Valfrejus Ski Resort France
One of several ski resort gems in the Haute Maurienne Vanoise, Valfréjus is glorious on a powder day & located conveniently just off a motorway near the Italian border. There are so many reasons to love the collection of ski resorts in this fabulous region. Few people, affordable lift passes & accommodation, lively village, great lifts & terrain plus powder. Oh, and did I mention few people!
Pros & Cons for Valfréjus Ski Resort
Pros
- Modern lift system.
- Long skiable vertical of nearly 1,200m.
- Reliable natural snowfall in a high elevation, north-aspect ski resort.
- Abundant quality alpine freeride off-piste & sidecountry terrain.
- Quality on-piste trails up to 10km long for beginner/intermediate skiers & snowboarders.
- Excellent value lift pass combined with La Norma.
- Purpose built, compact & pleasing French Alps resort village with all required services.
- Numerous wonderful bars & restaurants in the village.
- Public transport access by train & bus is very good via Modane.
Cons
- Despite its many groomed trails, the skiing will feel limited for better skiers/snowboarders if the off-piste is not skiable.
- Several long flat traverses may be annoying for snowboarders.
- On-mountain dining is uninspired & deserves to be better.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Access & egress from the best freeride terrain (away from the obvious bits on Punta Bagna) is quite challenging here.
- Several 'blue' beginner runs should be rated 'red' intermediate.
- Hard to avoid imbibing too many fine beers in the village bars.
- Limited high-end lodging.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lift & Terrain
The Valfréjus skiing & snowboarding terrain caters for all abilities. The 70 km of trails may be weighted heavily to beginners, but don’t let that fool you. The cold-north-aspect slopes are predominately above the treeline on almost 1,200m skiable vertical. Aside from the two novice areas (one in the sheltered village at the Chamasson chair & one mid-mountain at Plateau d'Arrondaz), Valfrejus is full of surprises. We found more than a few and feel like there is whole lot more to this ski area than meets the eye, but finding the way in and out of it requires a little time & local knowledge.
Check out the ski trail map for Valfréjus below.
The highest lifted point at Valfréjus, Punta Bagna (2,737m), provides awesome freeride skiing & boarding with a variety of chutes & bowls on both sides of the peak. Full top to bottom descents are possible all the way through the resort from Punta Bagna. For beginners, an easy, but seriously long, valley trail called 'Jeu' (‘game’ in English) completes the journey over 10km. For advanced sliders, various permutations on or off-piste, straight down the major lift lines or out wide cutting the corner off Jeu, will complete the journey by half that distance. Beyond Punta Bagna, short hikes to the higher ridges & peaks opens up yet more off-piste playgrounds for the intrepid. Be intrepid!
On piste, the groomers are a strange mix of groomed snow-covered roads and wilder, free flowing affairs. In our view, several of the trails rated as blue (easy) should be red (intermediate). The Crête & Col trails are case in point, but we suppose they are rated as they are for a reason. Advanced trails are limited, with Souches heading into the village being the most challenging. The Corniche & Punta Bagna advanced runs have short steep pitches that quickly end in the long shallow 'point & shoot' to get to back to the lift. And this is one of Valfrejus' greatest terrain challenges - the numerous flat traverses. Snowboarders will need to push hard in a couple of key locations (start of Jeu, around the Plateau d'Arrondaz), but such is life.
The ski lifts at Valfréjus are modern, with the four major installations put in between 2009 & 2013. Enjoy the ride in relative comfort.
Lift Passes
Valfréjus incredibly affordable lift pass has the doubly delectable benefit of being valid in nearby La Norma, located just across the motorway! Additionally, lift passes of 6 days or more include 1 day at each of the other Haute Maurienne ski resorts of Aussois, Val Cenis & Bonneval-sur-Arc. There is an extra 5% off if you pre-purchase online. Awesome! a downside is that children from age 12yr & over are charged lift pass rates as adults. Yikes.
See here for the La Norma ski trail map & the Haute Maurienne resorts map.
Where is Valfréjus France?
