Explore the northern Haute Savoie and discover a wonderfully varied corner of the French Alps, stretching south from the shores of Lake Geneva through the limestone ridges of the Salève and Chablais to the flower-filled valleys of Abondance, Morzine, and the Vallée Verte. Less visited than the Mont Blanc massif to the south, this is an accessible and rewarding walking region with a distinctly local character, historic alpine villages, and outstanding views across to Switzerland.

Suitable for beginner and experienced walkers alike, this comprehensive Cicerone guidebook describes 30 walks in the northern Haute Savoie, covering areas including Salève, the Vallée Verte, Val d'Abondance, and Val de Morzine. Routes range from 7 to 14km (4–9 miles) and take between 2 and 7 hours to complete, with walks graded from easy to difficult.

• Choose from 30 walks across the northern Haute Savoie, exploring limestone gorges and ridges around the Salève, high summits in the Chablais including the Cornettes de Bise and Dent d'Oche, and the quieter valleys of Abondance and Morzine, with routes suitable for a wide range of abilities.
• Plan your Haute Savoie walking holiday for the ideal season, with guidance on local conditions showing why spring through to autumn offers the best walking weather, with alpine flowers in bloom from late spring and the valleys at their most colourful in autumn.
• Navigate with confidence using 1:50,000 maps included for every route in the northern Haute Savoie, alongside downloadable GPX files to support your planning and navigation on the ground.
• Benefit from clear grading and detailed route descriptions for every walk, with routes rated from easy to difficult and practical information on distance, walking time, and terrain to help you choose walks suited to your ability and fitness.
• Find practical holiday planning advice for the northern Haute Savoie, with notes on the best bases including Evian-les-Bains, Morzine, Abondance, and Bellevaux, plus comprehensive information on accommodation, Savoyard food and drink, transport, and safety.
• Deepen your experience of the region with sections on the history of the Haute Savoie, local wildlife, plants and flowers, and the fascinating network of medieval abbeys, mountain chapels, and historic smugglers' routes across the French-Swiss border.
• Extend your walking in the region with the companion volume, Walking in the Haute Savoie: South, which together with this guide, covers the full breadth of this exceptional corner of the French Alps.

Plan your French Alps walking holiday with confidence using this trusted Cicerone guidebook. Immerse yourself in the valleys, summits, and alpine landscapes of the northern Haute Savoie, a rewarding walking destination on the doorstep of Lake Geneva.

Walking in the Haute Savoie: North – Quick Facts

Guide name: Walking in the Haute Savoie: North 
Location: France – northern Haute Savoie, French Alps 
Routes covered: 30 walks (7–14km/4–9 miles) across Salève, Vallée Verte, Chablais, Val d'Abondance, and Val de Morzine 
Typical duration: 2–7 hours per walk; range of options for all abilities 
Difficulty: Graded from easy to difficult; suitable for beginner and experienced walkers; a few difficult routes have exposed sections protected by cables 
Terrain: Limestone ridges and gorges, alpine summits, high cols, valley paths, pastures, and flower-filled meadows 
Navigation/mapping: 1:50,000 maps and GPX downloads included 
Accommodation & logistics: Notes on bases at Evian-les-Bains, Morzine, Abondance, and Bellevaux, with practical advice on accommodation, transport, and local services

Author Highlight

“Most people associate the French Alps with the town of Chamonix, dominated by Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe, and the dazzling array of challenging peaks that surround it. Visitors flock to the Chamonix area to walk and explore, but they do not always realise that the Mont Blanc range is only part of the Haute Savoie. Not far away there are dozens of other interesting mountains and villages to discover, less frequented, steeped in history, and crisscrossed with delightful walking trails. The Haute Savoie is located in eastern France, bordering Switzerland and Italy. To the north is Lake Geneva (known to the French as Lac Léman), to the southeast is Chamonix, and to the southwest is Lake Annecy.”

- Janette Norton, author of Walking in the Haute Savoie: North

Map key
Location of walks
Preface
Introduction
A short history of the Haute Savoie
Wildlife
Plants and flowers
Getting there
When to go
Accommodation
Savoyard food and drink
What to take
Waymarking
Maps
Safety
Using this guide

Salève and Vuache
1    Gorges du Salève
2    Balcon du Salève
3    Grand Piton
4    Pointe du Plan
5    Boucle de l'Iselet
6    Le Vuache

Vallée Verte
7    Signal des Voirons
8    Mont de Vouan
9    Pointe de Miribel
10    Montagne d'Hirmentaz
11    Mont Forchat

Vallée du Brevon
12    Mont d'Hermone
13    Rocher de Nifflon
14    Pointe de la Gay
15    Pointe de la Chalune
16    Haute Pointe
17    Pointe d'Uble

Pre-Alpes du Léman
18    Pic des Mémises
19    Pic Boré
20    Dent d'Oche

Val d’Abondance
21    Cornettes de Bise
22    Lac d'Arvouin
23    Autour du Mont Chauffé
24    Roc de Taveneuse
25    Mont de Grange
26    Pointe des Mattes
27    Le Morclan

Val de Morzine
28    Col de Chésery
29    Pointe de Ressachaux
30    Col de Cou

Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Useful information
Appendix C Glossary of useful French words

Seasons

Spring and summer, when the snow has melted and the slopes are bright with alpine flowers; autumn, when the leaves are changing, or even winter for some of the lower walks

Centres

Evian-les-Bains, Morzine, Abondance, Châtel, St-Julien-en-Genevois, Bellevaux, Boège, Habère-Poche

Difficulty

Variety of routes of differing length and height gain, suitable for most abilities, graded from easy to difficult; none require special equipment or expertise, but the few graded difficult have some exposed sections, often protected by cables, and need a head for heights

Must See

Major peaks: Cornettes de Bise, Mont de Grange, Dent d'Oche, Pic Boré Lakes: Geneva, Arvouin, Tavaneuse Cols: Cheséry, Cou, Brétolet Historical attractions: medieval abbeys; numerous small chapels, shrines, stations of the cross and statues on mountain tops; smugglers routes over the French-Swiss border cols Nature reserves; bird migratory routes Geological features: limestone cliffs, gorges and caves (Salève); fault-line and microclimate (Vuache)

November 2025

Walk 30

October 2023

Walk 15 - Pointe de Chalune

June 2019

Upadates

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