Skiing in Auvergne: which resort to choose for your level and budget

Where can you ski in Auvergne? Six resorts, four massifs, and a short answer. For choice and a lively scene, Super-Besse. For rugged terrain and a wilder feel, Le Mont-Dore, on the other side of the same Sancy. To start out as a family without breaking the bank, Chastreix-Sancy. From Aurillac or the south, Le Lioran, the biggest, with a train station at the foot of the resort. That leaves Les Estables and Prabouré: two small ski areas to learn on. We go through each resort in detail: its figures, its published prices and its 2026-2027 dates.

01The answer in 30 seconds

• You want it all, pistes, tobogganing and night skiing: Super-Besse, 32 pistes, 9 of them floodlit.
• You ski well and like rugged terrain: Le Mont-Dore, north slope, up to 1,850 m.
• You're a beginner family on a small budget: Chastreix-Sancy, a day pass at €26.30 in 2025-2026.
• You're coming from Aurillac or the south: Le Lioran, 42 pistes and a train stop at the foot of the resort.
• You're in Haute-Loire or on the Saint-Étienne side: Les Estables, a day pass at €18 in 2025-2026.
• You want to learn for next to nothing: Prabouré, six downhill pistes and two drag lifts.

All our cold-season pages are on the winter page.

02The comparison table of the six resorts

For Le Mont-Dore, Chastreix-Sancy and Les Estables, the price shown is the 2025-2026 season's. Opening dates move with the snow cover, and journey times are road estimates.

03Super-Besse: the resort that has it all, including the evening

The best known, and that's no accident. The ski area of the Super-Besse resort covers the south slope of the Sancy, from 1,350 to 1,850 m: 32 pistes (6 green, 12 blue, 9 red, 5 black) and 19 lifts, including a cable car that swallows 3,000 people an hour and two covered magic carpets. Around 70% of the area is fitted with snow cannons, and here, that matters.

What makes the difference is night skiing: 9 floodlit pistes from 17:00 to 20:00, every day except Friday and Saturday during school holidays, and on Saturdays outside the holidays. The night pass on its own is €16.40, all ages (2026-2027 price list). Skiing down under the floodlights is the kind of memory that stays with you.

The 2026-2027 season is already priced: €43.50 for an adult day pass (ages 26 to 64), €31 for a child (5 to 15), €34.70 for a young person (16 to 25), €37.90 for ages 65 to 74, €36.80 for 4 hours, €236 for 6 days. The real bargain is low season: from Monday to Thursday outside the holidays, the adult day pass drops to €26.10. Under-5s and over-75s ski free.

One thing to know: there is no beginner day pass here. The €8.50 rate, all ages, is a night pass valid only on the Lou Petiot magic carpet and the Débutant drag lift, from 17:00 to 20:00. The season opens on Saturday 19 December 2026 and closes on Sunday 28 March 2027, subject to snow cover.

Who is it for? Groups of friends and families of mixed abilities. On days when the weather turns, we've listed what to do in Super-Besse when it rains.

04Le Mont-Dore: the north slope, the wildest

A different atmosphere. The Le Mont-Dore resort climbs the north slope of the Sancy, from 1,200 to 1,850 m. Count on 35 pistes (14 green, 12 blue, 6 red, 3 black) and 14 lifts: one cable car, three chairlifts with boarding carpets, nine drag lifts including a free beginner drag lift, and one magic carpet. Around 60% of the area is covered by snow cannons.

The north slope holds snow better, and the upper pistes have a slightly Alpine feel. When the link with Super-Besse is open, your lift pass gives you access to the second ski area.

Watch out for the detail that can cost you dearly on a holiday morning: the link does not open up everything. With a Super-Besse pass, five Le Mont-Dore lifts are open to you, and only on days when the link is running. In the other direction, a Le Mont-Dore pass gives access to some of the Super-Besse lifts, on the same condition.

A note for the autumn: the Sancy cable car is closed for maintenance from 31 August to 18 December 2026, with reopening announced for 19 December. Nothing changes for winter, but until then the Puy de Sancy has to be reached on foot: our guide to climbing the Puy de Sancy details the routes.

