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Hiking in Haute-Savoie

1,359

routes

9.0 km

median distance

433 m

median elevation gain

Haute-Savoie is the alpine department par excellence, and the figures say so: median elevation gain passes 400 metres, more than three times the catalogue average. Routes cluster in the Aravis range — Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, Le Grand-Bornand, La Clusaz — and around Chamonix in the Mont Blanc massif.

Three kinds of terrain coexist. The Aravis and the Chablais offer reachable high pastures, grassy ridges and mountain lakes within half a day. The loop around Lake Annecy, from Talloires-Montmin, mixes balcony viewpoints with forest paths. Mont Blanc sets its own rules: the GR5 and the Tour du Mont-Blanc both run through, but altitude and snow dictate the calendar.

The relief is real. A 9 km route can demand 800 metres of climbing: always read the elevation profile first, because distance alone tells you nothing here.

When to go — June to October for high trails; snow often lingers above 2,000 m into late June, while the lower Chablais opens from May.

OpenRando lists 1,359 hiking routes in Haute-Savoie. The median distance is 9.0 km, and most routes fall between 4.5 and 15.6 km — from an afternoon loop to a full day out.

On the climbing side, the median elevation gain is 433 m, and the most demanding routes exceed 1,008 m. Enough range to pick your effort by season and by form.

The most common starting points cluster around: Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, Le Grand-Bornand, La Clusaz, Talloires-Montmin, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Montriond. Every route comes with its GPX track, elevation profile and interactive map.

Longest routes in Haute-Savoie

  • Boucle Frangy – Vue sur le Rhône au départ de Desingy28.6 km
  • Boucle Vue sur la Tête Ronde – Vue sur le mont Blanc au départ de La Balme-de-Thuy28.3 km
  • Boucle Belvédère de la Grande Jeanne – Crêt de Chatillon au départ de Le Clos Saint-Michel27.9 km

All routes in Haute-Savoie