Serre Chevalier ski resort, which is located close to Parc national des Ecrins (Ecrins National Park) in the Haute-Alpes region of the southern French Alps, is one of the major skiing resorts in France. The resort is near the Italian border in the glaciated upper Durance Valley. Parc des Ecrins is located within the Ecrins Massif mountain range. Serre Chevalier organised the MTB French championships in 2008. Serre Chevalier is a friendly, good-value resort with a fine range of pistes to suit any skier or boarder. The presence of the tree cover ensures potentially good skiing even in poor weather.

Serre Chevalier has a very big skiing field (about 250 km of slopes) and enjoys sunny weather almost throughout the year. The resort elevation is 1,200 metres while top elevation is 2,735 metres.

Serre Chevalier is owned by Compagnie des Alpes. The resort comprises various villages like Chantemerle, Villeneuve and Le Monêtier-les-Bains. Luc Alphand, former Alpine skier and currently a racing car driver, belongs to Briançon  in Serre Chevalier. A black ski run in the neighbouring  Chantemerle village  has been named in his honour. A The highest point of skiing here is Telesiege Yret at 2,760 metres. Serre Chevalier is noted for its wooded slopes.

Skiing at Serre Chavelier:

The villages of Briançon, Chantemerle, Villeneuve and Le Monêtier have variety of slopes that are suitable for the intermediate skiers. Beginners, on the other hand, can enjoy in the nursery slopes at Le Monêtier and fun greens above Villeneuve. Experts also can find their share of pleasure at the higher elevations and steep black and pistes, particularly above Le Monêtier and Villeneuve.

Serre Chavelier has a total of 158 runs (58 beginners’ runs, 58 intermediate runs, 42 advanced runs) and 115 slopes (25 green, 33 blue, 42 red, 15 black).

The skiing season extends from December and April. The lift system particularly gets crowded by long queues during holiday periods.

Serre Chevalier also has a number of good ski schools including Eurekaski in Le Monêtier. The resort also features terrain parks at Villeneuve, Le Monêtier and Chamtemerle. Ski gears can also be hired at the resort villages.

Other activities:

• Summer activities include kayaking, cycling, mountain biking, mountain trails, climbing, rock climbing, sledding, paragliding and others. Four lifts are employed during the summer season.
• One can enjoy indoor/outdoor thermal bath in jet fountains, chutes, relaxation zones and hot tub at leisure centre in Briançon
• Swimming pool
• Ice driving
• Snowshoeing
• Skijoring
• Sleigh rides
• Cinema watching
• Child care:
  Les Schtroumpfs looks after children from six months old
• Shopping:
  Shopping options are limited here. Shops mainly include skiwear and souvenir stores. Briançon (the highest town in France) has quite a few stores.
• Learning ice driving at Circuit de Glace
• Après ski:
  Auberge Mont Prorel, Le Triptyque, Le Lièvre Blanc, Bar L’Alpen are popular bars here. Bar L’Alpen even has Wi-Fi access.
• Le Passé Simple offers specialities in mountain dishes and old age cuisines while Chantemerle Le Petit Chalet has superb dishes. Le Bidule and L’Antidote are also well-known eateries.

Accommodation:

• Chez Bear
• Alliey & Spa Hotel de Charme
• Hotel Rif Blanc

Reaching Serre Chevalier:

• By air:
  Turin in Italy and Grenoble and Lyon in France are the nearest airports to the resort. These airports are connected from various places of Europe. Grenoble is 92 km, Turin is 108 km while Lyon is 308 km away from the resorts.
• By rail:
  The SNCF railway station in Briançon is close to Serre Chevalier. The resort can be reached from place like Paris.

Getting around:

Serre Chevalier lies over the Col du Lauteret on the Grenoble-Briançon road. Ski bus sevice operates until around 7 in the evening, after which there is no public transport.