French ski areas begin opening for brief periods for the 2026 summer ski season this weekend.
Val d’Isère had initially announced a three-week opening from this weekend, but now says it hopes to offer summer glacier skiing for five weeks, to 12th July, if conditions permit.
The resort offers skiing and riding on the Pisaillas Glacier, accessed via the Col de l’Iseran, with slopes divided up between race team training and the general skiing public. Summer ski terrain is located between 2,725m and 3,197m and served by the Cascade chairlift and Montets drag lifts. Three runs open to the public are Moraine, Montet and Combe du Géant.
On Friday morning the Pisteurs Secouristes de Val d’Isère noted, “Feeling happy, -3.5C° in Pissaillas, a little fresh snow at altitude,” and posted the image above.
Just across the valley, Tignes will open its Grande Motte Glacier for summer skiing and riding in a fortnight’s time, from 20th June to 19th July 2026, again subject to snow conditions. Skiable terrain in summer spans roughly 2,724m to 3,456m, with early-morning access via the Perce-Neige funicular and then Grande Motte cable car, and a selection of high-alpine chairlifts and surface lifts. The glacier typically offers up to 20km of pistes and again attracts both recreational skiers and race clubs.
The two areas join Les 2 Alpes, which is still operating its 2025-26 season, having kept ski lifts running daily since early December last year and intending to carry on to 5th July. The resort is one of France’s best-known summer ski destinations, with its high-altitude glacier long used by both recreational skiers and race teams.
It has given mixed messages in recent weeks, seeming to say in some posts that from 1st June to 7th July its glacier slopes are only open to race teams, but when asked resort representatives stress anyone can still go up and ski and ride alongside the race teams training.
Together, Les 2 Alpes, Tignes and Val d’Isère remain France’s main glacier options for those looking to ski or board in June, with summer skiing in France generally now limited to short windows and dependent on glacier and snow conditions.
Three other glaciers are open through June in the Alps at Hintertux in Austria, Passo Stelvio in Italy and Zermatt/Cervinia on the Swiss/Italian border. You can also ski at the Stryn and Galdhøpiggen glaciers in Norway and at weekends at Riksgränsen in the Swedish Arctic Circle until midsummer.
For those looking beyond the snow, France’s major ski resorts have also built up a wide range of summer mountain activities, with resorts including Les 2 Alpes, Tignes and Val d’Isère among those featured in guides to France in summer and the best ski resorts to visit in summer.