Within a 45 minute drive of the Chamonix valley there is a wide range of excellent cross country skiing. The Foyers or the Tourist Office in Chamonix have some information or go to www.hautesavoie-tourisme.com for a guide to all the sites in the Haute Savoie (the whole "county").
A special xcountry ski pass can be purchased from any of the "foyers" which covers all the areas in Haute Savoie.
- Giffre valley - Samoens - with 50km of skating
- Les Contamines, a beautiful setting, floodlit skiing on Monday evenings
- Plateau de la Glieres, an important Resistance base during WW2 with a National Monument honouring the dead. 20 km of black pistes.
- Les Saisies, where the xcountry season starts early
- St Gervais, starts at the Bettex, with a piste going to St Nicolas.
- Plain Joux, Passy: Various short pistes in the forest.
- Val Ferret, Italy. The other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel. 25k of pistes.