Monts Jura
Monts Jura is a French ski resort located in the massif du Jura and the département de l'Ain, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
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: 1,659 m · Bottom of the pistes: 866 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 36 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 8%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?2.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 21 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 21 km · Lifts: 10 · Balance between piste levels: 87%
- 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: 75% · Magic carpets: 0 · Sledging runs: 0 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 32 · Nearest railway station: 52 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 2 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 18
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 2 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 5 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 572 — 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 LA PESSE station (1,133 m)
7-day forecast
Village 1,182 m · top 1,659 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.
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
21 complete winters measured, from 2004-2005 to 2025-2026 — on average 36 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec15 cmInsufficient · 21 %
- 16-31 Dec16 cmInsufficient · 29 %
- 1-15 Jan14 cmInsufficient · 19 %
- 16-31 Jan23 cmInsufficient · 42 %
- 1-15 Feb27 cmInsufficient · 40 %
- 16-29 Feb25 cmInsufficient · 38 %
- 1-15 Mar22 cmInsufficient · 30 %
- 16-31 Mar12 cmInsufficient · 16 %
- 1-15 Apr3 cmInsufficient · 4 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2008-2009 — 108 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 2025-2026 — 0 day at 30 cm or more
How much snow actually falls — 260 cm a winter on average, spread over 37 days of snowfall. Measured over 11 complete winters, from 2004-2005 to 2018-2019.
- Biggest 24-hour snowfall
- 44 cm — 2018-2019
- Snowiest winter
- 2012-2013 — 333 cm
- Leanest winter
- 2010-2011 — 89 cm
The ski area
Compare with another resort →32 pistes, by level — 21 km
- Skiable vertical
- 793 m (866 m → 1,659 m)
- Lifts
- 3 gondolas, 1 chairlift, 6 drag lifts
- Cross-country skiing
- 11 km of nordic trails
- Piste aspect
- N 56% · E 25% · S 3% · W 16% (descent direction of 34 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- La Catheline (1447 m)
- Tourist office
- Office de Tourisme du Pays de Gex · 225 rue des Monts Jura, 01410 · 04.50.42.45.77 · [email protected] (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Piste map (PDF)
- Plan des pistes hiver 2023-2024 (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
Resort data: declared by Office de Tourisme du Pays de Gex 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.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to Monts Jura only (“LELEX CROZET + MIJOUX LA FAUCILLE”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Monts Jura
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 Monts Jura
From Paris: 5 hr 57 (521 km) by road.
By road
- From Genève: 1 hr 18 · 50 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 41 · 75 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 05 · 129 km
- From Chambéry: 2 hr 11 · 138 km
- From Besançon: 2 hr 45 · 137 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Grenoble: 2 hr 45 · 193 km
- From Dijon: 2 hr 54 · 179 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 54 · 189 km
- From Valence: 3 hr 11 · 229 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 3 hr 48 · 300 km
- From Nancy: 4 hr 57 · 382 km
- From Strasbourg: 5 hr 13 · 416 km
- From Montpellier: 5 hr 14 · 430 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 20 · 440 km
- From Paris: 5 hr 57 · 521 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 36 · 578 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 57 · 598 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 32 · 664 km
- From Bordeaux: 7 hr 46 · 687 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 26 · 854 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine station
main station, high-speed trains · then 52 min drive (31 km)
- From Bellegarde-sur-Valserine station (stop “Bellegarde - Gare SNCF”): line A53 — MIJOUX-VALSERHONE (REGION - cars Région Ain), 48 min to the “Grand Pré” stop — 2 departures a day on weekdays, 2 a day at weekends · first 11:15, last 18:14 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 15 April 2027 · official timetable ↗
Direct journeys read from the official timetable files published on transport.data.gouv.fr — no connections.
