La Grave
La Grave is a ski resort in the Southern Alps (Hautes-Alpes). The village sits at 1,135 m and the ski area rises to 2,416 m, a skiable vertical of 916 m.
The area offers 55 km of alpine pistes, 37 marked pistes (12 green, 17 blue, 6 red, 2 black), 12 ski lifts. Green and blue runs dominate: terrain suited to beginners and families.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 1 km (Chevreuil) and the highest lift tops out at 3,543 m.
Access: 1 h 21 by road from Grenoble and 43 min from Briançon railway station.
4 official webcams show the pistes live (on the French page).
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?3.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,416 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,500 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 52 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 100% · Glacier skiing
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 55 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 55 km · Lifts: 12 · Balance between piste levels: 85%
- 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?2.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 78% · Magic carpets: 0 · Sledging runs: 1 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 47 · Nearest railway station: 43 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 5 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 47
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?3 / 5
Bars and pubs: 8 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 14 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 149 — 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.
Right now at the GALIBIER-NIVOSE station (2,559 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,135 m · top 2,416 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.
Average snow depth by month
Good snow from December to May: a long, reliable season.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.5 h · Dec 5.8 h · Jan 6.1 h · Feb 7.6 h · Mar 8.7 h · Apr 10.2 h — 26 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November35 cmVariable · 50%
- December100 cmGood skiing · 99%
- January145 cmGood skiing · 100%
- February166 cmGood skiing · 100%
- March184 cmGood skiing · 100%
- April163 cmGood skiing · 100%
- May112 cmGood skiing · 92%
30 cm on the ground: the benchmark for groomed-piste skiing. Bar = monthly average depth; percentage = share of time above 30 cm.
- Good skiing: 30 cm on more than 8 days in 10
- Variable: 30 cm on 5 to 8 days in 10
- Insufficient: 30 cm less than one day in two
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
18 complete winters measured, from 2000-2001 to 2018-2019 — on average 52 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec13 cmInsufficient · 20 %
- 16-31 Dec23 cmInsufficient · 40 %
- 1-15 Jan29 cmInsufficient · 43 %
- 16-31 Jan39 cmVariable · 58 %
- 1-15 Feb44 cmVariable · 69 %
- 16-29 Feb38 cmVariable · 60 %
- 1-15 Mar27 cmInsufficient · 43 %
- 16-31 Mar8 cmInsufficient · 13 %
- 1-15 Apr1 cmInsufficient · 1 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2005-2006 — 118 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2000-2001 — 0 day at 30 cm or more
How much snow actually falls — 272 cm a winter on average, spread over 31 days of snowfall. Measured over 40 complete winters, from 1980-1981 to 2019-2020.
- Biggest 24-hour snowfall
- 48 cm — 2007-2008
- Snowiest winter
- 1983-1984 — 466 cm
- Leanest winter
- 1992-1993 — 87 cm
The ski area
Compare with another resort →37 pistes, by level — 55 km
- Skiable vertical
- 916 m (1,500 m → 2,416 m)
- Lifts
- 2 cable cars, 1 chairlift, 9 drag lifts
- Cross-country skiing
- 3 named trails — 36 km of marked loops (9.7 km of distinct track: the loops overlap) · Domaine Nordique du Pays de La Meije area, 2.6 km from the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 12 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(3)
Trail Level Length Les Chamois · Domaine Nordique du Pays de La Meije n/a 18 km Les Marmottes · Domaine Nordique du Pays de La Meije n/a 10 km Les Tétras · Domaine Nordique du Pays de La Meije n/a 7.5 km - Glacier
- Some pistes run on a glacier (OpenStreetMap; summer opening to check on the official site)
- Without skis
- 2 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 13% · E 33% · S 6% · W 49% (descent direction of 16 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Chalet des Plagnes (1825 m)
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 Grave only (“GRAVE (LA)”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in La Grave
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 (4) →Official players of the resort, live image. Checked on 12 September 2026.
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 Grave
From Paris: 7 hr 10 (650 km) by road.
By road
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 21 · 78 km
- From Chambéry: 2 hr 00 · 136 km · avoids Col du Galibier, closed in winter
- From Valence: 2 hr 17 · 167 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 33 · 180 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 06 · 229 km
From other major cities (14)
- From Annecy: 3 hr 25 · 249 km · via Briançon station
- From Genève: 3 hr 55 · 287 km · via Briançon station
- From Marseille: 4 hr 08 · 298 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 24 · 371 km
- From Dijon: 4 hr 25 · 381 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 26 · 348 km
- From Besançon: 4 hr 44 · 410 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 46 · 519 km
- From Nancy: 6 hr 32 · 592 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 42 · 605 km
- From Strasbourg: 7 hr 07 · 648 km
- From Paris: 7 hr 10 · 650 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 24 · 735 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 36 · 795 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Briançon station
regional station · then 43 min drive (40 km)
Nearest main station: Grenoble, 1 hr 21 by road.
