Le Recoin
Le Recoin is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Isère), in the commune of Chamrousse. The village sits at 1,650 m and the ski area rises to 2,246 m, a skiable vertical of 835 m.
The area offers 52 km of alpine pistes, 86 marked pistes (13 green, 37 blue, 26 red, 10 black), 21 ski lifts, plus a snowpark.
Le Recoin belongs to the linked Chamrousse area: one lift pass covers the neighbouring resorts.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 3 km (Olympique Dames) and the highest lift tops out at 2,246 m.
The resort holds the Famille Plus and Flocon Vert and Station classée de tourisme labels.
Access: 42 min by road from Grenoble and 34 min from Grenoble Universités - Gières railway station.
8 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: 2,246 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,411 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 124 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 95%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 52 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 52 km · Lifts: 21 · Balance between piste levels: 91%
- 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: 58% · Magic carpets: 2 · Sledging runs: 0 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 1 · Famille Plus label
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 10 · Nearest railway station: 34 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 12
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?3 / 5
Bars and pubs: 1 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 21 · Upcoming events: 4 · Collective tourist beds: 828 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1.5 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 0% · Spas and saunas: 2 · 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 CHAMROUSSE station (1,730 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,650 m · top 2,246 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 April: a long, reliable season.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.4 h · Dec 5.7 h · Jan 6.1 h · Feb 7.5 h · Mar 8.6 h · Apr 10.1 h — 26 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November16 cmInsufficient · 20%
- December63 cmGood skiing · 82%
- January96 cmGood skiing · 99%
- February120 cmGood skiing · 100%
- March129 cmGood skiing · 100%
- April91 cmGood skiing · 93%
- May25 cmInsufficient · 35%
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
32 complete winters measured, from 1991-1992 to 2025-2026 — on average 124 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec43 cmVariable · 61 %
- 16-31 Dec58 cmVariable · 79 %
- 1-15 Jan76 cmGood skiing · 97 %
- 16-31 Jan94 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Feb111 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-29 Feb121 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 1-15 Mar125 cmGood skiing · 100 %
- 16-31 Mar113 cmGood skiing · 97 %
- 1-15 Apr96 cmGood skiing · 93 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2012-2013 — 136 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2016-2017 — 91 days at 30 cm or more
How much snow actually falls — 453 cm a winter on average, spread over 53 days of snowfall. Measured over 30 complete winters, from 1994-1995 to 2025-2026.
- Biggest 24-hour snowfall
- 70 cm — 2011-2012
- Snowiest winter
- 2012-2013 — 767 cm
- Leanest winter
- 2010-2011 — 206 cm
The ski area
Compare with another resort →86 pistes, by level — 52 km
- Skiable vertical
- 835 m (1,411 m → 2,246 m)
- Lifts
- 1 gondola, 7 chairlifts, 10 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets
- Cross-country skiing
- 4 named trails — 3.8 km of marked loops, 2.3 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(4)
Trail Level Length Astragale difficult 1.9 km Retour Chamrousse 1750 easy 0.7 km Brimbelles intermediate 0.6 km Salinière et Lièvre intermediate 0.6 km - Snowpark
- Yes
- Night skiing
- 11 floodlit pistes (OSM)
- Without skis
- 5 km of snowshoe and walking trails
- Piste aspect
- N 17% · E 1% · S 16% · W 66% (descent direction of 84 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Restaurant de la Croix (2243 m) · Le Malamute (1803 m)
- Tourist office
- OFFICE DE TOURISME · 42 place de Belledonne, 38410 · 04 76 89 92 65 · [email protected] (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Piste map (PDF)
- Plan pistes Chamrousse hiver 2024-2025 (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Resort app
- Android (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Famille Plus
- The resort’s family page (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
Resort data: declared by OFFICE DE TOURISME and distributed by ANMSM · read on 18 September
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 Le Recoin
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 (8) →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 Recoin
From Paris: 6 hr 35 (610 km) by road.
