Le Cernix
Le Cernix is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Savoie), in the commune of Cohennoz. The village sits at 1,240 m and the ski area rises to 1,930 m, a skiable vertical of 1,015 m.
The area offers 86 km of alpine pistes, 104 marked pistes (17 green, 56 blue, 26 red, 5 black), 35 ski lifts. Green and blue runs dominate: terrain suited to beginners and families.
Le Cernix belongs to the linked Espace Diamant area: one lift pass covers the neighbouring resorts.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 6 km (Sangliers) and the highest lift tops out at 2,039 m.
The resort holds the Famille Plus and Flocon Vert labels.
Access: 1 h 05 by road from Annecy and 29 min from Albertville railway station.
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
Top of the ski area: 1,930 m · Bottom of the pistes: 915 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 121 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 98%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?4 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 86 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 129 km · Lifts: 35 · Balance between piste levels: 81%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?3 / 5
Adult day pass: €52 · Day pass price per km of pistes: €0.4/km · Adult 6-day pass: €260 · Price read at a neighbouring resort of the same area
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?3 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 70% · Magic carpets: 1 · Sledging runs: 1 · Special prices out of 4 (beginner, child, family, free age): 2 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0 · Famille Plus label
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 23 · Nearest railway station: 29 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 17
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 3 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 15 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?2 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 100% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 · Adult day pass: €52 — 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 COL-DES-SAISIES station (1,614 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,240 m · top 1,930 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 March: a long, reliable season.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.3 h · Dec 5.5 h · Jan 5.8 h · Feb 7.1 h · Mar 8.2 h · Apr 10 h — 25 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November—no record
- December69 cmGood skiing · 94%
- January92 cmGood skiing · 97%
- February106 cmGood skiing · 100%
- March118 cmGood skiing · 100%
- April—no record
- May—no record
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
19 complete winters measured, from 1996-1997 to 2025-2026 — on average 121 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec43 cmVariable · 53 %
- 16-31 Dec59 cmVariable · 78 %
- 1-15 Jan76 cmGood skiing · 89 %
- 16-31 Jan100 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Feb115 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-29 Feb120 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Mar122 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-31 Mar108 cmGood skiing · 97 %
- 1-15 Apr79 cmGood skiing · 85 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2019-2020 — 137 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2016-2017 — 85 days at 30 cm or more
Snowfall: no long enough record of fresh snow at this station. Rather than an estimate, we show nothing.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →104 pistes, by level — 86 km
- Skiable vertical
- 1,015 m (915 m → 1,930 m)
- Lifts
- 1 cable car, 1 gondola, 9 chairlifts, 22 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet
- Cross-country skiing
- 13 named trails — 104 km of marked loops (35 km of distinct track: the loops overlap) · Les Saisies area, 1.3 km from the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 13 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(13)
Trail Level Length 13 - Justine Braisaz · Les Saisies expert 22 km 11 - Endurance · Les Saisies difficult 17 km 10 - Julia Simon · Les Saisies difficult 11 km 9 - Grande Aventure · Les Saisies intermediate 10 km 8 - Evasion · Les Saisies intermediate 8.2 km 6 - Explorer · Les Saisies intermediate 7.8 km 12 - Olympique · Les Saisies expert 6.5 km 3 - Découverte · Les Saisies easy 6 km 7 - Aventure · Les Saisies intermediate 5.8 km 2 - Marmottons · Les Saisies easy 3.3 km 5 - Mont Blanc · Les Saisies intermediate 2.7 km 4 - Panoramique · Les Saisies intermediate 2.4 km 1 - 1er Tracé Lachat · Les Saisies easy 1.3 km - Without skis
- 8 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 1 sledging run
- Piste aspect
- N 33% · E 20% · S 7% · W 40% (descent direction of 103 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Le Panoramique 2000 (1938 m) · Chalet Mignod (1709 m) · La Cavale (1663 m) · Malabar Princess (1653 m) · La Boccca (1653 m) · Atmosphère (1649 m) · Le Tétras (1456 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 (2026-2027) detail →
| Adult pass | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 day | €52 |
| 6 days | €260 |
| Child, 1 day | €41.60 |
| Free | Free under 5 · free from 75 years |
Read on the official price list, full price, excluding promotions. Price list of the linked area, read on Les Saisies. Official price list ↗
The ski area in figures
Measured on 13 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 Le Cernix
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
Espace Diamant ski area webcams
All webcams (8) →Official cameras of the neighbouring resorts on the linked Espace Diamant ski area.
Official players of the resort, live image. Checked on 18 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 Le Cernix
From Paris: 6 hr 48 (620 km) by road.
