Laye
1,311 mBottom of the pistes
2,240 mTop of the ski area
9 kmAlpine pistes
8Ski lifts
Not published by any source: adult day pass.
Laye, sometimes called Laye-en-Champsaur, is a French commune situated in the département of Hautes-Alpes in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Live webcams
Laye publishes no public webcam (checked on 12 September 2026 on its website, its tourist office and the operators’ directories). Know of one? Tell us.
Snow, opening and weather
Snow report →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 JEAN-ST-NICOLAS station (1,210 m)
Source: Météo-France, ST JEAN-ST-NICOLAS weather station, 10 km away. Hourly measurement — not the resort’s own snow report.
Avalanche danger
Snow cover varies from one winter to the next — the best time runs from early February to late February. 48 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, and 197 cm of fresh snow, measured over 12 winters at the Météo-France “MOTTE-MOLINES” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 12 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,311 m · top 2,240 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.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 315 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?2.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,240 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,311 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 48 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 36%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?2 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 9 km · Lifts: 8 · Balance between piste levels: 77%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: no official price list could be found.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?1.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 25% · Magic carpets: 2 · Sledging runs: 0 · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 3
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 36 · Nearest railway station: 14 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 11 · Nearest airport: 2 hr 04
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2 / 5
Bars and pubs: 1 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 9 · 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 · 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 declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), STRMTG register, OpenStreetMap; snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (figures declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), national lift register (STRMTG), OpenStreetMap) ; 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).
16 pistes, by level
2 green2 blue10 red2 black
- Skiable vertical
- 929 m
- Cross-country skiing
- 4 named trails — 62 km of marked loops (27 km of distinct track: the loops overlap), 3.3 km from the resort
Ski-area figures — bottom, km of pistes, pistes by level: OpenStreetMap (1 Oct); top, lifts: STRMTG — French national lift register (1 Jan) .
The ski area in figures
Measured on 7 October 20261 kmLongest piste — Le ruisseau (green), 53 m of vertical
319 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 1,693 → 1,375 m, 1 km
2,240 mHighest lift top — Grand Clot (platter lift), national lift register
3,670Total lift capacity, people per hour — 8 installations: 6 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets
36 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1974, newest 2012
720Biggest lift, people per hour — Col (platter lift, 1974)
4 kmTotal length of lifts — 6 lifts mapped
185 haSki area boundary (OSM)
256Inhabitants — Laye (INSEE 05072)
Measured 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 Laye only (“LAYE”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Laye
The partners covering this resort, shown side by side, and the shop to kit out before you leave. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Holidu
Holiday-rental comparison site.
Gear & equipment
Absolute Snow
UK ski and snowboard shop — delivers to UK addresses only.
Hardloop
Mountain gear shop: ski touring, avalanche safety, winter clothing.
Beyond skiing at Laye
Ice rink
- Patinoire · 2.8 km away · OpenStreetMap
Swimming pool
- Centre aquatique du Champsaur · Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur · 1.8 km away
- MOUNTAIN Wake Park · 1.8 km away · OpenStreetMap
Museum
- Maison de la photographie Vivian Maier · Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur · 4.8 km away
- Le refuge des animaux · Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes · 9.3 km away
- Du vent dans les plumes - Le Refuge des animaux · Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes · 9.3 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma Le Central · Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur · 2.4 km away
- Central cinéma · 2.4 km away · OpenStreetMap
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. Lines marked OpenStreetMap come from the map, within 3 km — opening times on site. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Ski schools and practical information
Tourist office
Office de tourisme
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.
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Ski touring routes described
12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Laye — up to 1,400 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pic de l'Aiguille · Face E (enneigée) | 5.2 · E3 · TD | 700 m | 1,300 → 2,140 m | E | 3.6 km |
| Pic de l'Aiguille · Versant SE | 2.3 · E1 · PD+ | 900 m | 1,240 → 2,139 m | SE | 3.9 km |
| Pic de Gleize (Aiguille de Gleize) · Versant SE | 2.2 · E1 · PD | 920 m | 1,240 → 2,161 m | SE | 4.6 km |
| Col de Chétive · Versant N | n/a · PD | 720 m | 1,132 → 1,852 m | N | 5.5 km |
The other 8 routes, with grades and vertical →
Not a piste. Neither marked, nor patrolled, nor secured: transceiver, shovel, probe, the day’s avalanche bulletin and, better still, a guide. Ski grade (1.1–5.6) = steepness and commitment; exposure (E1–E4) = consequence of a fall.