By road
- From Grenoble: 42 min · 32 km
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 13 · 82 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 42 · 129 km
- From Valence: 1 hr 43 · 127 km
- From Lyon: 1 hr 58 · 140 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Genève: 2 hr 12 · 167 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 32 · 189 km
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 49 · 331 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 50 · 341 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 3 hr 51 · 308 km
- From Marseille: 3 hr 55 · 341 km
- From Besançon: 4 hr 09 · 370 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 11 · 479 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 30 · 394 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 57 · 552 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 07 · 565 km
- From Strasbourg: 6 hr 26 · 557 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 35 · 610 km
- From Bordeaux: 7 hr 49 · 695 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 02 · 755 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Grenoble Universités - Gières station
regional station · then 34 min drive (27 km)
Nearest main station: Grenoble, 45 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
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 1 hr 12 by road · 80 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 24 by road · 90 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Le Recoin 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
7 charging points · up to 24 kW
- CHAMROUSSE - Le recoin · EASYCHARGE · 2 points · 22 kW · 0.1 km
- CHAMROUSSE - Place des Trolles · EASYCHARGE · 2 points · 22 kW · 1.6 km
- CHAMROUSSE - Rue Du Pere Tasse · EASYCHARGE · 3 points · 24 kW · 1.8 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: Marmottes · Soldanelles · Anthracite · Ours
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 Recoin — up to 1,750 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croix de Chamrousse · Depuis Chamrousse - Le Recoin | 1.2 · E1 · F | 600 m | 1,650 → 2,250 m | SW | 1.2 km |
| Casse Rousse · Couloir de descente N | n/a | n/a | 1,680 → 2,250 m | W | 1.3 km |
| Croix de Chamrousse · Depuis Casserousse | 2.1 · E1 · F | 900 m | 1,410 → 2,250 m | NW | 1.6 km |
| Croix de Chamrousse · Depuis Chamrousse - Roche Béranger | 1.2 · E1 · F | 450 m | 1,750 → 2,250 m | SW | 1.6 km |
| Croix de Chamrousse · Couloir de l’Agnelier | 3.3 · E1 · AD+ | n/a | 1,650 → 2,253 m | W | 1.7 km |
| Pointe W de Jasse Bralard · Versant NW | 3.1 · E1 · AD- | 1,360 m | 1,420 → 2,491 m | NW | 1.8 km |
| Grand Eulier · Versant S | 2.3 · E1 · PD- | 850 m | 1,400 → 2,232 m | W | 1.8 km |
| Croix de Chamrousse · Couloir du grand Croissant | 3.3 · E1 · D- | n/a | n/a | W | 1.8 km |
| Grand Van · Par les lacs Achard | 2.2 · E1 | 870 m | 1,620 → 2,448 m | S | 1.9 km |
| Col de l'Infernet · Sentiers du balcon de Chamrousse | 1.1 · E1 · F | 250 m | 1,750 → 2,000 m | SW | 2 km |
| Pointe de Vaudaine · Couloir E | 4.2 · E2 · D | 1,750 m | 1,400 → 2,482 m | E · SE | 2.1 km |
| Casse Rousse · Goulotte du chien | 5.1 · E3 · TD- | 600 m | 1,680 → 2,225 m | NW | 2.1 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 Recoin
Ice rink
- Patinoire extérieure · Chamrousse · 0.1 km away
Swimming pool
- Spa thermal d'Uriage · Saint-Martin-d'Uriage · 4.2 km away
- Piscine municipale · Livet-et-Gavet · 5.6 km away
- Piscine d’été Coubertin_Domène · Domène · 9 km away
- Piscine de Vizille · Vizille · 9.9 km away
Spa and thermal baths
- Etablissement thermal d'Uriage · Saint-Martin-d'Uriage · 4.1 km away
Dog sledding
- SAS Barbot - Chiens de traineaux Chamrousse · Chamrousse · 3 km away
Paragliding
- Chamrousse Parapente · Chamrousse · 0.3 km away
Museum
- Musée de la Romanche · Livet-et-Gavet · 4.3 km away
- Domaine de Vizille - Musée de la Révolution française · Vizille · 9.9 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma Le Schuss · Chamrousse · 1.7 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
828 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 1 hotel · 15 rooms
- 3 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 828 bed spaces
- 1 campsite · 47 pitches
Commune: Chamrousse · 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
Maison du Tourisme
📍 42 Place de Belledonne, 38410 Chamrousse
Ski school
ESF Chamrousse
149 instructors
🇬🇧 63 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
Days without skiing
- Spa / wellness · Spa
- Spa / wellness · Les Bains de Chamrousse
- Cinema · Le Schuss
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.
What's on around Le Recoin
All events →-
19 September 2026 – 20 September 2026
Visite guidée du moulin de Tavernolles
Brié et Angonnes isère · Brié-et-Angonnes
Accueillis par des bénévoles qui font fonctionner le moulin, les visiteurs seront guidés pendant la visite. Ils découvriront la technologie surprenante de ce moulin électrique, le premier en Isère…
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Isère Attractivité” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Chamrousse (8.8 km), Roche Béranger (8.9 km)
-
19 September 2026 – 20 September 2026
D'un château à l'autre
Domaine de Vizille - Musée de la révolution française · Vizille
Une visite guidée à la découverte des vestiges du château du Roi et du célèbre château du duc de Lesdiguières, aujourd’hui Musée de la Révolution française.
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Isère Attractivité” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Chamrousse (9 km), Roche Béranger (9.1 km), Alpe du Grand Serre (9.2 km)
-
20 September 2026 · 11:00
Harmonie mécanique
Domaine de Vizille - Musée de la révolution française · Vizille
Orchestre symphonique du réseau des écoles de musique Sud Agglo (Vizille, Pont-de-Claix, Echirolles, Eybens, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Gières).
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Isère Attractivité” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Chamrousse (9 km), Roche Béranger (9.1 km), Alpe du Grand Serre (9.2 km)
-
3 October 2026 · 10:30
Blind-Test participatif
Médiathèque Jules Verne · Domène
Biblis en folie 2026
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Isère Attractivité” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse (7.7 km)
Events published on OpenAgenda by the agendas named above, kept when they take place within 10 km of the resort. We organise nothing: times, prices and cancellations are the organiser's.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Le Recoin?
Le Recoin sits at 1,650 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,246 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Le Recoin have?
Le Recoin has 52 km of pistes served by 21 lifts, within the linked Chamrousse area (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Le Recoin?
The longest piste is Olympique Dames: 3 km (red run), for 573 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 Recoin?
The highest lift, Amoureux, tops out at 2,246 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 8 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 7 km.
How do I get to Le Recoin?
By road, Le Recoin is 42 min from Grenoble (32 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Grenoble Universités - Gières, 34 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 Grenoble-Alpes-Isère, 1 hr 12 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Le Recoin?
6 hr 35 for 610 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 Recoin?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to ten winters of reanalysis (estimate); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Le Recoin good for beginners and families?
58% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area. The resort holds the Famille Plus family label.
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