By road
- From Annecy: 1 hr 05 · 51 km
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 06 · 78 km
- From Genève: 1 hr 21 · 85 km
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 23 · 107 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 16 · 176 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 2 hr 26 · 200 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 50 · 225 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 50 · 259 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 57 · 341 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 09 · 345 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 33 · 404 km
- From Marseille: 4 hr 38 · 413 km
- From Strasbourg: 5 hr 45 · 476 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 55 · 552 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 59 · 491 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 59 · 544 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 48 · 620 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 51 · 638 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 08 · 731 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 45 · 828 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Albertville station
regional station · then 29 min drive (26 km)
Nearest main station: Chambéry - Challes-les-Eaux, 1 hr 05 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
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 17 by road · 85 km
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 46 by road · 93 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Le Cernix as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
3 charging stations within 2 km
6 charging points · up to 44 kW
- QOWATT 22KW |CHALET DE MONT CHARVIN · DREAM ENERGY · 2 points · 22 kW · 0.3 km
- QOWATT 22KW |CHALET DE MONT CHARVIN · QoWatt · 2 points · 22 kW · 0.3 km
- Mairie de Crest Voland · RAIDEN · 2 points · 44 kW · 1.5 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: Chemin de la Palettaz · Ancienne Liaison Saisie - Crest Voland/Cohennoz
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 Le Cernix — up to 2,800 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mont Bisanne · La Légette | 1.1 · E1 · F | 500 m | 1,500 → 2,000 m | E | 4 km |
| Praz Vechin · Par Hery-sur-Ugine | n/a · F | 543 m | 1,200 → 1,743 m | SE | 4.5 km |
| Mont Charvin · Voie Tardivel | 5.5 · E4 | 1,800 m | n/a | SE · S | 6.3 km |
| La Croix Cartier · Par le Plan Dessus | 2.2 · E1 · PD | 600 m | 1,320 → 1,834 m | n/a | 6.3 km |
| La Croix Cartier · Arête SE par Nanchard | 2.3 · PD | 854 m | 980 → 1,834 m | E | 6.4 km |
| La Croix Cartier · Par Nanchard et Chaucisse | 2.2 · PD- | 800 m | 1,000 → 1,804 m | S | 6.4 km |
| Traversée des Aravis S - Charvin au col des Aravis | 5.1 · E2 · D+ | 2,800 m | 1,314 → 2,483 m | n/a | 6.5 km |
| Mont Charvin · Presque directe NE | 5.2 · E3 | 1,200 m | 2,400 m | NE · N | 6.5 km |
| La Rouelle · Couloir W | n/a · AD | 950 m | 1,110 → 2,082 m | W | 6.5 km |
| Mont Charvin · Aux rêveurs | 5.5 · E4 · ED+ | n/a | 2,409 m | S | 6.5 km |
| Mont Charvin · Face N directe | 5.5 · E4 · ED- | 1,150 m | 1,300 → 2,409 m | N · NE | 6.6 km |
| La Goenne · Facette NW | 4.1 · E2 · D- | 1,070 m | 1,108 → 2,174 m | NW | 6.6 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 Le Cernix
Ice rink
- Patinoire · Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe · 3.3 km away
Swimming pool
- Spa des Cîmes - Hôtel Mont Charvin · Cohennoz · 0.2 km away
- Centre Atlantis - Piscine · Ugine · 7.7 km away
- Centre Atlantis - Espace Balnéothérapie · Ugine · 7.7 km away
Paragliding
- Megève Aventure Parapente · Praz-sur-Arly · 8.3 km away
Museum
- Musée "La Maison des Contes de Fées" · Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe · 3.5 km away
- Musée de la Maison du Meunier et Moulin à Tienne · Flumet · 4.2 km away
- Musée digital - L'agriculture de montagne et nos savoir-faire fromagers · Flumet · 5 km away
- Ecomusée de Hauteluce · Hauteluce · 7.6 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma Chantecler · Ugine · 7.1 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 · 20 rooms (1 × 4★)
Commune: Cohennoz · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Tourist office
Office de tourisme "le cernix"
Ski school
ESF Crest Voland
66 instructors
🇬🇧 41 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 Le Cernix?
Le Cernix sits at 1,240 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,930 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Le Cernix have?
Le Cernix has 86 km of pistes served by 35 lifts, within the linked Espace Diamant area (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Le Cernix?
The longest piste is Sangliers: 6 km (red run), for 357 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 Le Cernix?
The highest lift, Douce, tops out at 2,039 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 80 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 63 km.
How much is a lift pass in Le Cernix?
The adult day pass costs €52 and the 6-day pass €260 (2026-2027, read on the official price list, shared with Les Saisies).
How do I get to Le Cernix?
By road, Le Cernix is 1 hr 05 from Annecy (51 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Albertville, 29 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 Chambéry-Savoie, 1 hr 17 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Le Cernix?
6 hr 48 for 620 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 Le Cernix?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to twenty winters of Météo-France measurements; in season the daily report prevails.
Is Le Cernix good for beginners and families?
70% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy area. The resort holds the Famille Plus family label.
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