Nature Walk - Chamonix Valley

This is our go-to walk when we have a sunny day to kill on a weekend as a family.

We are very fortunate to be living so close to a wonderful ski resort, giving us nature’s playground all year round!

This can be a great winter or summer walk. If you are coming here in the winter, you can pull your child along in a sled!

Total walking time: Approx 1 hour

To start the walk, you can park in any number of public parkings available in Chamonix. However we always park in the free parking found on the side of the road just after the Canadian Micro Brewery. In order to get a space, you will have to come early in the morning though! From here, you can basically cut straight into the woods where you can do a small loop inside the Bois du Bouchet for a short walk through the woods. During the winter months, part of it is a Cross Country Ski track, so be sure to use the designated pedestrian path.

The beginning of the longer loop walk is at the Bois du Bouchet, which is around a 10 minute walk from Chamonix centre. You can take the path which runs along the river from the centre, which you pick up from in front of the Alpina Hotel, and walk the paved pedestrian path on the other side of the river. Along this stretch, there are one or two play parks which the little ones to could play in.

During the winter, pretty much the entire route runs alongside the Cross Country Ski track, so whilst all dog walkers do walk with their dogs off the lead, I understand that this is not an off-leash zone. During the summer I haven’t been able to find official resources saying so, but I have never had a problem having Luka off the lead.

For a full map of the long loop route, click here.

The walk goes through the woods, then ducks under a tiny tunnel and along the river which you cross and back through a wooded path where there is a farm which keeps rabbits, sheep and horses, so a great stop if your child likes animals! It’s almost completely flat, and completely doable with a running pram. Please note that all of this route is off-road so an appropriate pram is needed if you are bringing one.

The valley walk itself is a good base to add onto a longer hiking route if you so wish, as there are countless walks to be done from the valley.

It gives you an amazing view of the Mont Blanc and the mountain range opposite on a sunny day, and you can reward yourselves with a coffee and cake or meal in Chamonix afterwards!

We like the Canadian Micro Brewery (their slow cooked ribs are to die for!) which is a no frills burger restaurant, but there are a number of wonderful restaurants in Chamonix centre so you’re spoilt for choice.

If you want a coffee and cake, then for me Aux Petits Gourmands is definitely the best Patisserie in town and accepts dogs.