My Top 5 Cycling Climbs from Lake Annecy
By Will • Dec 18th, 2007 • Category: Climbs, Cycling, Favorites, Reviews
Sometimes called the Venice of the Alps, beautiful Annecy and its mountain surrounded lake is one of my favorite places to cycle (about 45 minutes from Geneva). It’s one of the most popular tourist sites in France.
When friends visit us, we usually take them here.
Sometimes, I will leave visitors to explore the historic sites and walk along the lake-front while I go off and cycle a mountain - and we then meet for lunch along side a little quaint canal.
For cyclists there is a wonderful (flat) bike path that goes most of the way to Albertville along old railway lines. But I love Annecy for the many great and challenging cycling climbs in the area.
My top 5 Cycling climbs - all of these routes start from Annecy
#1 - Le Semnoz - Classic route
Le Semnoz (also called Cret de Chatillon) is the huge massive on the west side of Lake Annecy. The majority of the ride is through beautiful protected woodlands. The top is a small ski station.
The Climb: 18.3 kms (11.4 miles); Ascent: 1,210 metres (3,970 feet)
Blog Post | Google Route Map | GPX File | View in Google Earth
#2 - Lake Loop via Col de la Forclaz
Be careful doing a lake loop down low. On weekends, the west side of the lake can be pretty traffic filled. Far better to do a loop via the short but super steep Col de la Forclaz. This was the first place I ever saw a mountain stage in the Tour de France - the suffering!
The Climb: 9.5 kms (5.9 miles); Ascent: 700 metres (2,300 feet)
Blog Post | Google Route Map | GPX File | View in Google Earth
#3 - Col de Cherel
OK the first two are obvious. This may be a surprise. Not a well known climb. Most of this route is closed to cars and goes through a beautiful protected mountain valley. But to get to the top, you really need a hybrid or mountain bike as the route becomes a gravel road. Amazing ride. Note, I had trouble finding the entrance to the climb, so the gps route is a bit windy.
The Climb: 15.9 kms (9.9 miles); Ascent: 1,030 metres (3,380 feet)
Blog Post | Google Route Map | GPX File | View in Google Earth
#4 Big Lake Loop - via Col de l’Epine
A fantastic loop that covers 3 small climbs and much of the start of stage 8 of the 2007 Tour de France. The route up to l’Epine in eiter direction is like a visit to a secret unknown valley.
The Entire Route: 64.8 kms (40 miles); Ascent: 1,040 metres (3,400 feet)
Blog Post | Google Route Map | GPX File | View in Google Earth
#5 Col des Contrebandiers
Smugglers Pass. This is a bit of a secret climb, unknown to most. It is certainly possible with a road bike but a pretty lousy surface - I would recommend a mountain bike. Doreen and I had intended to ride the cycle path, but the Annecy marathon was that day. So we went in the opposite direction and climbed. Surprise, up to the greatest cliff view overlooking the lake and town.
At the Col sign, take the trail at the RIGHT by foot, and follow upwards for stunning views of the lake below ( a 15 minute hike).
Blog Post |
For the more adventurous, there are lots of other famous climbs within striking distance of Annecy. Scroll the map or see below for a few.
- Le Semnoz - quiet and scenic south - east route
- Col de la Croix Fry, Col de Plain Bois, Col des Aravis
- Mont Revard
- Col des Glieres!
- Col de l’Arpettaz
Click “View Larger Map” at bottom for a clearer view of climbs.
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Will is Happiest while cycling uphill. More enthusiastic than talented, his 2008 Challenge is to (again) cycle 160,000 metres of vertical ascent.
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These look like wonderful climbs all! I have gone up the Col de la Forclaz a bit before realizing it was steeper than something I wanted to do on a recovery ride. Somewhere near Lake Annecy there is also an amazing old castle that I saw from the road.
Nice posting Will
You give us more reason to train with a trip to Europe in mind. And with all the details and maps… it’s like you’re our personal travel agent! Thanks again Will! Donald
Sprocketboy: hehe, yes Forclaz is no place for a recovery ride. Steep!
There are a few castles - including one in Annecy itself. But the fanciest is probably
Chateau Menthon on the east side of the lake in Menthon. Routes 2 and 4 goes very close to it - worth a detour.
Donald: Thanks, This was a compilation of a few emails I have answered asking for ride info around Annecy - but I mainly wrote it to remind me to do these climbs in 2008.
Slogfester: Martin refuses donut and coffee shops. Kebaps and beer only. We’ll fight it out Saturday.
Hi Will,
It’s a beautiful classification !
I know well Le Semnoz (very hard, bad day when I climbed it in April) and Col de la Forclaz.
On the other hand, I don’t know the Col de Cherel. Maybe the next year !
Apparently, it is possible to climb by the south and Jarsy, maybe the road is better…
Salut Bast,
I believe the South side of Cherel also requires a VTT (mountain bike) for the top half - there is not even a small road marked on the map.
[…] talked about this great loop around Lake Annecy on my recent Top 5 Lake Annecy Rides post. The road was a bit slick today and there was the occasional ice patch in the shade, but […]