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 October 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Official piste map
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 Laye
From Paris: 7 hr 27 (662 km) by road.
By road
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 38 · 89 km
- From Chambéry: 2 hr 17 · 148 km
- From Marseille: 2 hr 23 · 194 km
- From Valence: 2 hr 34 · 178 km
- From Annecy: 2 hr 46 · 195 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Lyon: 2 hr 50 · 191 km
- From Genève: 3 hr 16 · 233 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 23 · 240 km
- From Nice: 3 hr 42 · 302 km
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 42 · 316 km
- From Dijon: 4 hr 42 · 392 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 43 · 357 km
- From Besançon: 5 hr 01 · 422 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 03 · 464 km
- From Toulouse: 5 hr 59 · 551 km
- From Nancy: 6 hr 49 · 603 km
- From Strasbourg: 7 hr 24 · 660 km
- From Paris: 7 hr 27 · 662 km
- From Pau: 7 hr 54 · 740 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 23 · 793 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Gap station
regional station · then 14 min drive (13 km)
Nearest main station: Grenoble, 1 hr 38 by road.
- From Grenoble station (stop “Gare Routiere”): line T91 — GRENOBLE-GAP (REGION - cars Région Isère), 1 hr 17 to the “Brutinel” stop — 4 departures a day on weekdays, 4 a day at weekends · first 07:10, last 16:25 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 15 April 2027 · official timetable ↗
- From Gap station (stop “IUT - Pôle d'Échanges Reynier”): line 520 — 520 _ ST BONNET-GAP (ZOU ! Proximité), 17 min to the “Laye Village” stop — 4 departures a day on weekdays, 2 a day at weekends · first 07:15, last 18:15 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 31 December 2026 · official timetable ↗
- From Gap station (stop “IUT - Pôle d'Échanges Reynier”): line 522 — 522 _ ST FIRMIN-LES COSTES-ST BONNET-GAP (ZOU ! Proximité), 17 min to the “Laye Village” stop — 2 departures a day on weekdays · first 12:15, last 18:15 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 31 December 2026 · official timetable ↗
- From Gap station (stop “IUT - Pôle d'Échanges Reynier”): line 521 — 521 _ ST FIRMIN-LA GUINGUETTE-ST BONNET-GAP (ZOU ! Proximité), 19 min to the “Laye Village” stop — 1 departure a day on weekdays · first 12:30, last 12:30 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 31 December 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): 2 hr 04 by road · 131 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 2 hr 28 by road · 155 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Laye 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 FARE EN CHAMPSAUR - Esplanade Napoleon · EASYCHARGE · 3 points · 50 kW · 1.7 km
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 October 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.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
Frequently asked questions
How high is Laye?
The Laye pistes start at 1,311 m, and its ski area rises to 2,240 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Laye have?
Laye has 9 km of slopes, 8 lifts.
What is the longest piste in Laye?
The longest piste is Le ruisseau: 1 km (green run), for 53 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 Laye?
The highest lift, Grand Clot (platter lift), tops out at 2,240 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Laye have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 8 installations at Laye (6 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 3,670 people per hour, of which 720 for Col alone. The fleet spans 1974 to 2012, an average age of 36 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 Laye?
By road, Laye is 1 hr 38 from Grenoble (89 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Gap, 14 min by road from the resort. From Grenoble station, line T91 — GRENOBLE-GAP (REGION - cars Région Isère) reaches the “Brutinel” stop in 1 hr 17, 4 departures a day on weekdays, 4 a day at weekends. The nearest airport is Grenoble-Alpes-Isère, 2 hr 04 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Laye?
7 hr 27 for 662 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 Laye?
Snow cover varies from one winter to the next — the best time runs from early February to late February. 48 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, and 197 cm of fresh snow, measured over 12 winters at the Météo-France “MOTTE-MOLINES” station. This verdict rests on 12 winters of Météo-France measurements (1992-2019); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Laye good for beginners and families?
25% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
Nearby resorts
Full page in French. The French page carries the editorial guides and a few extra readings; every figure, webcam and price on this page is the same one. Laye in French →
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