Mountain Biking in Luchon

Luchon offers a whopping 1200 m of vertical drop from Superbagnères (1800m) down to Luchon (600 m). Most of the trails in the Luchon bikepark are accessible from the Superbagnères cablecar.

The trails are long, enduro style and not your typical downhill tracks in that they all have some uphill sections. Typically, 90% of the total distance will be gravity assisted and most of the runs vary between 10 and 20 km in length.

The trails aren’t manicured like some resorts, this is natural terrain and you’ll need a good level of fitness to ride top to bottom without stopping for a rest. Your shoulders and forearms in particular take a hammering soaking up the bumps.

Strike out from Superbagnères and ride the 14 km high mountain Tour du Balcon. The loop drops down from 1800 m to 1400 m and back up Superbagnères. The red La Soulan trail is built for fans of enduro style riding who will love the 9.5 km of swooping natural singletrack through the trees.

Step it up a gear and ride the awesome Kbour black trail with its banked corners and steep, technical singletrack that drops over 1000 m in 7 km. Or, get out and ride with the whole family on the blue La Familiale, an easy 12 km trail over a mixture of singletrack and fire road.

One of the best things about biking in Luchon is that almost every trail ends up in the town, which means you can grab a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants and cafés, or enjoy a quick beer before jumping back on the lift for another blast.

There’s nothing better after a full day on the bike than a soak in Luchon’s thermal baths. Le Vaporarium on the Cours des Quinconces is a natural hammam with a thermal pool that hovers around 38 and 42°c, perfect for soothing your aching muscles.