The Valfrejus ski resort is in the Haute Maurienne region of the French Alps, just off the A43 motorway 10km (15min) drive up from the nearest transport hub at Modane. Valfréjus is 196km (2¼hr) drive south of Geneva, 216km (2½hr) drive east of Lyon & 111km (1½hr) west of Turin. Gateway airports to the region are Geneva (GVA) & Lyon St Exupéry (LYS) for all travellers, however airports in Italy can also be utilised.
Public transport to the region is excellent. Modane has a railway station served by TGV high speed trains on the Paris-Lyon-Turin-Milan line, making the train the recommended mode of travel to the region. A major bus terminal is next to the station. Regular buses head to all five Haute Maurienne ski areas, including to the Station de Valfréjus village on the M9 line. Alternatively, a private transfer from the train station to just about anywhere in the Haute Maurienne will be relatively inexpensive & better than waiting for a bus.
Search & book here for train tickets to Modane. Get bus tickets from the driver.
Driving to Valfrejus can be incredibly quick when compared to other French ski resorts, but that speed will come at a price. The motorways leading to Modane from both France & Italy are all tolled. From Italy, the Frejus tunnel at the French border costs more than the price of a full day ski lift pass one way; so day-trips to the region from Bardonecchia or the Via Lattea are generally out of the question!
For hints, tips & warnings about getting to French ski resorts in winter, see our Travel in France page.
Valfréjus Accommodation
Valfrejus is a high-elevation, purpose-built resort village with a pleasing, compact design that allows for maximum ski-in, ski-out convenience, proximity to a ski lift & access to shops & restaurants right next to the return ski slope. The village has all the services one could expect and includes supermarkets & other retail, plus numerous restaurants & some particularly wonderful bars. The two best (in our humble estimations) are the Morricone and Rock n’ Beer. Both are near the Charmasson chairlift base and serve the most fabulous selection of beers.
As per most French ski resorts, accommodations in Valfréjus are mainly self-contained apartments. A standout hotel is the SOWELL Family Valfrejus. The food & beverage inclusions at the SOWELL are a sight to behold (& ingest!). A well-located budget offering is the BodyGo Hostel, located right next to the Charmasson chairlift base.
Search & book here for all Valfrejus ski accommodation.
Being only a 10-minute drive off the motorway, Valfrejus is a super convenient day-tripping prospect. Away from the resort village, alternative accommodation options abound in the valley from Modane all the way up to Termignon & Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis.
The village accommodations at Aussois have the sunniest position in the entire region & are central to all the Haute Maurienne ski resorts.
Ski Rentals, Lessons, Guiding & Services
Ski rentals are available at 2 locations at Valfréjus (in the centre of the village near the lifts) & throughout the Haute Maurienne via our local partners, Skiset. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Valfrejus Ski & Snowboard Equipment Rental page.
Off-piste ski lessons & guiding may make all the difference to a stay at Valfréjus. For more info & options, see our Valfréjus Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Non-ski Activities
When in Valfrejus, find the time for a wander down below the village to inspect the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-du-Charmaix. It sits in a pretty location near a bridge on the original road up the valley. In the resort there is a fun sledding run on the 170m ish vertical of the Charmasson chair. Beyond the village anyone with a car should take a road trip up the valley to Bonneval-sur-Arc. There are several fascinating points of interest along the way, particularly for lovers of ‘old stuff’ (like us). Wandering around the forts (Fort Victor-Emmanuel, Fort Charles-Félix & Redoute Marie Thérèse) either side of the deep defile spanned by the Pont Du Diable (crampons needed for the climb down to access the bridge in winter!) near Aussois is fun and make for an interesting distraction from the slopes.
Review
The Powderhounds reviewed Valfréjus in March 2023. It was a truly enjoyable visit and reinforced the strengths of the 'small' ski resorts in the Haute Maurienne. We skied the other 4 Haute Maurienne Vanoise resorts in 2020 & found the locality to be paradise for powder hounds. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews.
See how Valfrejus & the nearby resorts of Aussois, La Norma, Val Cenis & Bonneval sur Arc compare to the rest of the French ski resorts on the France ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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