Croix de Fer from the Col des Aravis

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This is a fairly easy short loop for families, stopping at the Croix de Fer for a superb view of Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains.

Details

n°5518446
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.09 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 165 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 165 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,650 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,485 m
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Photos

Panoramic view

Description of the walk

Park at the Col des Aravis car park, behind the souvenir shop.

(S/E) Take the wide road suitable for vehicles heading south. You will come to a car park with signposts.

(1) Follow the sign for Croix de Fer 1.1 km, continuing straight ahead on the path.

(2) At the intersection, take the hairpin turn to the right and follow the road.

(3) After going around the hill, take the path on the left to climb up to the Croix de Fer.

(4) Once at the Croix de Fer, enjoy the view, then retrace your steps for about 20 metres and turn left onto a path which you leave a little further on to rejoin the path you left earlier on the right. Continue to the left, leaving the Planchaux refuge on your left, and head for the Source des Aravis.

(5) Turn right and rejoin the wide path leading uphill at the car park.

(1) Turn left and retrace your steps to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,485 m - Col des Aravis car park - Col des Aravis
  2. 1 : km 0.87 - alt. 1,550 m - Car park, junction of the loop
  3. 2 : km 1.64 - alt. 1,603 m - Fork, right
  4. 3 : km 2.02 - alt. 1,640 m - Fork to the left
  5. 4 : km 2.23 - alt. 1,649 m - Croix de Fer
  6. 5 : km 2.88 - alt. 1,611 m - Source des Aravis
  7. S/E : km 4.08 - alt. 1,485 m - Col des Aravis car park - Col des Aravis

Notes

No special equipment is required; a small bag with water and possibly a sandwich is sufficient.
Don't forget your binoculars if you like to linger along the way.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 21 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
DDx
DDx

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Follow the route carefully.... Do not take the path on the right at the start, stay on the forest road.
You will return via this path. The reason is that the view is much more beautiful in this direction.

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User 15717306

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Enjoy the ride to warm up and discover beautiful landscapes.

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LERCHER
LERCHER

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely short hike with beautiful views, unfortunately Mont Blanc was hidden by clouds when we got there
The only downside: part of the hike is on a track with traffic (cars, motorcycles).
A note about the route: after the Croix de Fer (4), the path through the mountain pasture is closed (fence). You therefore need to return to point 3 and turn left towards the goat farm.
The path downhill (between 5 and 1) is badly damaged over a short distance.

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User 14250609

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

An easy family hike with beautiful views and very pleasant.

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User 4884662

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Great family hike!!! Easy, enjoyable with beautiful views. Recommended.

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Cécile et geo
Cécile et geo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb views. We did it with two dogs. Watch out for herds of goats with patous (goat dogs). We stayed on the trail and they barked, but we got through without any problems.

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User 22971341

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

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User 17209322

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful panorama. Easy and pleasant walk with a superb view.

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Nelly Morcel
Nelly Morcel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful snowshoe hike with a breathtaking view at the end, especially on a sunny day

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JULLIE
JULLIE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pretty, easy walk, even when there is a lot of snow. Several groups of snowshoers had compacted the snow enough to make it easy to walk on with just suitable footwear.
A short distance with varied landscapes and beautiful views.

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fadiese57
fadiese57

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We set off very early in the morning to see the sunrise over the Mont Blanc landscape.
Magnificent!

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Steph622
Steph622

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Superb walk with magnificent views...

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Hugo38500
Hugo38500

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely little walk, very easy, very/too busy, but a great way to get away from it all and enjoy beautiful high mountain scenery in just an hour and a half!

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ALEX69
ALEX69

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Easy circuit. Very crowded, but that was also due to the Tour de France passing through two days later! And it was the weekend of 14 July.
Beautiful views.

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Gil4571
Gil4571

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant hike to stretch our legs upon arrival in the Alps.
But it was very crowded, even in September, and there were lots of 4x4s among the hikers

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