La Thuile is an enduro bike mecca. Host to the Enduro World Series on multiple occasions it boasts some of the best lift-assisted singletrack riding in the world. A natural bike park, very little here is man-made. What has been had been put in by hand, cut into the steep hillside with varying degrees of technicality. Make no mistake, riding here is not easy, but it is very rewarding. Do not expect manicured turns and smooth, straight runs. It's packed full of turns, rocks, roots and gnar. Loam can be found if you go looking, it's a quiet place without too much traffic outside of pro's training or racing. A calendar favourite for a reason, this is mountain biking.
The views are epic on the mountain and at lunch!
Key Facts
- 2 chairlifts open all Summer
- 22 Full time official trails
- 1.5 hours from Morzine
- 7:30am depart Morzine
- 26€ daily lift ticket
- 55€ per person Day Trip public price
- 50€ per person Day Trip price if you are an Atlas Ride Co client
- 5 person minimum number to run a trip
- 16 person maximum capacity (advance booking required)
- Possible to stay for Pizza and a beer in La Thuile!
These trails are not all 100% lift accessed, some do require work to get to. However you can easily have an epic day here climbing less than 100m vertical.
Epic singletrack in La Thuile
What's the riding like?
It's not one for the downhill bike but it is gnarly. The ground is made of a fine dirt that doesn't break down easily due to the rock content, as you drop further down the mountain loam and pine needles start to appear. We would recommend an aggressive enduro bike, minimum travel of 150mm/140mm.
The trails are all natural, no man made features apart from the odd piece of wood to cross marsh land. There are plenty of roots, rocks and tech to keep you on your toes. It's rarely awkward though, as long as you are comfortable carrying speed over rougher terrain the trails all flow.
La Thuile is the go to destination in the Italian Alps for natural Enduro mountain biking. There is some pedalling on some trails, some require a bit of work to access, though the two lifts mean nearly all the hard work is done.
Singletrack does not always mean picturesque, clean lines through the landscape and flowy does not always mean smooth. La Thuile is not the place to come if you are a beginner or even intermediate, with two short, blue flow trails and the rest graded red and black. The nature of the trails mean many of the them could be considered black in other parks.
You need to be on your game here, if you are, it's probably some of the best riding to be found anywhere.
Plenty of riding in the loamy forests as well!
Off piste? Freeride? Ridgelines?
Yes and no. If you think the trails here aren't 'off-piste' enough in character, you need your head checked. There are always new trails popping up, as one of the criticisms of La Thuile is that not much work is done on the trails, meaning they end up quite rough. This is true, but don't think braking bumps, these trails are left to degrade and worked on where they need to be.
Cambogia as an example. This is a 3.8km trail that descends 700 metres down the mountain and it is unreal. Cambogia starts at the top of a 2-minute push-up with the most incredible backdrop of the glacier d'assaly and the surrounding mountains. It descends down a rocky, grassy open outcrop, before dropping into some steep tech, dropping 500 metres down the hill through woods and rooty single track.
There are several trails outside of the 'park' which can be ridden anytime, but they are not signed, you'll need a guide.
There is a definite bonus in La Thuile if you ride with a guide. Three Seasons Bike or La Thuile MTB can bring the fun and can get even further outside of the park and to some of these epics. The real bonus of the guide is they can ride one trail with you, then can assess what you and your group will have the most fun on.
Check out Sam Hill below on one of these EWS trails, outside of the park.
Sam Hill La Thuile chopper cam
La Thuile Track Check - La Tour
La Tour, this is a 5.1k long trail with a 729 metre descent and will blow your Enduro MTB socks off. Get this day trip booked it's one of the best days riding a mountain bike you will ever have.
