Summer Fun in La Flaine, France
As we have been spending part of our summer school break in Les Carroz, we have had the pleasure to discover many fun things that neighbouring resort La Flaine has to offer. It’s 20 minutes from Les Carroz so it’s been a great option to diversify fun activities to do as a family these last few weeks and just one hour from Geneva by car so I definitely recommend checking La Flaine out during the summer season.
I’m happy to report that the resort is very dog-friendly too, and you see a great number of families with their furry friends in tow here.
La Flaine has many advantages for those looking for summer activities for the day, or even for a longer stay; various activities targeted at children of different ages (although very young children under 3 years old have limited options), also being at 1600m altitude, it offers a cooler climate to escape the summer heat, and it’s close enough from Geneva to make it an easy day trip.
The summer season 2022 started on 2nd July and will end on 28th August.
Arriving and parking in La Flaine
The view during the drive up from the Autoroute Blanche to La Flaine is pretty impressive, as long as you or the kids don’t suffer from car sickness! I have to warn you however that La Flaine itself unfortunately is a pretty ugly resort. It doesn’t have the charming montagnarde architecture that other Alpine resorts such as Chamonix, Megève, Les Carroz or Samoëns have. Plus they’re in the middle of building a new set of appartments right in the middle of the Forum area so there are sections that are literally a building site.
However, this doesn’t mean they’re not well set up for lots of fun! During the summer months, there are several free car parks at your disposal during the summer season. We parked in P2, which is just outside the Forum area where the Tourist Office and most of the activities are based. (The Tourist Office does close for lunch between 12:30 and 13:30 though in case you arrive at lunch time.) Depending on how far back you park, it’s about a 10 minute walk from here to the Tourism Office which is the first building as you come into the Forum. The Tourism Office is also one of the two places in the Forum that have public toilets, since families with young children are in the need to know about such facilities ;) The other set of public toilets are located at the Telecabin office, right at the end of the forum where the pump track and kids quad track are located.
You can also go through the barriers and park inside the Forum itself. There are no car parks as such, so you find spots to park where you can. However it’s only free for 1.5hours, after which point it is €9 per hour to park so if you plan to spend half a day or the day here, then car parks 1, 2 and 3 are your best bet. Alternatively you could drive into the Forum, drop off the kids and one person can go back to park the car in one of the free car parks later. Payment for the Forum car park is made at the barrier itself with a credit card.
If you have a hybrid or electric car, there are two charging spots at the bottom of the Forum car entrance/top of P2, so set your navigation to take you to Car Parking 2 and you will find them just to your left as you turn into the Forum parking.
If you park in P3, which is the first free car park you will see as you come into La Flaine, then you can take the free box lift down to the Forum where you will find the Tourism office and shops and restaurants. We haven’t done this so far, but my kids have been fascinated by the futuristic glass boxes coming up and down the rails whenever we have been there!
The main things to know about the geography of La Flaine is that it’s divided into three main sections; the Forum (which is the valley), Fôret (at the top of where the box lifts run) and Cascade (further along the pump track and kids quad and up from the Forum). In each of these areas, there are various activities free and payable happening. Of course hiking around the mountains is free, so you can do this at any time!
Let the fun begin!
Once you arrive, your first port of call is the Tourism Office located in the main building in the Forum, where you can buy yourself the Summer Pass to avail of the many free activities offered here. The pass costs €13 per person per day. If as an accompanying adult you will not be partaking in the activities yourself then you just need to buy the pass/es for your child/ren. You can also buy weekly passes for €35.
If you plan to do the marble runs, of which there are about 4 runs to do, then you can also buy the Flaine marbles here for €2.
You can also rent all of the equipment you need to do things like minigolf, football, tennis, basketball, hiking, pump track etc with a damage deposit. Renting bikes or scooters is free but requires a €50 deposit per child, so make sure you have cash on hand. The rental hut is located next to the basketball court opposite the Tourist Office.
Over the course of several days, we tried the minigolf (find all the courses dotted all over the Forum!), accrobranche, accrofun (the equivalent of Filenvol in the Salève), pump track, kids karting (with a small surcharge), bouncy castle, marble run, and also we did go to the pool (not part of the summer pass) when it was raining. We haven’t tried all the activities on offer, but I’ll share with you what we did do so you can decide whether to try it for yourself!
