Go on holiday in Avoriaz with your dog
Is the dream destination for your next vacation with your dog Avoriaz? Discover the Avoriaz resort in winter and summer as well as the adventures of Céline and her pack, fans of dog sports!
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Hello Wouafer's! Today, I present to you a new article for mountain fans and lovers of hiking and even cani-rando. In this article, I give the floor to Céline and all her canine team who will tell us about their stay in Avoriaz. Not knowing this resort in the Alps well, I leave you in good hands and good feet to discover all the activities and hikes to do with your dog in Avoriaz.
The mountain is super cool and it's not just for winter! Céline therefore takes us to discover this beautiful resort in the Alps located on the territory of the municipality of Morzine, in Haute-Savoie.
Going to the mountains in summer with dogs is possible! And Céline will explain everything to you! Quickly discover this beautiful destination and enjoy the freshness of the mountains to spend a great summer!
Come on Céline, it's up to you, tell us everything about the mountain in summer!
Avoriaz, a dog-friendly ski resort
Hello Wouafer's. I'm Celine. A fan of winter sports with my dogs, it was the first time I had tried the mountain experience in summer. Our choice of vacation fell on Avoriaz station en Haute-Savoie, somewhat by chance. I'm going to tell you about our experience and share my good plans with you, hoping that it will make you want to go to the mountains this summer with your dog; why not ?
I wouldn't say everything was perfect. It never is. But I would qualify this resort as dog-friendly! We encountered no difficulties as we were traveling with 3 dogs, 2 puppies and 1 adult.
Musher and Sophie: “If you like canine sports to share with your dog and you love the mountains and the snow, I advise you to take a look at this article: The Top 5 winter sports to try out with your dog ! This article will keep you waiting until this winter! :)”
Feedback on a week of cani-hiking in Avoriaz
Our thing with us, it is the canine sport. We were going to the mountains mainly with the idea of hiking as much as possible, and that's what we did! The Avoriaz resort is full of more or less long trails. Enough to keep us busy throughout our 5 day stay!
We preferred to stay on the station, the movements being difficult. Indeed, Avoriaz is a car-free city. Which implies that it must stay at the entrance, which earned us funny moments with the luggage trolleys to go to our accommodation, which was obviously at the other end 😉 It's quite a logistics but, finally, what a pleasure to be able to walk safely with our dogs! No main road on the horizon, only calm. And more serenity for the mother hens of which I am a part 😉
Our accommodation was therefore at the very end of the city. We therefore had the most beautiful view of the mountain! We chose a residence that belongs to the Maeva group. Far from being luxurious, the apartments of this chain offer several advantages. They accept dogs without number limit even if a supplement must be paid per dog. They have a lot of availability and different types of apartments for several budgets, which it must be said are quite reasonable. And their floors have no carpet! This is often the case in the mountains and it therefore guided our choice…because with a 4-month-old puppy…we had to be far-sighted!
Behind our residence, there was an area with an almost dry lake where we used to run the dogs! Framed by the mountains, this place was quite safe! Little risk of running away, little passing, water to refresh our dogs, large spaces and good visibility to watch over Balto, who likes to go exploring while pretending not to hear us remind him 😉 A beautiful plain of games close to the center. The only place where we were able to let our dogs run free, the mountain being authorized for dogs but on a leash, and, in any case, too dangerous for the free.
The hiking trails start on all sides! We have tested them all, cani-rando, or cani-trail. They are almost all accessible except the one that goes to the high forts, which has a portion that is similar to via ferrata. For the hikes, we organized ourselves a little on the fly! Difficult to give the names of the hikes we did. On the other hand, I have the GPX tracks that you can request from me via my instagram so I can forward them to you if they interest you! And it is also possible to look on the Avoriaz tourist office website for some hiking information.
The marked trail paths are very nice for training or to vary the pleasures a bit. They are much more technical and more “natural”. We also really enjoyed walking on the ridges in front of our apartment. Balto stopped on the heights to watch the herds of Swiss cows that could be seen below.