- From Grenoble station (stop “Gare Routière”): line 55 — 55 _ BRIANCON - GRENOBLE via SERRE CHEVALIER (ZOU ! Express Bus), 1 hr 33 to the “Office de Tourisme” stop — 4 departures a day on weekdays · first 08:45, last 15:45 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 28 January 2027 · official timetable ↗
- From Briançon station (stop “BRIANCON- COLLEGE LES GARCINS”): line S26 — S26 LA GRAVE - BRIANCON CLG LES GARCINS (ALTIGO), 58 min to the “LA GRAVE LA MEIJE- OFFICE DE TOURISME” stop — 1 departure a day on weekdays · first 12:10, last 17:05 · summer timetable, from 13 September 2026 to 29 November 2026 · official timetable ↗
Direct journeys read from the official timetable files published on transport.data.gouv.fr — no connections.
By plane
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 1 hr 47 by road · 120 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 2 hr 11 by road · 144 km
Take me there
These links open the app with La Grave as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
1 charging station within 2 km
3 charging points · up to 50 kW
- LA GRAVE - Salle Polyvalente · EASYCHARGE · 3 points · 50 kW · 0.4 km
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 →Named itineraries: Les Vallons de la Meije · La Grave
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.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of La Grave — up to 2,170 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal de la Grave · Versant S | n/a · PD+ | 670 m | 1,770 → 2,446 m | S | 1.6 km |
| Clot de la Cala · Depuis La Grave par le "Vallon de la Meije" | 2.1 · E1 · F | 1,040 m | 1,410 → 2,450 m | N | 2 km |
| Refuge du Goléon · Par le lac du Pontet et l'Aiguillon | n/a | 1,000 m | 1,600 → 2,464 m | S | 2.2 km |
| Refuge de l'Aigle · Par le Glacier du Tabuchet | 3.1 · E2 · AD- | 1,800 m | 1,650 → 3,450 m | N | 2.3 km |
| Signal de la Grave · Versant W | n/a · PD- | 666 m | 1,780 → 2,446 m | W | 2.6 km |
| Col des Ruillans · Couloir des Fréaux | 4.1 · E2 · D | 10 m | 1,370 → 3,211 m | N | 2.7 km |
| Tête des Corridors · Pente N sous le Doigt de Dieu (3850 m) | n/a · AD | 2,170 m | 1,630 → 3,734 m | N | 2.9 km |
| Col des Ruillans · Traversée Refuge Evariste Chancel >> Vallons de la Meije | 3.1 · E1 · PD+ | 1,900 m | 1,500 → 3,211 m | NE | 2.9 km |
| Refuge de l'Aigle · Traversée Glacier du Tabuchet >> Glacier de L'Homme | n/a · D- | 2,000 m | 1,456 → 3,450 m | N | 3 km |
| Le Chazelet - Village · Freerando au Chazelet | 2.2 · E2 · PD+ | 850 m | 1,797 → 2,450 m | E · NE · N · NW · W · SW | 3 km |
| Signal de la Grave · traversée Chazelet - Goléon | n/a | n/a | n/a | SW · NE · E · W | 3.1 km |
| Pic des Trois Évêchés · Couloir NW depuis les Hières | 5.1 · E2 · TD- | 1,330 m | 1,782 → 3,116 m | NW | 3.3 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Beyond skiing at La Grave
Paragliding
- Confident'Ciel - Ecole de Parapente · La Grave · 0.2 km away
Museum
- Le Moulin à grains de Villar d'Arène · Villar-d'Arêne · 3.7 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
149 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 3 hotels · 58 rooms (2 × 3★, 1 × 2★)
- 1 holiday village or family centre · 48 bed spaces
- 1 tourist residence or apartment hotel · 101 bed spaces
- 2 campsites · 100 pitches
Commune: La Grave · 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 Grave
19 instructors
🇬🇧 9 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
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 Grave?
La Grave sits at 1,135 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,416 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does La Grave have?
La Grave has 55 km of pistes served by 12 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in La Grave?
The longest piste is Chevreuil: 1 km (blue run), for 97 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 Grave?
The highest lift, Dome (drag lift), tops out at 3,532 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does La Grave have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 3 installations at La Grave (2 aerial tramways, 1 drag lift), for an authorised capacity of 1,375 people per hour, of which 475 for Dome alone. The fleet spans 1976 to 1989, an average age of 44 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 Grave?
By road, La Grave is 1 hr 21 from Grenoble (78 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Briançon, 43 min by road from the resort. From Grenoble station, line 55 — 55 _ BRIANCON - GRENOBLE via SERRE CHEVALIER (ZOU ! Express Bus) reaches the “Office de Tourisme” stop in 1 hr 33, 4 departures a day on weekdays. The nearest airport is Grenoble-Alpes-Isère, 1 hr 47 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to La Grave?
7 hr 10 for 650 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in La Grave?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to ten winters of reanalysis (estimate); in season the daily report prevails.
Is La Grave good for beginners and families?
78% of the pistes are green or blue: a very accessible area.
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