La Loge des Gardes
La Loge des Gardes is a winter sports resort and a summer leisure park, located at the gateway to the Auvergne, in the extreme south of the Allier, on the border of the Loire and the Puy-de-Dôme. The slopes are situated in the heart of the forêt de l'Assise, on the side of the Pierres du Jour, the highest point of the monts de la Madeleine.
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: 1,159 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,052 m · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 0%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?1 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 2 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 2 km · Lifts: 3 · Balance between piste levels: 70%
- 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: 88% · Magic carpets: 0 · Sledging runs: 1 · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 08 · Nearest railway station: 33 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 24
- 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.
Right now at the ST-NICOLAS station (1,022 m)
7-day forecast
Village 1,099 m · top 1,159 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.
Measured snow history: not available for this resort. No Météo-France station close enough (the 4 nearby stations are outside the resort’s altitude range). We would rather show nothing than borrow a distant valley’s reading.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →8 pistes, by level — 2 km
- Skiable vertical
- 107 m (1,052 m → 1,159 m)
- Lifts
- 3 drag lifts
- Without skis
- 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 100% · E 0% · S 0% · W 0% (descent direction of 6 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.
Staying and hiring gear in La Loge des Gardes
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) →Nearby cameras listed by Windy: the link opens the image at its publisher. Checked on 12 September 2026.
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam.
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 Loge des Gardes
From Paris: 4 hr 57 (401 km) by road.
By road
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 1 hr 19 · 86 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 1 hr 27 · 99 km
- From Lyon: 1 hr 46 · 121 km
- From Valence: 2 hr 49 · 218 km
- From Grenoble: 2 hr 56 · 222 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Chambéry: 2 hr 58 · 219 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 06 · 236 km
- From Annecy: 3 hr 17 · 256 km
- From Genève: 3 hr 24 · 276 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 42 · 294 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 43 · 409 km
- From Paris: 4 hr 57 · 401 km
- From Marseille: 4 hr 57 · 428 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 13 · 447 km
- From Bordeaux: 5 hr 17 · 473 km
- From Toulouse: 5 hr 21 · 477 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 38 · 510 km
- From Strasbourg: 6 hr 05 · 532 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 35 · 586 km
- From Pau: 7 hr 18 · 669 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Roanne station
regional station · then 33 min drive (28 km)
Nearest main station: Vichy, 48 min 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
- Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne (CFE): 1 hr 24 by road · 80 km
- Lyon-Saint-Exupéry (LYS): 2 hr 05 by road · 160 km
Take me there
These links open the app with La Loge des Gardes 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.
Beyond skiing at La Loge des Gardes
Museum
- Musée du bois et de la forêt et scierie à eau · Lavoine · 8.3 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 · 11 rooms
Commune: Laprugne · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
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 Loge des Gardes?
La Loge des Gardes sits at 1,099 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,159 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does La Loge des Gardes have?
La Loge des Gardes has 2 km of pistes served by 3 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in La Loge des Gardes?
The longest piste is Piste du Grand Téléski: 1 km (blue run), for 94 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 Loge des Gardes?
The highest lift, Source, tops out at 1,159 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 3 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 1 km.
How do I get to La Loge des Gardes?
By road, La Loge des Gardes is 1 hr 19 from Clermont-Ferrand (86 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Roanne, 33 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 Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne, 1 hr 24 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to La Loge des Gardes?
4 hr 57 for 401 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 Loge des Gardes good for beginners and families?
88% of the pistes are green or blue: a very accessible area.
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