Musher and Sophie: “While hiking in the summer, it is very common to come across herds grazing and enjoying the good grass at altitude. These herds are watched very closely by patous, large mountain dogs that protect them from predators such as wolves or bears for example. Patous are not “domestic” dogs and they are not there to frolic quietly bilou like your dog. They are at “work” and if you approach the sheep, cows or others they are responsible for monitoring and protecting, beware of danger. The patou will not give you a gift and will consider you a danger and an enemy just like your dog, which he will take for a predator. Find out how to act and react to avoid trouble in the patous in the article Hiking with your dog cannot be improvised. "
We were even able to find some snow that he enjoyed rolling around in! There were herds that were far away. It happened to us once to pass in the middle of a herd. The cows weren't afraid of us at all, fortunately because Balto didn't care since they weren't running in all directions. When we walked, we heard the cowbells from afar, which allowed us to avoid or circumvent them. If I have any advice for you if you encounter herds, it is to be wary of herding dogs like the Pyrenean Mountains also called Patous. These are dogs that defend their herds so they are just doing their job and an accident should not happen so the best thing is to get around the herd if you can. But fortunately, the places where they are likely to be are indicated on signs with safety instructions. We didn't come across any of them and avoided areas with these types of signs.
The mountain paths are full of small fresh streams, practical for ravito, but despite everything we always had a full water bottle for safety.
In terms of gear, mountainous routes can damage our dogs' pads! Dog socks or booties and moisturizing/repairing balm could probably help you out. I also always go with arnica and traumeel in case of human or canine pain. During these routes, I only hiked with Balto because the girls were still too young. Balto was still attached. Freestyle is prohibited in the nature reserve, and anyway my dog has only a rough recall with a very strong hunting instinct so I can't afford to let him roam. For the free, in the mountains, I would advise not to practice it. The ground can be dangerous for our dogs with risks of falls for example. For hiking, for more comfort, I use cani-hiking equipment. I often use a harness, I even have one with very nice pockets to avoid having to systematically take a backpack. I also take an elastic lanyard. And for walking, I put their Y-shaped walking harness on them. I make a clear distinction between the walking and traction harness so that it is clear for the dog. For walking harnesses, I use the DOG Copenhagen brand but unfortunately I'm a little disappointed. In fact, the comfort I had before was great, but I took the lighter ones to avoid going through my head and there I find that on this model the quality doesn't really follow... But I also a harness from Ruffwear that I like a lot ! For the choice of harness, a front attachment can be very practical for difficult descents. For all my canine traction equipment, everything comes from Alphadogsport which is a Belgian brand.
Musher and Sophie: “Walking or hiking with your dog is really great. But if doggie hurts himself, it's much less funny… And we can be very scared. That's why I advise you never to go on vacation without a first aid kit for your 4-legged. If you don't know what to put in your first aid kit, discover a perfect item for you and your dog: Your dog's first aid kit ! "
Find QUALIDOG-certified accommodation in Haute Savoie
Discover a Trop W'ouf selection of QUALIDOG-certified accommodation for a mountain holiday with your dog!
Avoriaz in summer with his dog
Everything is therefore easily accessible in Avoriaz, within reach, so easy with your dog. But you have to like places for tourists. The place gives the impression of a space completely planned for the vacationer. Little cachet, charm. We feel like locked in an XXL holiday club. We were a little disappointed not to find this typical mountain side that we like so much. But in reality, that's not what counts for our dogs, who really enjoyed everything with us.
I have kept all the traces of our hikes. Feel free to contact me via my Facebook page The Nordic Squad, if you want to take advantage of it!
Musher and Sophie: “Besides the Wouafer's, if you want to discover the mountains in summer, I share an article that will allow you to find yourself there to prepare your outings or your holidays in the mountains with your dog: Where to hike with your dog ! You will be able to discover hikes to do with your dog and also what to put in your backpack to go to the mountains in summer with your dog!”
Thank you very much for your testimony Céline! You made me want to discover Avoriaz with Musher. The program is attractive between hikes, trails and swimming. You describe an “easy” vacation with his dog. Thank you again Céline for sharing with us your stay with your dogs! We can't wait to discover your next adventures as a Dog-reporter! And if you want to find out more about Céline and her pretty darlings, I invite you to discover their portrait of Dog-Reporters: Céline and her pack: our Dog-Reporters in canicross !