La Croix de Bauzon
La Croix de Bauzon is a winter and summer sports resort in the Massif central located in the territory of the communes of Borne and La Souche, in the département of Ardèche, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?1.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 1,505 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,259 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 15 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 0%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?1.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 10 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 10 km · Lifts: 7 · Balance between piste levels: 67%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?3 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 91% · Magic carpets: 1 · Sledging runs: 1 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?2.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 30 · Nearest railway station: 26 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 2 hr 35
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?1 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 1 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 0% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
7-day forecast
Village 1,364 m · top 1,505 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
36 complete winters measured, from 1961-1962 to 2025-2026 — on average 15 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec2 cmInsufficient · 1 %
- 16-31 Dec4 cmInsufficient · 4 %
- 1-15 Jan9 cmInsufficient · 12 %
- 16-31 Jan17 cmInsufficient · 19 %
- 1-15 Feb19 cmInsufficient · 25 %
- 16-29 Feb17 cmInsufficient · 17 %
- 1-15 Mar10 cmInsufficient · 12 %
- 16-31 Mar6 cmInsufficient · 7 %
- 1-15 Apr1 cmInsufficient · 1 %
- Best winter of the series
- 1971-1972 — 90 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 1967-1968 — 0 day at 30 cm or more
How much snow actually falls — 156 cm a winter on average, spread over 18 days of snowfall. Measured over 36 complete winters.
- Biggest 24-hour snowfall
- 110 cm — 2016-2017
- Snowiest winter
- 1971-1972 — 331 cm
- Leanest winter
- 2011-2012 — 4 cm
The ski area
Compare with another resort →11 pistes, by level — 10 km
- Skiable vertical
- 246 m (1,259 m → 1,505 m)
- Lifts
- 6 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet
- Snowpark
- 3 mapped zones — Espace debutant Les Farfades · Espace Debutant Les Ecureuils · Espace ESF (very easy)
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 18 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Cross-country skiing
- 5 km of nordic trails
- Without skis
- 4 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 66% · E 0% · S 0% · W 34% (descent direction of 3 OSM pistes, terrain model)
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 2026Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to La Croix de Bauzon only (“CROIX DE BAUZON (LA)”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in La Croix de Bauzon
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (1) →Official players of the resort, live image.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to La Croix de Bauzon
From Paris: 7 hr 01 (601 km) by road.
By road
- From Valence: 1 hr 49 · 107 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 08 · 140 km
- From Grenoble: 2 hr 47 · 198 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 2 hr 48 · 184 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 57 · 206 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 04 · 229 km
- From Marseille: 3 hr 10 · 238 km
- From Chambéry: 3 hr 32 · 257 km
- From Annecy: 3 hr 57 · 316 km
- From Genève: 4 hr 26 · 353 km
- From Perpignan: 4 hr 26 · 377 km
- From Toulouse: 4 hr 31 · 326 km
- From Nice: 4 hr 47 · 396 km
- From Dijon: 4 hr 58 · 398 km
- From Besançon: 5 hr 30 · 458 km
- From Pau: 6 hr 36 · 527 km
- From Bordeaux: 6 hr 39 · 526 km
- From Paris: 7 hr 01 · 601 km
- From Nancy: 7 hr 05 · 609 km
- From Strasbourg: 7 hr 53 · 696 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Luc station
halt · then 26 min drive (21 km)
Nearest main station: Montélimar, 1 hr 21 by road.
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 13 September 2026): ask the resort about a private shuttle or a taxi.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Nîmes-Garons (FNI): 2 hr 35 by road · 155 km
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 2 hr 48 by road · 185 km
Take me there
These links open the app with La Croix de Bauzon as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
No freely accessible charge point is declared within 2 km of the resort (checked on 9 September 2026). Covered car parks in the resort may offer chargers reserved for their customers: those are not listed here.
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Off-piste & ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Beyond skiing at La Croix de Bauzon
Paragliding
- Parapente 07 · Saint-Mélany · 7 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
- 1 hotel · 6 rooms
Commune: Borne · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Ski school
ESF La Croix De Bauzon
🌐 croixdebauzon.com/FR/cours-ski-esf.html
3 instructors
Source: esf.net
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is La Croix de Bauzon?
La Croix de Bauzon sits at 1,364 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,505 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does La Croix de Bauzon have?
La Croix de Bauzon has 10 km of pistes served by 7 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in La Croix de Bauzon?
The longest piste is Les Franboisiers 1: 1 km (green run), for 37 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in La Croix de Bauzon?
The highest lift, La Maye (platter lift), tops out at 1,499 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does La Croix de Bauzon have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 7 installations at La Croix de Bauzon (6 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet), for an authorised capacity of 4,195 people per hour, of which 900 for Grande Draille alone. The fleet spans 1967 to 2014, an average age of 32 years. This count covers the resort itself, magic carpets included, not the whole linked ski area — a resort brochure often announces a different number. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How do I get to La Croix de Bauzon?
By road, La Croix de Bauzon is 1 hr 49 from Valence (107 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Luc, 26 min by road from the resort. No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables. The nearest airport is Nîmes-Garons, 2 hr 35 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to La Croix de Bauzon?
7 hr 01 for 601 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is La Croix de Bauzon good for beginners and families?
91% of the pistes are green or blue: a very accessible area.
Every figure carries its source and date; a missing figure shows as “—”, never estimated. Embed this widget on your site