The Vercors, a vast limestone plateau ringed by steep cliffs between Grenoble and Valence, offers generous, varied mountain biking terrain: dense fir forest, open pasture, and a trail network partly inherited from the Villard-de-Lans and Corrençon-en-Vercors cross-country ski domain, repurposed for MTB in summer.
A plateau between forest and pasture
From Villard-de-Lans, the massif’s largest resort, the route heads into the fir and pine forest that covers much of the plateau, before opening in places onto pasture with clear views of the cliffs ringing the Vercors — a sharp contrast between the forest cover and these panoramic openings.
A typical day loop: around 35 km and 800 m of climbing between Villard-de-Lans, Corrençon-en-Vercors and the Autrans area, on terrain that mixes wide, flowing tracks inherited from the cross-country ski trails with more technical singletrack under the trees.
How to approach the ride
The Vercors is a karstic limestone massif: terrain can be slippery on exposed rocky sections, especially after rain, and some areas have sinkholes and fissures best left unexplored off-trail. A versatile tyre suits the range of terrain found on the plateau well.
MTB waymarking is generally good on the official routes linking Villard-de-Lans, Corrençon and Autrans, with several clearly signed loops at different levels.
When to go
The useful season runs from June to September. The massif gets heavy snow in winter (Villard-de-Lans and Autrans are former Olympic cross-country ski resorts) and trails can stay damp in spring. July-August offers the best riding conditions, though with noticeably more traffic on the best-known trails.
Good to know
Villard-de-Lans, a well-equipped year-round resort, has a wide choice of accommodation and MTB rental shops (including e-MTBs), with direct access to the plateau and the massif’s other villages for varying routes over several days.
