Aiguillette des Houches and Chailloux
Our Rating
10
The Best
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Length
10.28km
Elevation + / -
927m / 927m
Altitude Range
1345m / 2285m
When to go
Mid Jun - Mid Oct
Hike duration
3.0 - 5.0 Hours
Run duration
1.5 - 2.5 Hours
Technical level
Moderate
Natural beauty
Incredible
Families
9+ Years old
Dogs
Dogs Allowed
Provision Sources
1 Snack Bar
Trail type
Loop
This is our favorite trail on the eastern end of the Chamonix Valley featuring some of the best and closest views of the Mont Blanc from across the valley. It has a great mix of terrain including some incredible mountain pastures, an amazing crest ascend, pristine pine forests and a fantastic summit at the Aiguillette des Houches. The 360 degree views from the Aiguillette des Houches are some of the best to be had around Chamonix. Looking far and wide into distant lands including the Rochers de Fiz, the Chaine des Aravis and Mont Buet. In the summer months the Alpage et Chalets de Chailloux will be open and serving drinks and snacks. If you are lucky, the sheep will be out and you can enjoy a picture perfect alpine pasture moment. The hills are alive indeed!
If you are looking to make this into a longer route than this trail is easy to combine with the Col de Bellachet and the descend back to Parc Merlet via the Refuge de Bellachat. You can find the full trail description here.
Video of this Trail
We have made a video presentation for this trail. The video will provide full 3D fly over of the route and then give a great overview of the experience you can expect when you take on this trail. It is a great way to quickly understand if this is the perfect trail for you. Please visit our channel on YouTube and like the video and subscribe to our channel. Putting together these videos is a lot of work!
Photos of this Trail
Below are all the photos we have in our Chamonix Photos collection for this point of interest. All our photos are tagged with the GPS coordinates and linked to the trails that you can take to find the location where the photo was taken. So if you want to see the full details for a specific photo then just click on it.
Trail Directions & Safety Considerations
Risk Considerations & Difficulty Assessment
This route reaches an altitude of 2285m at the Aiguillette des Houches. The trail will usually be clear of snow and fully accessible from mid June to the middle of October but this can vary greatly per year. So make sure to check conditions ahead of time. The trails are well marked with Pierre Blanche, Aiguilette des Houches, Chailloux and Bettey/Flatiere being your main navigation points. The trails are not overly technical. The crest trail up to the Aiguillette has a few rockier parts and at the first summit before the Aiguillette des Houches you have a little rocky piece with a drop on the side that people could experience as slightly uncomfortable. As always we prefer to tackle the more technical bits on the uphill in favor of a smoother downhill descend and this is why we suggest doing this loop in a clock-wise direction. The views are also better this way in our opinion.
Children
9+ Years old
Dogs
This trail takes you right to the edge of the natural reserve. Dogs are allowed as far as we know but we are not 100% on it
Trail Starting Point
The trail starts at the Parking du Bettey. This is a popular car park above Le Coupeau and in summer it can be pretty hard to find a spot. The only larger car park alternatives would be at the Parc Merlet parking bays. If you do end up parking there then you may be better off heading uphil and north first and traversing to Plan de la Cry and then making your way up to Pierre Blanche. If you are coming by car then the bus to Parc Merlet runs in summer. The only other public transport option we are aware of is taking the bus or train to the Les Houches train station and hiking up to Le Bettey. This does add 2 km and 360 vertical meters to your route
Trail Directions
We start at the Parking du Bettey right above Le Coupeau. We stay on the paved road and head west towards la Flatiere. We then turn right and head north on the trail leading towards Samoteux. At Samoteux we take a right and head north in the direction of Pierre Blanche. This trail will climb gently in a northern direction. At the Pierre Blanche junction you will then turn right and follow the trail marker for the Aiguillette des Houches. This brings on the steeper trail that zigzags along the crest all the way up to the first summit before the Aiguilette des Houches. You will need to descend a bit and then do the final small climb to the Aiguillette des Houches which is the summit for this trail. After taking in the views, head back and turn south towards Mont Blanc and descend down towards Chailloux. After the Chalets de Chailloux keep on heading in a eastern and downhill direction and keep following the signs for Le Bettey parking until you get back to the starting point.
Points of Interest
Our hiking and trail running trails around Chamonix are chosen for their natural beauty and variety. We also always try to combine as many sights, attractions and points of interests as possible in our trails. Below you will find a list of the points of interests linked to this trail.
