open from July to September plus smaller children’s pools and a water slide. There’s also an indoor pool if it rains with saunas and Turkish baths.
Entry to the pools is free with a Morzine Multi Pass, though there’s a French rule that men aren’t allowed in public pools wearing baggy board-style shorts, so pack your Speedos (or something equally small and tight) – if you forget there is a vending machine.
You can also swim in a couple of lakes near Morzine. There’s a swimming lake with water slide in Les Gets. Or at the Lac de Montriond there’s a smaller pool with a lifeguard on duty as well as the main lake. These mountain lakes are fed by meltwater streams so can be chilly, especially at the start of the season, but are definitely refreshing on a hot day.
Morzine for kids
The Parc des Dérêches leisure complex has tons of facilities and activities for children. It’s where you find the swimming pool, paddling pool, waterslide and bouncy castle.
There’s also a long park running along the river. This has a riding school with lessons and treks, and tiny ponies for young kids. It also has a playground and treetop adventure park with bridges and zip lines, which has three different sections for children from two to teens. Plus there’s a skate park and basketball, tennis and street hockey courts.
You can also speed down the slopes on the summer sledge run, which starts from the top of the La Crusaz chairlift and has two trails with different lengths and difficulty levels. Kids over three can go down with a parent and over sevens can ride solo.
Adventure sports in Morzine
If you fancy something more adrenaline-fueled, there are tons of adventure sports around Morzine. You can go whitewater rafting on the Dranse river which is fed by glacial meltwater, canyoning,* caving or a 3km-long zip line which gets up to 100km per hour.
The mountains are also a big draw for climbers, with guided rock climbing day tours* from Morzine with certified local guides to help you improve your technique.
Or for a bird’s eye view of Morzine, try paragliding* (known as parapenting in France). You take the Pleny cable car to the top and jump off the mountain attached to an instructor with a GoPro and a selfie stick. My sister tried it out and the views looked amazing.
Sightseeing in and around Morzine
The mountains are the real star in this area, but there are a few places to visit if you fancy something different. The ruined abbey at St Jean d’Aulps and the Mechanical Music Museum in Les Gets are both easy to reach using the Balad’Aulps buses.
You can also visit the goat village of Les Lindarets – the goats roam free and you can feed them as well as picking up goat’s cheese from local producers. To get there, take a line M bus to Ardent, 15 minutes away, then the gondola up the mountain to Les Lindarets.
If you have a car, you can also do day trips further afield to Lac Léman/Lake Geneva and the spa towns of Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains (45 minutes drive), other ski resorts like Chamonix (70 minutes), and the gorgeous lakeside town of Annecy (90 minutes).
The details
How to get to Morzine
Morzine’s nearest airport is in Geneva, 80km away. A shared minibus transfer* from Geneva Airport to your accommodation in Morzine takes around 1.5 hours and costs from €17 one way per person. You can also book a private transfer.* Chambery, Lyon and Grenoble airports are also 2–2.5 hours from Morzine but transfers are more expensive.
You can also get to Morzine by train.* It’s 4–6 hours (depending on whether you have to change en route) from Paris to the nearest train stations at Cluses or Thonon-les-Bains. Buses to Morzine from either take just under an hour, or you can book a transfer.
Where to stay in Morzine in summer
Accommodation options in Morzine are split between hotels, chalets and apartments. Many ski chalets close for summer, or are rented out on a self-catering basis. But a few still operate as catered chalets in summer, with live-in or out hosts to cook and clean for you.
You can also get bargain self-catering apartments in Morzine in the summer. I found a two-bed apartment for £600 for a week in August (the same place was £1500 in January).
As there are a lot of apartments and lower demand in summer, you can sometimes negotiate a better price, or some places offer a discount if you book for a week or more.
Chalet Robin* is a six-bedroom property sleeping 12 a short walk from the centre of Morzine with a big lounge on the top floor with balcony, open-plan kitchen-diner and a hot tub on the ground floor. Or Chalet Delphinette* sleeps up to seven with two bedrooms and a sofa bed. It’s newly renovated with a hot tub and panoramic terrace views.
If you prefer hotels, the stylish four-star Hôtel Champs Fleuris Morzine* has a mix of double, twin and family rooms and suites. There’s a restaurant and bar, indoor pool and spa, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the mountains. Or the Hotel Les Bruyères* has Alpine chalet-style rooms with balconies and an outdoor pool, sauna and gym.
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