Written by Archie Strachan (13).

In Chamonix, you will be sure to find a wide variety of activities wether it be winter or summer.

So here are 5 activities that kids and teenagers will love during the summer season:

5. At number five we have one of my personal favourites… the Luge Alpine Rollercoaster.

Situated in the center of town, you will find the Chamonix amusement park, with many fun rides such as;

a water toboggan, ferris wheel, trampolines and many more. But the fairground's main attraction is the alpine luge coaster. On this high speed coaster you will experience a long ascent where you can admire the views of Chamonix town and the mountains that surround it. Once you arrive at its peak, you will be plunged into a fast paced descent where you will encounter many twists and turns ( there’s even a camera that will take your picture, so heighten your reflexes and strike a pose!). It is also important to mention that each coaster can hold two people, the person at the back will control your speed and the person in front will navigate (a bit like a rally car on rollercoaster tracks!). If you’re feeling hungry you can head over to the café/restaurant situated just below the luge.(I recommend the hot chocolate with lots of cream.)

4. At number four, we have the Richard Bozon swimming pool. This is Chamonix’s awesome waterpark, which is perfect for a hot summer day in the valley. Just head on over to town and you will probably be able to see the huge green waterslide that towers over the park. Here, you will encounter numerous water slides, open pools, indoor pools (the main one including a tunnel), big Jacuzzis and olympic sized swimming pools inside and outside. This water park is surprisingly big - next to it, you can also find a bar where you can get ice-creams, sandwiches and beverages. I can tell from personal experience, that this is not to be missed, you can have hours of fun on the slides, in the pools or just kicking a ball in the grass.

3. Up next at number three we have the Mont Blanc indoor climbing gym situated in Les Houches. I have to say that i don’t know too much about this place (seeing as i’ve only been here once, but someone who does know it is my mother who used to work here and set a lot of the routes). What I do know is that it is an amazing training facility, full of many routes wether you’re interested in bouldering or route climbing, there is something for everyone here. Plus it’s a great opportunity to train for the mountains if you’re looking to go rock climbing, and who knows, you might even meet some of Chamonix’s best mountain guides training for their next adventure.

2. And at number two we have Chamonix’s skateparks. Now, if you’re like me and are absolutely obsessed with BMX, you’ll love the chamonix skatepark and the Servoz pump track. The chamonix skate park is situated on the outskirts of town, near the tennis club. And here you will find a reasonably big skatepark with many sections, one being a street section with a mini half pipe, a quater pipe, stairs and rails etc… Then, you will find the middle part of the park with a huge flowey bowl with different sections, perfect for bmx park riders and skateboarders willing to tackle the huge vert ramp at the back. Finally, towards the right or forward ( depending on how you look at it) is another street section, that is slightly more flowey than the first one , the difference with this one is that it connects with a ramp that you can jump or roll (depending on your skill) that leads to the first section making for an awesome line that you can interpret whichever way that you want.

Then you have the Servoz pump track situated in the village of Servoz. To be honest, I’ve never been here before, but from what I’ve seen it looks awesome, the perfect place for BMX riders like me.

1. And finally at number one, my favourite activity on the list is… Mountain Biking! Chamonix is amazing for it! You can do cross country runs across town and into the forest, you can do downhill runs from the chairlifts, you can explore the mountain trails all the way into Switzerland if you please. But I think the common choice will be going up a chairlift to the top of a mountain and sending it on jumps, berms and technical downhill routes. There’s also a wide variety of places that you can rent bikes from like intersport and other local bike shops, and if you want to get the full experience, you can bring your bike and test it to its limits. If you’re like me and want a good technical downhill ride and a stunning view with jumps and flow, I recommend Les Houches or Le Tour where you can find a variety of trails and single track with wood features like bridges. If you want a cross country run I recommend going next to Les bois where you’ll find pump-tracks, dirt trails and long calm trails next to rivers and forests. If you want to freeride and explore Chamonix’s true nature there are many mountain guides and maps to show you the way into an epic adventure.

Well there you have it; 5 activities that I think kids and teenagers will love. Hopefully this helps you find some fun in this gorgeous valley!

/ Archie