There’s something quietly satisfying about discovering a destination before it becomes oversaturated with content and crowds. Riders who’ve been going to Les Arcs for their summer mountain bike trips for the past few years have that satisfaction dialled in. They keep finding that the trails are emptier than the quality warrants, the lifts are faster than they should be given what’s on offer, and the resort hasn’t yet developed the slightly exhausted, over-trafficked feel of the most famous French Alps riding destinations.
This guide exists because the secret deserves to be shared with the right kind of riders — those who’ll appreciate what Les Arcs offers rather than just contribute to the summer congestion.
Here’s why Les Arcs should be at the top of your summer mountain bike trip list this year.
The Village Structure Creates a Different Kind of Adventure
Most bike park destinations offer one thing: go up the lift, come down the trail, repeat. Les Arcs offers something more interesting. The spread of villages across three elevations — Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 2000 — means that moving through the resort itself is part of the adventure. The trails connecting the villages aren’t just connectors; they’re legitimate trail experiences in their own right.
On a good day at Les Arcs, you might start at Arc 2000 with a couple of laps in the upper bike park, take a trail descent through to Arc 1800 for lunch, then pick up an afternoon route that drops into the forest section toward Arc 1600 before taking the funicular back up. That’s three distinctly different trail environments, two villages, and a variety of experience that most bike parks simply can’t offer in a single day.
For riders who find themselves getting bored of lapping the same five trails on day four of a park trip, Les Arcs’ structural variety is the answer.
Genuinely Great for All Levels — Including Your Mate Who’s Less Experienced
Riders who’ve been to Tignes or Val Thorens with a mixed-ability group know the problem: the harder terrain is too committing for the weaker riders, but the easier terrain bores the stronger ones, and you end up splitting the group and spending the whole trip missing each other at lift bases.
Les Arcs solves this more elegantly than most French Alps destinations. The breadth from green to black is wider, and crucially, the intermediate terrain is genuinely excellent rather than just a sop to less experienced riders. A group with riders across the ability spectrum can ride together on the blues and reds, with the more advanced riders choosing to take trickier lines through the same sections rather than needing to go to entirely different trails.
For mixed-ability groups — friend groups where ability spreads across two or three levels, riders with children who are developing their skills — Les Arcs offers more flexibility than almost anywhere else in the French Alps.
The Paradiski Connection: When You Want More
On days when the Arc en Ciel bike park feels like it might not be enough (and this does happen to motivated riders after four or five days), the Paradiski connection opens up a much bigger universe of terrain. The Paradiski ski area is one of the largest in the world, and in summer the connecting infrastructure and trail network gives riders access to Peisey-Vallandry and the wider area.
Multi-day enduro routes using the Paradiski network as the geographical framework exist — these are guide-territory adventures that take you through terrain that feels genuinely wild compared to the manicured bike park experience. For ambitious riders who want their trip to include at least one day that feels like a genuine alpine expedition rather than a park session, the Paradiski connection provides the mechanism.
The Funicular Changes Everything
The Arcs 1 funicular running from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to the resort is not just a gimmick — it’s a logistics revolution that many riders don’t fully appreciate until they experience it. The ability to descend all the way to the valley floor and then ride the funicular back to the resort removes the logistical ceiling on what’s possible in a day. You can link valley-floor cafes, village restaurants at 1800, and the upper bike park terrain in a single day without any of the transportation stress that characterises multi-zone riding at other resorts.
It also means arrivals and departures are genuinely stress-free. The train to Bourg-Saint-Maurice is direct from Paris (4.5 hours) and connects to Eurostar from London. Getting to and from Les Arcs without a car is one of the most straightforward experiences in French Alps travel.
Where to Stay in Les Arcs: Book Smart with IMPT
Arc 1800 is the default choice for most riders — it has the widest range of accommodation, the best restaurant selection, and the most central position for accessing the trail network. Arc 2000 is worth a look if you want to be at the top of the mountain and don’t mind a smaller village atmosphere.
Booking through impt.io earns you approximately 5% back as on-chain carbon credits on every reservation — verified and retired in your name. For riders arriving in Les Arcs by train via the funicular (one of the lower-carbon ways to reach a French Alps resort), pairing that sensible travel choice with carbon-credit-generating accommodation booking is a genuinely consistent approach to keeping your trip’s environmental footprint in check.
Find available properties across all Les Arcs village elevations at IMPT. Search by dates, compare options, and get your accommodation sorted before the summer peak fills the best places.
Make Les Arcs Your Summer
The riders who’ve been going to Les Arcs quietly for years have been protecting a good thing. It can’t stay under the radar forever — the quality is too good. Get there before the word fully gets out, or at minimum get there before the summer’s prime dates disappear.
Book your hotel at IMPT coordinate your dates, and plan your week around the trail variety that Les Arcs offers better than almost anywhere in the French Alps. The funicular leaves from Bourg-Saint-Maurice. The train goes there direct from Paris. The excuses are running out.
