Les Arcs Resort Guide | Savoie | France
Lzach may not have the international recognition of its nearby neighbors, but don’t be fooled. This resort is well known by the locals. The summit nudges past 3,000 m, and there’s a solid 200 km of trails. There are multiple village base areas across Lizak and Balonri, plus a tram across to Lel or a finicular up from Bork St. Maurice, providing an abundance of accommodation options. Lazark has terrain to suit skiers of all abilities, although the extent of blue and red trails will have confident beginners and intermediates adventuring all over the resort. There are some challenging black trails for advanced skiers and a few enticing off-piece zones for the brave. Lazark welcomes international guests without fanfare and you’ll feel like a local within days. The best way to get to Lazark is taking the train to Borg St. Maurice, then the finicular up to Ark 1600. If you are staying in any of the other villages, there are free transfer buses from Ark600. There are trains from Pari, Leon, London, Amsterdam, Brussels through to Boss Marie. For international travelers wanting to travel by car, Lazark is roughly 2 and 1/2 hours from Leyon and Janev airports. If you’re staying on mountain, a car is not needed. Lazark is a big spreadout resort accessed by multiple villages. Ark 1600 is where it all started and is the hub between the other base areas. It’s kept its charm and is a fairly compact village. Ark 1800 is a larger base area bringing together four hillside villages. Ark 1900 is a compact village targeting high-end clientele and Ark 2000 just above is perched on the hillside. For a quieter vibe away from the bustle of the main bases, consider Volri and Plan Pacy. There are many on- mountain food options across the resort. The OB and the nursery are elevated with spectacular views from above 2500 m. Latt is a calm cafe mid-mount while the sweet madness has several food options and outside gets the array ski rolling early afternoon where it lives up to its name. There are restaurants and bars across all the base villages and borie is a short finicular ride down the hill for any essentials you may need. There are outdoor picnic places at the top of some lifts like aribul while the top of an indoor area. All are busy during holidays. Let’s get to the skiing. The mix of blue and red trails spread across the resort is great for beginners, intermediates, and families. For the beginner, there are green trails at each of the ark base areas providing gentle slopes to learn the basics. Plan Pacy and Volri have their beginner zones on the upper slopes, making for better snow conditions, similar to Ark 2000. On this side, trails like Fere and Rena provide gentle blues for beginners graduating from the learning area. On the lower slopes of Ark 1800, Shantel is good for those starting out, while further up the slopes, Ar provides a calmer route down. Ark 1600 has Belvadier, a well-traffic traverse or Mlong for more confident beginners. Over the ridge, the slopes provide two enjoyable blues and cold deashal and plumvert for beginners and Adal Vise for more confident skiers. For young kids, there are adventure zones across the resort. Pistan Moore is a bit subdued. Pist minis has some great little features for the kiddos while Fer dea Pishon provides a mix of features to entertain all ages. Intermediate skiers will find fun and challenging trails all across the resort. Tap and planet provide great warm-up trails while Grolle and Arendelier have some steeper more challenging sections. They both get a fair bit of traffic so can get scraped off by midm morning. Luck is a short punchy red great if you’re still building confidence while Secret is a long red for carving turns and escaping the weather. Across the ridge, Auror and Closure provide short rolling reds. For longer rids, great for laying down carving turns, Gulf, Grand Malay, and Ree will have you racking up some solid stats. The treeine trails and reduced traffic on Bologonri like Blet and are the most similar to North American slopes we’ve skied in Europe. Lazark has some long challenging black trails to level up advanced skiers. Due to snow conditions and time constraints, we were not able to venture up to Angu Rouge. But we did scratch our way down Valoo, hoping the northerly aspect would provide for better snow conditions. When conditions are good, there are some enticing off-piece and tree skiing areas. For aerial acrobats, Lazak has snow park with a range of small, medium, and large features, plus a dedicated tea bar lift, making it easy to rinse. If you’re after some group entertainment, the two border cross courses are a bit of fun with small rollers and some banked turns. A few things to be aware of for Lizark. The snow on the lower slopes of Ark 1600, 1800 and Vadri gets very warm and soft by early afternoon. Expect many mobiles from all the traffic on the approaches to the lifts. Likewise, the slopes off Angli Rouge and Gron Cole bask in the sun. The altitude helps retain the snow, but expect freeze the conditions. The snow on the trails with a northerly aspect tends to hold up well. In the morning, expect cues on the Transark, Mont Blanc, and Veret lifts, while the pre-sai spree and arabul are busy from midm morning until upper ski gets going. Derby and aret also at times with massive cues, although we were there during the February midterm break. It’s also worth noting the changeover days of Saturday and Sunday are a lot quieter on mountain. The resort even offers discounts to skiers on these days. The different aspects and elevations of the resort provide places to hide from the weather. If the wind is blowing, pick your valley and lap a lift. When it’s snowing, staying on the lower slopes might allow a full day of fun. On a clear day, Angu Rouge and Granol are worth the journey for the views and the trails. This is a big resort and returning to your lodging can take multiple lifts if you are on the far side of the resort. If you get caught out late afternoon, just ride the shuttle back and remove the stress or the risk of a fatigue induced injury. The villages at Lazark provide a variety of lodging options to suit most budgets, and their separation gives each village their own vibe. The villages and resort have grown together, so ski in, ski out, or easy access to the slopes is well considered. Ark 2000 in 1950 provides some upmarket options. Ark600 is where it all began and it has the club Med. Ark 1800 is the biggest base area and has a strong uprisk ski vibe. Vonri and Puy are reasonably large villages and they also provide quick access across to Leon. There are additional options like Villa Roger, but it takes a few lift rides to get to the resort proper. Plus, it is possible to stay down in Borg St. Marie and ride the finicular up to the resort. If you are touring in a camper van, there is a campsite in Li on the bus route up to Voni. In our opinion, Lazark provides a well-rounded ski experience. The terrain will suit beginner and intermediate skiers, but there’s sufficient technical terrain to keep advanced skiers entertained. The separate base villages and express lift spread visitors out and reduces early morning congestion. Getting to Lazark is relatively easy and it has managed to retain a local charm. Lazark provides a quintessential French Elp ski resort experience with friendly locals at prices that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Check out our trail and lift videos to get the most out of your visit to Lzak.
Les Arcs provides a well-rounded ski experience. The terrain will suit beginner and intermediate skiers but there’s sufficient technical terrain to keep advanced skiers entertained. The separate base villages and express lifts spread visitors out and reduces early morning congestion.
Getting to Les Arcs is relatively easy and it has managed to retain a local charm. Les Arcs provides a quintessential French Alps ski resort experience with friendly locals, at prices that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.
See B4U Ski – more lift and trail videos at www.mtnhacks.com
Chapters:
0:00 Les Arcs France: Honest Resort Review (Better Than You Think?)
0:44 Getting to Les Arcs: The EASY Train Trick
1:10 Les Arcs Village Guide: Where to Stay for Ski-In/Ski-out & Nightlife
2:11 Skiing Les Arcs: Best Runs for Every Level (POV & Tips)
4:23 Les Arcs Snow Guide: Avoid Icy Slopes & Crowded Lifts
5:01 Les Arcs Hacks: Things They DON’T Tell You!
5:37 Les Arcs Accommodation: Vibes Vibes & Hidden Gems
6:23 Final Verdict: Is Les Arcs one of the Best in the Alps?