La Plagne MTB Guide: Bike Park, Trails and Paradiski Lifts

The Tarentaise resort better known for Olympic bobsleigh runs a tight, flow-led bike park inside the vast Paradiski domain — twelve trails, three chairlifts and a window that closes harder than most expect.

By the IMPT Travel desk · Published 2026-05-30

The first thing to know about La Plagne Bike Park is that it lives on a calendar measured in weeks, not months. The lift-served park typically runs from early July to the end of August, with the Colorado, Colosses and (in past seasons) Bergerie chairs spinning roughly 09:00 to 17:00 and a midday break around 12:15. Outside that window the trails remain rideable for those willing to climb, but the bike-friendly chairs sit idle and the resort empties out almost overnight.

Set above the Tarentaise valley at the head of the Paradiski domain, La Plagne shares lift infrastructure and a single pass with Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry. The combined area is one of the larger marked MTB networks in the Alps, with around 180 km of waymarked trails across the three resorts when the full Paradiski summer pass is in play.

Signature Trails

The park's identity sits firmly in the intermediate flow category rather than raw downhill. The headline run is Shoshone, a green-graded descent of roughly 4.8 km that drops from the upper Colorado sector through wide, bermed sweepers — long enough to teach a beginner what a full top-to-bottom lap feels like without ever turning intimidating. Chinook (blue, 3.5 km) and Blue Tomato (blue, 2.7 km) extend the same flow vocabulary into faster terrain.

Intermediate riders typically gravitate to Thunderbolt (red, 2.5 km), a rougher line with rooted sections that exposes brake-pad wear by the third lap. The single black, X'trem Canyon (roughly 1.5 km), is the jump line — a tabletops-doubles-gaps sequence that takes a session to read and rewards committed riders. The park totals around twelve graded trails: four green, five blue, two red and one black, according to the resort.

Paradiski Extensions

Holders of a Paradiski summer pass can ride further afield. Route 66, a blue enduro that links resorts via Les Arcs, is widely cited as one of the longest marked descents in the Alps at around 34 km. It is a long day out rather than a park lap, and a good reason to bring a dropper and slightly more bike than a pure park rig.

Lifts and Park Structure

The bike park works off three chairlifts, all fitted with hooks or trolleys: Colorado and historically Bergerie from Plagne Centre, and Colosses from Plagne Bellecôte. Recent seasons have seen Bergerie replaced by the Funiplagne funicular during summer operation, so riders should check the current lift map before booking. A handful of green pistes (Pony Club among them) sit outside the lift envelope and are best ridden as warm-up loops.

Getting There

La Plagne is one of the easier French bike-park destinations to reach without flying. Aime-La Plagne station, in the valley below, is served by direct TGV from Paris (around 4 hours 30 minutes) and seasonal Eurostar services from London St Pancras during the ski season. Summer rail connections are leaner, so most riders route through Lyon or Chambéry and change for the Tarentaise line. From Aime, shuttle buses climb roughly 45 minutes to Plagne Centre.

For travellers prioritising lower-carbon access, the train option is unusually viable here: the station sits at the foot of the climb and bikes are accepted on TGV with reservation. The nearest airports — Chambéry, Geneva and Lyon — all add a transfer of 90 minutes or more by road.

Shoulder vs Peak Season

July and August are the only weeks when the bike park operates in full. Within that window, the first half of July and the last week of August tend to be quieter than the French summer holiday peak in early August. June and September are not bike-park months in the lift sense: snow lingers on the upper trails into mid-June some years, and the lifts shut hard at the end of August. Riders who want quiet, dry trails should target early July or the first half of September with pedal-powered laps and a closer look at the resort's marked XC and enduro network.

Where to Stay

La Plagne is a constellation of villages rather than a single resort. Plagne Centre puts riders closest to the Colorado chair and the X'trem Canyon zone. Plagne Bellecôte sits at the base of Colosses and is the quieter option for those chasing direct lift access. Plagne 1800 and Montchavin trade a short shuttle for chalet-style architecture and lower prices. Self-catering apartments dominate the inventory; a smaller pool of catered chalets and hotels appears in Belle Plagne and Plagne Centre.

Events and Heritage

La Plagne is best known internationally for its Olympic bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track from the 1992 Albertville Games, which still operates summer rides. The bike park has not hosted a UCI World Cup downhill or Crankworx round; its profile is built on accessible intermediate terrain rather than race pedigree, which is precisely why it works as a family-friendly week in the Alps.

A summer lap through La Plagne Bike Park showing the flow-led character of the Colorado and Colosses sector.