By plane
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 18 by road · 46 km
- Lyon-Saint-Exupéry (LYS): 1 hr 56 by road · 124 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Monts Jura 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
2 charging points · up to 22 kW
- Pays de Gex - ePremium - Lelex - Chapelle · SPIE CITYNETWORKS · 2 points · 22 kW · 0.8 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.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Monts Jura — up to 1,170 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montoiseau / Monthoissey · Par Lelex et la piste des asters | 1.1 · E1 · F | 780 m | 900 → 1,680 m | NW | 0.5 km |
| Grand Crêt · Versant NW, par la forêt de Brillonnes | n/a · PD- | 900 m | 800 → 1,702 m | NW | 0.9 km |
| Montoiseau / Monthoissey · Par Crozet | n/a · PD | 1,038 m | 642 → 1,680 m | SE | 1.8 km |
| Le Reculet · Col de la Faucille - Le Reculet Traverse | 2.3 · E1 · PD- | 940 m | 869 → 1,717 m | N · NE · E · SE · S · SW · W · NW | 2 km |
| Crozet - les Deux Potes · Depuis l'atterrissage de Crozet | 2.1 · E1 · F+ | 960 m | 560 → 1,520 m | S · NE · E · SE · SW | 2.6 km |
| Crêt de la Neige · Versant NW | 4.1 · AD+ | 838 m | 880 → 1,718 m | NW | 3.1 km |
| Crêt de la Neige · Depuis Montoisey | 1.1 · E1 · F | 300 m | 1,680 → 1,717 m | SE | 3.4 km |
| Grand Crêt · Par la Calame | n/a · PD+ | 1,102 m | 600 → 1,702 m | SE | 3.6 km |
| Crêt de la Neige · Versant SE | n/a · PD+ | 1,170 m | 550 → 1,720 m | SE | 3.9 km |
| Colomby de Gex · Depuis Crozet par le Chalet Bévy | n/a · PD- | 920 m | 767 → 1,688 m | SE | 4.3 km |
| Colomby de Gex · Couloir Tartif | 4.1 · E2 · D- | 838 m | 850 → 1,688 m | n/a | 4.3 km |
| Colomby de Gex · Colomby de Gex et ses voisins en boucle depuis Lélex | 2.1 · E1 · PD | 800 m | 889 → 1,688 m | NW · W | 4.3 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 Monts Jura
Toboggan runs
- Luge sur rails · Mijoux · 9 km away
Swimming pool
- Piscine couverte - Village vacance George Moustaki · Les Moussières · 4.6 km away
Dog sledding
- La vallée des laïkas - Chiens de traîneau · La Pesse · 8.1 km away
Paragliding
- Site de parapente Les deux potes · Crozet · 2.5 km away
- Site de parapente de l'ours · Thoiry · 5.2 km away
- Baptêmes en parapente - Sur un nuage · Thoiry · 5.5 km away
- Site de parapente du Petit Mont Rond · Gex · 8.4 km away
Museum
- Musée rural "Vie et métiers d'autrefois" · La Pesse · 7.7 km away
- Musée des pierres et du lapidaire · Mijoux · 8.2 km away
- Musée départemental des Sapeurs-Pompiers · Gex · 9.8 km away
Cinema
- Le Bordeau · Saint-Genis-Pouilly · 8.5 km away
- Cinéma le Patio · Gex · 9.2 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
572 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 1 hotel · 15 rooms (1 × 2★)
- 2 holiday villages and family centres · 572 bed spaces
Commune: Lélex · 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 du Tourisme
🌐 paysdegex-montsjura.com/commerce-service/office-de-tourisme-du-pays-de-gex-agence-de-lelex
Ski school
ESF Lelex
50 instructors
🇬🇧 25 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 Monts Jura?
Monts Jura sits at 1,182 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,659 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Monts Jura have?
Monts Jura has 21 km of pistes served by 10 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Monts Jura?
The longest piste is Fieret: 2 km (green run), for 278 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 Monts Jura?
The highest lift, Montoisey (platter lift), tops out at 1,661 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Monts Jura have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 23 installations at Monts Jura (2 gondolas, 4 chairlifts, 17 drag lifts), for an authorised capacity of 24,590 people per hour, of which 3,000 for Loges alone. The fleet spans 1967 to 2018, an average age of 33 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 Monts Jura?
By road, Monts Jura is 1 hr 18 from Genève (50 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Bellegarde-sur-Valserine (main station, high-speed trains), 52 min by road from the resort. From Bellegarde-sur-Valserine station, line A53 — MIJOUX-VALSERHONE (REGION - cars Région Ain) reaches the “Grand Pré” stop in 48 min, 2 departures a day on weekdays, 2 a day at weekends. The nearest airport is Genève, 1 hr 18 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Monts Jura?
5 hr 57 for 521 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is Monts Jura good for beginners and families?
75% of the pistes are green or blue: a very accessible area.
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