Snow hike and sledging at the Nordic Skiing Centre Agy, France
We had the good fortune of being brought to this wonderful piece of Winter Wonderland by our friends who have a chalet just close to this ski station, and what a find! Something to keep everyone happy on a sunny winter’s day!
The start point is the car park for the Nordic Ski Centre of Agy. You will see La Tanière restaurant which is directly next to the materials rental hut, at the beginning of the pistes.
Even if you are not skiing, the children will have plenty to do as there are a number of slopes specifically reserved for sledging right by the start point.
There are 3 official walking routes you can do from here, indicated on the pedestrian piste map. We did loop A before lunch, which probably would only take 30 minutes to walk but since we had toddlers who insisted on walking then not walking, took us an hour to do. This loop is nice as not very steep, and there is a wonderful lookout point with a bench which would be a super spot for a bit of picnic.
We had a nice lunch at the restaurant there, which accepts dogs inside as well as on the terrace. There is no baby changing table here, however I did see that they had a sizeable counter inside the toilet which you could use to change your baby on if you lay down a changing pad.
Since it was a gloriously sunny day, we decided we would do the slightly bigger walking route B after lunch, which took us 1.5 hours at a very easy pace. Unfortunately the snow had started to melt so about 30% of the route, the parts which run along the sides of the mountains were muddy, but that didn’t stop Kai from having his nap on the sledge as we trudged through mud!
The sign indicates dogs should be on a lead in the entire resort. What I noted was that people who had good verbal control of their dogs had them off the lead, and everyone else kept their dogs on a lead. Everyone seemed to be ok with this arrangement. Some people also put their dogs on a lead when they passed us, seeing that we had a dog with us. In this case, out of respect I always make Luka heel to me so he doesn’t go running up to other dogs who are on a lead.
I was however shocked at the amount of dog poo being left in the middle of walking tracks, and disappointed to see this because it’s not a nice thing for other people to see, let alone if you end up walking or dragging your sledge through it. Let’s hope they don’t end up banning dogs totally from the resort due to the irresponsible dog owners who don’t clean up after their dogs!
Nonetheless, the walk was wonderful and everyone had a lovely time (even if the two kids were asleep for half of it). The return leg of route B does take a bit of an incline up before hitting the plateau at the top of the mountain but certainly doable for slightly older children or those carrying their children in a backpack, if you are fit enough to walk for a couple of hours.
The views are wonderful pretty much throughout the walk on a clear day, which we were lucky enough to have.
We had such a lovely day here, we’re looking forward to the next chance we get to come here again, when there’s a bit more snow!
Don’t forget to pack all the essentials for a day out in the snow for yourselves and the children. It is advised to bring a warm snowsuit and snow boots for children, sunglasses, gloves, hat and sun screen. If you have one, a sledge is a better way to transport your child than in a backpack. Don't forget to bring some water for your dog as eating snow does not substitute for water!
Fun factor for child: 5/5 - Sledge down the slopes designed for sledging, be pulled along and take in the view, build snowmen and have the best time!
Fun factor for dog: 4/5 - Bounce around in the snow, chase snow balls and go for a nice walk in the snow
Pram-friendly: No
Water Access for dogs: No
Potable water: Yes, at the restaurant
Baby changing facilities: No (though possible to do so in the restaurant toilet on the shelf in a pinch)
Please review the Disclaimer before attempting any walk or activity mentioned on this website.
