Slope Breakdown
Samoëns at a glance
Samoëns is a ski resort in France, part of the Le Grand Massif ski area. It offers 265 km of slopes served by 69 lifts, with skiing between 720 m and 2,500 m (1,780 m vertical). That makes it the 19th largest of the 40 ski resorts in France listed on Intski. The season usually runs from December to April. Samoëns is particularly beginner-friendly: about 51% of its slopes are easy blue runs.
Top features of this resort
Snow forecast
About 29 cm of new snow at the top (2,500 m) in the next 3 days, none at the base.
New snow and temperature at the top station. Estimated by Intski from the MET Norway forecast, updated every few hours. Where it snows most this week
Email me when it snows
An alert when 15 cm or more is on the way at Samoëns, and a heads-up before it opens.
Getting there & lift pass
Nearest airport
Geneva (GVA) — about 51 km from the resort, straight-line distance, allow more by road.
Lift pass
Adult day pass around 63 EUR (2026/27 season). Grand Massif day pass.
2025/26: 61 EUR (+3.3%)
About €0.24 per km of piste the pass covers (265 km).
Compare lift pass prices at all resortsPrice source, checked 2026-09-14
Driving to Samoëns
Rules for a car in France, checked 30 September 2026 against official sources.
Road charge
Motorway tolls by distance. A43 (AREA) Saint-Quentin-Fallavier barrier (Lyon) to Chambéry Nord, 88 km, class 1 €13.40, A43 (AREA) Chignin barrier to Aiton, 31 km, class 1 (towards Albertville and Maurienne) €4.20
Winter tyres
Winter tyres or chains on board, 1 Nov to 31 Mar, in the signed mountain zones
Studded tyres
Allowed 1 Nov to 31 Mar (90 km/h, rear disc)
Samoëns resort facts
These figures cover the whole Le Grand Massif area, which Samoëns shares with 2 other resorts on Intski, not Samoëns's own sector. Difficulty shares from skiresort.info.
About Samoëns
Samoëns, Samouens in Arpitan, is an alpine commune on the Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in south-eastern France.
Resort Highlights
A Giffre valley town at the gates of the Grand Massif
Samoëns, Samouens in Arpitan, is an alpine commune on the Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in south-eastern France. The town lies in the Vallée du Giffre, the Giffre valley of the French Alps, just south-west of Champéry in Valais across the border. Until the canton was abolished in 2015 it was the principal commune of the canton that bore its name, which tells you something about its standing: this is a town with a long administrative history, not a settlement that grew up around a lift.
The skiing
Samoëns is part of Le Grand Massif, and the 265 km of pistes and 69 lifts in our data are the whole linked area. The base is at 720 m and the top station at 2,500 m, a spread of 1,780 m. That top height is high enough for the altitude to help snow reliability on the upper mountain, but the town itself is low, and the 720 m base means the lowest slopes will be the first to lose cover in a poor winter; our data does not tag Samoëns as snow-sure, which is consistent with that. The season runs from December to April.
No difficulty split is recorded. Sixty-nine lifts for 265 km, roughly one per 3.8 km, is a healthy ratio for a large linked domain, and 265 km is comfortably enough for a week for any standard of skier. The Grand Massif membership is the reason to come: Samoëns’s own slopes are the doorway to a far larger area, and the choice to stay here rather than higher up is about the town, not the terrain. For a group with mixed ambitions the arithmetic is simple: 265 km for the mileage-hunters, a real town for everyone else.
Character
Our data flags Samoëns for traditional charm and scenic views. It is a historic town, a former canton seat, in a valley on the Swiss frontier, and its 720 m altitude places it firmly in the valley rather than up at a purpose-built station. For skiers who want a big domain but prefer to stay in a real town with a history, that is the trade-off: lower and more traditional in exchange for a lift ride up to the snow.
Practicalities
Geneva (GVA) is the nearest airport in our data, roughly 51 km away as the crow flies, a short transfer by Alpine standards. Local information is on the town’s official website.
Frequently asked questions about Samoëns
Le Grand Massif. The 265 km of pistes and 69 lifts listed for Samoëns are the whole linked area.
A historic town. It was the principal commune of its own canton until the canton was abolished in 2015, and our data flags it for traditional charm.
The town and base are at 720 m, with the lifts reaching 2,500 m. The low base means the lower runs depend on the winter, while the upper mountain benefits from altitude.
It sits on the Swiss border in the Giffre valley, just south-west of Champéry in the canton of Valais.
Samoëns has 265 km of marked slopes: 135 km easy (blue), 95 km intermediate (red), 35 km expert (black), served by 69 ski lifts.
The skiing in Samoëns ranges from 720 m at the base to 2,500 m at the top — a vertical drop of 1,780 m.
The ski season in Samoëns typically runs from December to April. Exact opening dates vary by year and snow conditions.
Yes — Samoëns is well suited to beginners. About 51% of the slopes (135 km) are easy blue runs.
Samoëns has 35 km of expert (black) slopes — about 13% of the total.
An adult day pass in Samoëns costs around 63 EUR (2026/27 season). Grand Massif day pass.
Skier reviews
Been to Samoëns? Tell other skiers what it is really like.
Sign in to leave a review
We ask for an account so every review comes from a real person. It takes about ten seconds and keeps this page free of spam.
