Twelve of our favorite Family Hikes around Geneva!
The Alps and the Jura are known to be beautiful places to hike. But how about beautiful walks or family hikes around Geneva, or not too far away? Here is a list of great destinations within a day trip distance from Geneva. Places where you can soak up beautiful views, have a picnic, or enjoy other fun activities in the outdoors!
1 – Mont Mourex, Ain, France
Mont Mourex is a beautiful place to enjoy views over Geneva and the lake and to have a picnic! Mont Mourex is located roughly between Gex and Divonne in the Ain region of neighboring France. To access there, we usually pass through Cessy to go to the small town of Mourex. A road will leave to the right to take you to a small parking lot. The last part of the road is a bit bumpy. From there you can walk over the meadows, see the cows and enjoy the views. We had our picnic on the highest part. Lovely place! You can also go to this viewpoint from the other side by going up through the woods. This is a good alternative on hot days. The starting point for that alternative, would be to park your car at the La Ferme du Mont-Mussy restaurant. You will find this on your left side when you leave Divonne-les-bains in the direction of Gex.
2 – Lac de Roy, Praz de Lys Sommand
In the Haute-Savoie in France. I found this hike when I was looking for an accessible, short hike which would lead us to a mountain lake. Do-able with young kids without carrying them, and without them being demotivated by a long hike. This was perfect! The starting point for this easy hike is at the Parking du Col de la Ramaz. This col is located between Sommand and Praz de Lys.
3 – La Dôle, on both sides of the French and Swiss border
We have done this one several times and love hiking here! If you are lucky, you may be able to observe chamois. You drive up from Nyon in the direction of Saint-Cergue and then follow the signs in the direction of Gingins, and then La Dôle. You park either at the restaurant La Barillette and walk towards the weather station (the round ball shaped building on top of the mountain), or you try to park closer to the start of the hike. When you have finished your hike, the restaurant La Barillette is highly recommended for drinks or some of their Swiss specialties! Going all the way up may be too much for small kids. We have done it with our eldest son when he was little, but with a picnic in our bag and a lot of short breaks. When they get bigger, they can of course go all the way up. This is one of our favorite family hikes near Geneva!
4 – Russin and the Rhone river
Very close to Geneva! This nature reserve, Réserve naturelle des Teppes de Verbois, along the Rhone river is not so much known. It is not a mountain hike, but still a beautiful walk. It has little wooden observation houses to see birds. I always find it amazing to see what’s on the other side. Calm waters, vineyards and the view on the Jura mountains. It seems like a paradise for birds to come to this peaceful place! This walk is mainly in the shade, so very good on hot days! If you continue you will cross the Allondon river by walking over a bridge under the train tracks. This is a good place to refresh your feet in the (usually cold) water, or to have a picnic. On real hot days families install themselves here for a BBQ, and kids wade in the water and adventure around.
To get to this family friendly hike close to Geneva: in the village of Russin, follow the sign to the railway station, take the road steeply down and cross the train tracks. Forget about the two first tiny parking lots, but continue until you see a bigger parking lot on your right hand side. Your walk begins here, even though in the beginning it doesn’t look like a nature walk with the electricity poles, but just keep walking and you will get there. Including bird watching, and throwing stones in the Allondon river, my little one and me have spent two hours at this walk. Russin is also accessible by train from Geneva.
5 – Moulin-de-vert nature reserve, Cartigny
More beautiful family hikes around Geneva!
Located on the other side of the Rhone river, exactly opposite the Teppes de Verbois reserve. The nature reserve called Moulin-de-vert is also a nice place for a family hike in nature in the Geneva countryside.
The starting point of this round loop hike is in the small town of Cartigny. You park at the main parking lot and follow the signs to Moulin-de-Vert.
The first part of the hike will be a steep descent, so not really suitable for strollers. It will then lead you through fields and along the water. Partly the Rhone river, and partly small waters and small lakes. Some parts of the walk have bridges crossing the wet land parts. There is no restaurant in the nature reserve, but there are some picnic tables.
History of the Moulin-de-vert
The name of the nature reserve refers to the water mills that were placed in Cartigny already in the 15th century. Along your hike you will find remains of one of the old mills. There is a sign explaining the history of the site.
6 – Geneva Vineyards
We love walking in Geneva’s vineyards! Satigny, Dardagny and Russin have a lot of walking paths or quiet roads. Your children can choose to walk, or bring their scooter. We have already described an area in Satigny in our Autumn hikes article, but the Geneva vineyards are good to go to any season. We recently went for a walk in the small town Dardagny, and have discovered such a beautiful hidden gem! A little café / restaurant called La Cabuche, in the middle of the vineyards! At La Cabuche you can order a local ham and cheese platter, slices of bread with jam or locally known ‘Cenovis’, home made ice-tea and local wines. You can warm up inside on cold days, or enjoy the terrace on sunny days. La Cabuche is not accessible by car, you have to walk uphil to get there. This is cool because not only will you get to enjoy the beautiful vineyards, but also, your children can roam around without danger. When it is colder, they do have games on the first floor for kids, but the stairs are steep, so if your children are small, make sure to accompany them.
How to get to La Cabuche:
You park right in front of the Auberge in Dardagny, and then you take the small road which leads you towards the vineyards, you cannot miss it really. And if you look well, you will already see La Cabuche on top of the hill. So you could make this a ‘very short’ family hike. However, you can also walk around and enjoy the beautiful scenery as long as you like. To get to La Cabuche however, you will have to go up, but you will not regret this.
La Cabuche is only open on weekends and is a small place. If there is many of you going, best is to call in advance. Their website: La Cabuche.
