Winter hiking : Les Combes en famille

This hike has been designed to make your children and adults move forward in a playful way, allowing everyone to discover nature while having fun. Challenges and games: a great way to motivate yourself and enjoy our beautiful environment.

Conditions of 4 April 2026:
Spring conditions. Snow cover is now very patchy

Practical advice:
Walking shoes are the better option.

This walk is like a game :

1. Ice rink roof, Cascade de la Fare, Col du Couard.
2. This old dwelling near the Flumet stream was used : to the field warden to watch the forest and take shelter, to shelter the tools of the fields, used water power and is an old mill.
3. As you make your way through the forest, try to recognise the tracks of the squirrel.
   An inhabitant that is very often found in the undergrowth in winter, because it hides under the branches at night or on bad weather days, the roe deer, this is what its tracks look like that you can see in the forest.
   Two types of hares inhabit the mountain in winter. One is brown and the other carries the Arctic gene: the mountain hare. It is grey-brown in summer and white in winter. This camouflages it from predators such as foxes and wolves. It is very discreet and moves around at night. The top of its ears remain black.
4. You are surrounded by hardwoods...
   the beech trees, which in our regions are called fayard, our firewood, so the origin of the word would come from fire from elsewhere. The path can be dug in places, these signs of life speak to you...winter is hard for the different species, it is cold, nature is covered in snow, so you have to go and look for food under the depth of the snow, scratch to the ground to find bulbs, seeds, faines...wild boar, deer, roe deer and chamois can do this.
5. Observe the bark of some shrubs, it is sometimes nibbled. Several species are responsible for this!
   Hare and roe deer, sometimes stag and chamois...not easy to know who is involved...so just observe the height of the mark, a good indicator...the stag being higher than the roe deer which will be higher than the hare...

! WARNING ! Check snow conditions: snowshoes may be necessary for this route.

The hiker should choose a trip according to his or her ability, physical condition, outdoor skills and the topography of the terrain. The level of difficulty of a hiking trail is classified into three levels: Easy, Intermediate and Difficult. Snowshoers should take this classification into account.

From the Tourist Office, take the escalator down to the cable car. From there, take the inclined lift stopping at level 1. Follow the road on the left down to the roundabout, and take the path to Les Combes, indicated by the yellow signs. This path winds through the fields and takes you to the mill, the first house on your left at the bottom of this first descent. You continue on the left towards les combes, La Villette. You cross the bridge over the Flumet stream, then head left to follow a path in the forest. The path leads to the arrival station of the Montfrais cable car.