On prices, here is the 2025-2026 price list, for a sense of scale: €42.70 for an adult day pass, €30.40 for a child, €36.20 for 4 hours, €231.60 for 6 days, plus €2.20 for the hands-free card. On top of that there was a 50% discount from Monday to Thursday in certain weeks outside the holidays, which made the adult day pass €21 in 2025-2026. The ski area ran from 20 December 2025 to 22 March 2026. For 2026-2027, opening is announced for Saturday 19 December 2026 and closing for Sunday 21 March 2027, subject to snow cover. Children who don't ski yet have the Sancy Park, three secure toboggan runs with a covered moving carpet.

Who is it for? Those who prefer rugged terrain to a lively scene, and families staying in the spa town: our picks are in where to stay in Le Mont-Dore.

05Chastreix-Sancy: the family resort of the massif

The west slope of the Sancy is the quietest of the three. The Chastreix-Sancy resort has 18 pistes (6 green, 5 blue, 5 red, 2 black) between 1,350 and 1,730 m, 7 drag lifts, a covered magic carpet and 28 snow cannons. No chairlift, and proper red pistes to progress on.

The price does the rest: €26.30 for an adult day pass, €21.50 for a child, €22.50 for a half-day, €128.20 for 6 days (2025-2026 price list). Under-4s don't pay. In 2025-2026, the resort offered a single rate of €15 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 13 to 28 January, then from 9 to 11 March: if the offer comes back, it is the cheapest lift pass on the massif. On the same price list, the Loup magic carpet was €11.70 for a half-day, for everyone.

The downside: the altitude tops out at 1,730 m, and with no chairlift everything depends on the snow at the bottom of the drag lifts. For 2026-2027, opening is announced for Saturday 19 December 2026 and closing for Sunday 21 March 2027, subject to snow cover. Keep Super-Besse as plan B on the other side of the massif.

06Le Lioran: the Cantal's big ski area, train included

Change massif. Le Lioran occupies the heart of the Monts du Cantal, from 1,160 m at the resort up to 1,855 m at the Plomb du Cantal, served by a cable car: departures every 15 minutes depending on how busy it is, from 09:15 to 17:00, last ride up at 16:45. The ski area has 42 pistes and 17 lifts. Pistes through the forest, and hollows that fill up well.

The 2026-2027 price list is published: €42.90 for an adult day pass (ages 18 to 74), €34.50 for a junior (12 to 17), €29.60 for a child (5 to 11). The adult 4-hour pass is €34.30, 6 days is €223.30, and a beginner pass exists at €23.50 a day. Free before age 5 and from age 75. Opening is announced from Saturday 19 December 2026 to Sunday 21 March 2027, with possible pre-openings on December weekends if the snow is there.

The unique asset is the station. The Clermont-Ferrand / Aurillac / Toulouse line stops at Lioran Village, at the bottom of the resort, and a free shuttle goes up to the base area. In 2025-2026, the train + ski deal gave 50% off the TER (regional train) return fare and a lift pass reserved for train travellers, at €35 for an adult day and €27 for a child. By road, allow about forty minutes from Aurillac and around 1 hour 30 from Clermont.

07Les Estables: learning at the foot of the Mézenc

In Haute-Loire, Les Estables is the highest village in the Massif Central, at 1,343 m, with a resort the size of a hamlet: 9 pistes and 7 lifts, including 6 drag lifts and a rope tow, between 1,350 and 1,690 m. The pricing is in proportion: €18 for an adult day pass, €14 for under-16s and students, €15 for a half-day, €13 from 15:30, €90 for 6 days (2025-2026 price list). The opening of the 2026-2027 season follows the snow cover on the plateau.

The real selling point is the Mézenc Nordic area, a few minutes from the village: 8 groomed trails covering 52 km, plus five snowshoe routes of 1.7 to 7.5 km. An adult session costs €9.50, and €4.50 for ages 5 to 15 (2025-2026). To sleep on site, Les Chalets du Mézenc are a stone's throw away. From Clermont it is far: the resort is aimed more at Le Puy and Saint-Étienne.