7 – Le Bois de la Roulave, Dardagny
Also in Dardagny, the vast nature reserve of the Allondon river with its ‘Centre Pro Natura’, but also a smaller river, la Roulave. Along the Roulave river, you will be able to walk on very nice bridges and also see some bituminous caves.
From the parking lot, this family friendly (but not stroller accessible) hike, first takes you through the forest, along the Roulave river, and to a viewing point where you will be able to see the first 3 caves. Educational signs along the way about the caves, the plants that grow here, and the history of the site. Further along the way you will get to nice maintained wooden bridges, alongside 2 more caves. Once you get out of the forest, you will find yourself at the bus stop called Roulave and you then take a left, and head back to the parking lot by a nice stroll through the vineyards with a view on Geneva and the Alps.
Duration: about 1 hour for the round loop.
How to get there:
From Satigny, continue the road in the direction of Russin. When you have passed Satigny, you will see a road to the right in the direction of ‘Malval’. Follow the directions of Malval, and, when you pass a bridge and see the ‘Centre Pro Nature’ to the right, you take a left, towards the church and cemetery. Continue that road until you see a parking on your left hand side, which is the Parking of the Roulave hike.
In case you love Biking near Geneva, check out this article with a map. It gets real close to the start of the Roulave hike. There is a possibility to combine a bike and hike but less suitable for young children.
8 – Moléson-sur-Gruyères
Driving distance from Geneva by car: approximately 1h45 mins
This is a fantastic place for the entire family!! Moléson combines nature and fun! You have two choices, either to take the small funicular up, or walk up. Same goes for downhill of course 😊. On top, several hikes can be done, or you can also just go down again for some more family fun! At Moléson there are bouncy castles for kids in summer, a bobsleigh, minigolf, and other activities. We love eating at the Fromagerie d’Alpage with local specialties and their shop with regional products. If you have not yet finished for the day, the modern thermal baths, Bains de Charmey or Bains de la Gruyère, are close by and you can go there with your kids. They can however not jump, and there are no slides, but there is a small wading pool, and after the hike, my children usually just enjoy being in the warm water and enjoying the views. Their website: Bains de la Gruyère.
This can be combined with a visit to the medieval town of Gruyères. If you would like to visit Gruyères, you can read all about that in our article.
9 – Gorges de la Jogne, Canton Fribourg
Driving distance from Geneva by car: approximately 1h15 mins
Close to Gruyères as well is the beautiful and easy hike of Gorges de la Jogne. This hike is not too long, and accessible and fun with kids as well as they will love the fact that this hike takes you through adventurous tunnels and over bridges! One tunnel was a bit longer and they liked that we even had to put on the flashlight of our phones to get through.
It took us a total of 2 hours to do the hike, and it is not a round loop hike, so 1 hour one way, towards the Montsalvens Dam and lake, and 1 hour back. During the hike, through the forest, you will see beautiful waterfalls and views of the gorge. This hike closes in winter, and you should wear good shoes, especially if it has rained. And, like in many places in Switzerland, signs show you that you should stay on the path as water in the gorge could rise.
When you arrive at the Montsalvens Dam, a Buvette for refreshments is located after just 300m. Starting point of this hike: at the Parking des Gorges de la Jogne, when you exit the town of Broc. This hike can easily be combined with a visit to Gruyères, or the chocolate factory in Broc.
We had lunch at a good cheese fondue restaurant in Chatel-Saint-Denis, before our hike: Café Tivoli. Really good family owned fondue restaurant.
10 – Hiking in Villars
Driving distance from Geneva by car: approximately 1h30 mins
Villars is a typical cute swiss mountain village and what I love about Villars is the accessibility to beautiful hikes and mountain lakes in relatively short distance. You can buy a Free Access card in the village (free of charge for children up to 9 years old and CHF 12 for adults or bigger kids) at the tourist office and take the scenic little train uphill to the Col de la Bretaye, starting point of many hikes. We usually go to the Lac de Chavonnes, which has a nice Swiss style restaurant with a terrace right in front of the lake. A beautiful place! You can also continue to the Lac Noir. On another hike, we went the other way after the train station, and we saw these sun burnt typical Swiss houses (raccards) on a beautiful meadow, perfect place for a picnic! The Free Access card also gives you access to other activities in Villars on the same day. For information: Free Access Card.
11 – Lac de Taney Hike, Valais, Switzerland
Driving distance from Geneva by car: approximately 1h30 mins
A popular hike towards a beautiful turquoise mountain lake in the Chablais region of the Valais. A steep hike, but very much worth your while, as once you are up, you will have the feeling to walk around in a perfect Swiss postcard! To check all the information about this hike to the Lac de Taney, check out this article HERE.
12 – Les Pertes de la Valserine and a viewpoint over the Rhone river, Ain, France
Les Pertes de la Valserine is a beautiful hike at about 40 minutes by car from Geneva. It starts close to the train station in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a town in the Ain region in France which is also accessible by train from Geneva. The trail leads you along the Valserine river which sort of disappears under impressive rock formations to reappear later again. The hike is easy, partly through a forest, and also along some abandoned buildings who are witness of the industrial past of the region. The Valserine river has the ‘wild river’ label in France, which means it is protected.
In case you go here by car, then make sure you stop on the way at the beautiful viewpoint in the small town Léaz, at the Belvédère de Léaz:
All the information on this hike and the viewpoint can be found here: Pertes de la Valserine Hike, and a viewpoint over the Rhone Valley in the Pays de Gex
Enjoy the hiking season, and let us know if you went to try any of these spots, or if you know of other beautiful hikes that you think we should try out!
For more beautiful hikes around Geneva, check out the hikes we did in autumn as well.
If you would like to stay updated on our family travels and hikes as we go, then make sure to check out our Instagram or Facebook page.