Pump Track fun
By far the most popular activity for our children aged 5 and 3 was the pump track on the balance bike that we rented. The track itself is pretty small and tame, which was perfect for them since they have experience cycling but never on a pump track! So we did do this every time we visited La Flaine.
The pump track is great, however the only note to make is you have no shade so if you have a dog with you, then it might be pretty exposed on a sunny day. Poor Luka was hiding under the picnic table which is next to the pump track. However the pump track is located at the end of the Forum area, so you can hike up the mountain and go for a walk with your furry friend and/or kids.
Accrobranche, Accrofun, and Accro-roc
Accrobranche is another popular activity with our children and we did check this out because it’s part of the Summer Pass, however if your children are shorter than 1.25m then you are relegated to the kid’s section which is pretty fun but short. Mine are used to various accrobranche adventures at this point, so they lost interest after a couple of rounds and made our way quickly to the Accrofun area, which is essentially a massive net up in the trees. Unless your child is really young, parents will watch from under the net. The good news was, the Accro team are very dog-friendly and I was able to go and watch the children from underneath with Luka on a lead. They even had a Bar-A-Toutous (a bowl of water) next to the hut where you check-in! This was welcomed because Luka is a good boy but can start whining loudly if he’s tied up away from his humans whilst they partake in fun. (interestingly he doesn’t whine if he’s not on a lead, but hey that’s canine psychology for you!) It was nice to be able to bring him with me whilst I watched the kids
Kai loves rock climbing however we didn’t get the chance to try Accro'roc. I think this could be fun and is also found in the same area as the other Accro activities. If you try this, please let me know what you think of it!
Please note that in order to partake in any of the Accro activities, it is mandated to wear sneakers or other closed-toe shoes. Sandals, hiking sandals etc are not permitted.
Kids Quad
One of the other activities that was quite a hit with our children was the kids quad. Since both of my children are under 8 years old, they did the electric quad bikes, which was still challenging in some ways since the route is covered in hay so it a bit slippery!
Over 7 years old, children can drive a real petrol-engine quad bike, which did look like fun. Sessions are for 10 minutes and you get a discount on the supplement fee with your summer pass.
The Swimming Pool
The indoor pool at La Flaine is a great option with young kids because they have a heated kid’s pool with a slide and waterworks, as well as a bigger swimming pool heated to 28 degrees or so as well as a jacuzzi available for children of 5 years and above . We managed to spend a couple of hours at the pool without anyone getting blue lips! Miya is three years old so she got in for free, so we paid €26 for two adults and one child in the early afternoon. You can check out the price list here.
The pool is inside a Spa hotel, in the Forum just above the Sherpa grocery store.
Other non-tested activities…
Hiking is of course a big activity here in the mountains and La Flaine offers many wonderful routes. They also have a discovery trail using their app Flaine Aventure.
They also offer guided hikes and Mountain Bike rides.
If you want to go e-biking, then there are free charging stations just next to the telecahin at the end of the Forum going towards the pump track/kids Quad.
There are several free classes on offer here also, be sure to check out the day’s schedule at the rental hut. There was a boxing class happening on the basket ball court when we were there and we also saw guided hikes.
If you want to go up even higher, the Grandes Platières telecabin is operational between 9am and 5.15pm during the summer season. The telecahin is operated by the Grand Massif ski resort and so unless you have a season ticket, it is payable. A return ticket costs €16.40 for adults and €12.40 for children aged 5 to 15.
All in all, I highly recommend La Flaine for fun loving active families. Be sure to let me know your thoughts on any of the activities you partake in!
Fun factor for child: 5/5 - so many activities on offer, it’s sure to please everyone!
Fun factor for dog: 2/5 - unless you decide to go for a walk, then it’s a pretty boring day out for your pup, but it beats staying at home alone!
Pram-friendly: The main parts of the resorts are pram-friendly, however there are many sections which are on gravel paths.
Water Access for dogs: No
Potable water: Yes, there is a water fountain right in the middle of the Forum at the bottom of the marble runs.
Baby changing facilities: Not that I saw.
Please review the Disclaimer before attempting any walk or activity mentioned on this website.