08Prabouré: the little ski area of the Forez

In the Livradois-Forez, above Saint-Anthème, Prabouré is a resort at 1,400 m. The ski area has 8 pistes, including two blue ones that are in fact Nordic trails: that leaves six downhill pistes, three green and three red, served by two drag lifts and a moving carpet. The site has its own page on our site: the Prabouré mountain activity park. For 2026-2027: €15 for an adult day pass, €13 for children and students, €70 for the week. The Nordic area offers loops of 2.9 to 19 km from three entry points, adult session at €9, and a toboggan run completes the picture.

The dates are announced: from Saturday 5 December 2026 to Sunday 7 March 2027. From 19 December to 3 January, then from 6 February to 7 March, everything runs from 09:00 to 17:00; for the rest of the season, it's Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The snow still has the final say: the status of each installation is published day by day, so check it before you leave.

09Cross-country skiing: the Nordic areas

Auvergne is cross-country skiing country, and the plateaux often hold snow better than the bottom of the resorts.

• The Espace nordique du Sancy: a single fee covering six sectors (Besse, Super-Besse, La Bourboule, Chastreix, Le Mont-Dore, La Stèle) for about 200 km of marked trails, at €10 for an adult day, €5 for under-18s, €42 for 5 days, free before age 6 (2025-2026).
• Le Guéry, above the Lac de Guéry: 58 km of marked trails (2 green, 1 blue, 1 red, 1 black, 3 routes). Our favourite for a first time: flat at the start, forest, then the plateau opening up. The 2026-2027 season pass is already on sale: €80 for adults in pre-sale until 15 November 2026, €100 afterwards.
• Prat de Bouc Haute-Planèze, on either side of the Plomb du Cantal: four entry points (Prat de Bouc, Le Lioran, Le Ché, Cézens), €9.50 for an adult day and €4 for ages 5 to 15 (2025-2026).
• Le Mézenc, at Les Estables: 52 km, see above.

The Cézallier completes the list, with more occasional trails.

10When the snow is there (and when it isn't)

Let's be frank: these resorts peak between 1,690 and 1,855 m, and the bottoms of their pistes are between 1,160 and 1,400 m. That's low. A thaw in January, and the bottom of the ski area turns green. Hence the artificial snow.

• December: don't book with your eyes closed. Some winters, only the carpets and the top of the ski area are running at Christmas.
• Late January to early March: the safest window. The north slope at Le Mont-Dore and the top of Le Lioran hold up even after a thaw.
• Check the snow report the day before, not the Clermont weather.
• Outside the holidays, go Monday to Thursday: Super-Besse at €26.10, Le Mont-Dore at half price in certain weeks (that was the case in 2025-2026).

11Without skiing: tobogganing, snowshoes, evenings

Going along with skiers without putting on skis yourself? At Super-Besse, the Fantasy Luge runs 2,500 m down from the top of the Perdrix cable car, toboggan and helmet included in a €14.20 package; two toboggan areas await the youngest. At Le Mont-Dore, the Sancy Park does the same job, and at Chastreix there are two toboggan runs. At Le Lioran, the Déval'luge and the ice rink take over. On snowshoes, the Nordic areas sell day-long pedestrian access.

12Renting equipment, sleeping at the foot of the pistes

Equipment is rented on the spot. At Le Mont-Dore, there is Locasport, in town: you rent before heading up to the pistes. Book online during the February holidays. To sleep with your skis on your feet, or nearly, the Le Bois de la Reine residence at Super-Besse and Les Chalets du Mézenc at Les Estables do the job.

13The budget for a family day

Two adults and two children aged 8 and 10, day lift passes only: about €149 at Super-Besse and €145 at Le Lioran (2026-2027 price lists), €146 at Le Mont-Dore, €96 at Chastreix-Sancy and €64 at Les Estables (2025-2026 basis), €56 at Prabouré (2026-2027 price list). That's where the choice is made.