La Joue du Loup introduction
General Information
La Joue du Loup is a ski resort located in the French Alps at the top of Devoluy Valley near another ski resort called Super Devoluy. The 29 ski lifts of La Joue du Loup link with the rest of the Devoluy ski domain. In Europe, La Joue du Loup has one of the best snow and sunshine records. It is within three hours travel time of six airports with Grenoble being the closest. The bottom lift is at 1,500 meters or 4,900 feet and the top point of the upper lift is 2,510 meters or 8,231 feet. Every Sunday at 11 am, a tourist guide is available for questions about the area and events happening that day and the following week.
Winter Activities
There is plenty of skiing and snow boarding with 150 kilometers or 90 miles of lift served runs. There are over 120 pistes which serve individually for different levels of skiing. Besides catering to downhill skiers, there are 80 km of trails for cross-country skiers and back country skiers; snowshoe-hiking is quite a rave as well. Mountain walking and hiking are popular, with picnic tables at the viewpoints making the whole experience quite relaxing. Every Tuesday night is Shrove Tuesday with fireworks, torches, or candle lanterns lighting up the area. There is a snow park in the middle of the ski area called the “Mushroom's Park” and is considered by some to be one of the best in the South Alps and is where freestyle skiers, snowboarders, and snowbladers meet. The park is full of jumps, pipes, tables, ramps and rails that can be used by all levels of experience.
Summer Activities
There are several concerts in August. One of the largest festivals takes place in August and is the Votive Feast of Agnieres. Mountain biking and hiking are popular during the summer months. With the completion of the multi-sports field in December of 2006, plenty of activities from horseback riding to rollerblading to table tennis to mini golf to bungee jumping can be taken on. There is a circus school in La Joue du Loup. In addition, there is an adventure park for those interested in swinging between the trees and crossing chasms on zip lines. There are instructors for most activities if lessons are desired.
Other Information
There are tours of the church and chapel nearby and various competitions. August 2010 marked the first contest in France, for acrobatics on motorcycles. Twenty participants from the United States were among the competitors. There are many restaurants in La Joue du Loup which are a good selection of French and Savoyard cuisine. For those movie lovers, there is also a cinema. Every week there are festivals and concerts scheduled, so every day is a new day here in La Joue du Loup.