France · Alps · Corsica · Pyrenees · Cévennes · Live
France hiking conditions today
Live 0–100 scores for 15 of France's great multi-day walks — the Tour du Mont Blanc, the four Alpine sections of the GR5 from Lake Geneva to Nice, the Vanoise, Beaufortain, Aiguilles Rouges, Thabor and Queyras tours, the Écrins GR54, the Vercors plateaux, the GR20 in Corsica, the GR10 in the Pyrenees and Stevenson's GR70 — built from Météo-France forecasts at every hut and col, official Vigilance warnings, avalanche bulletins, river and rain gauges, and the regional press.
Yellow warning · Italian regional service (Meteoalarm)Other — Piemonte · Tour du Mont Thabor
Live map
Where conditions are best right now
Pick a region to zoom the map and filter the list. Each route is drawn through its huts and cols, coloured by today's live score, and labelled at the edge of the map with a line to its highest point.
Click the map to enable scroll-zoom · pins sit on each route's highest point
Every route · best first
Live route scores
Score for the next 24 hours, what's driving it, and the 7-day outlook. Open the route guide for huts, cols, bookings and the hour-by-hour crossing window.
The most important recent reports merged across all routes — closures first, then disruptions and reopenings. News is classified automatically: open the source before you rely on it.
Météo-France publishes avalanche bulletins (BRA) from early November to early June. None is in force for these routes now, so any avalanche level shown is a model estimate.
A general guide for the high routes (TMB, GR20, GR54, GR10) with notes for the GR70; each year differs, so use it to plan and the live scores to decide. Right now: Autumn shoulder — Many huts close from mid/late September; early snowfalls can cover the high cols for days. Check hut opening and carry winter layers.
JanWinter / off-season · WinterHigh routes under snow: ski touring or snowshoes only, with avalanche risk. GR70: cold, snow possible on the plateaus.
FebWinter / off-season · WinterAs January. Avalanche bulletins (BRA) are published daily for the Alps, Pyrenees and Corsica.
MarWinter / off-season · Late winterDeep snow on the cols. Low-level walking only; GR70 possible in mild spells.
AprLimited · SpringGR70 season begins. High routes still snowbound; avalanches of wet spring snow.
MayLimited · Late springGood on the GR70. Snow lingers on high cols (TMB, GR54, GR10, GR20); most huts still closed.
JunGood · Early summerHuts open from mid-June; old snow on north-facing cols may need an ice axe early in the month.
JulBest · SummerMain season on the high routes. Afternoon thunderstorms are the main hazard; huts busy — book ahead.
AugBest · SummerPeak season; storms and heat waves possible. Fire-risk restrictions can close Mediterranean massifs.
SepBest · Late summerSettled spells, fewer people; first snowfalls on the high cols possible late in the month. Many huts close mid/late September.
Oct nowMixed · AutumnMost high huts closed; early snow. GR70 autumn season, but Cévenol downpours can flood rivers in the south.
NovWinter / off-season · Late autumnSnow on the high routes; Cévenol episodes still possible. Avalanche bulletins start again in early November.
DecWinter / off-season · WinterHigh routes under snow. Short days.
High summer · Jul – Aug
Huts staffed, cols mostly snow-free. Thunderstorms build most afternoons in unsettled spells: start early and be off exposed ridges and cols by early afternoon.
Shoulders · mid-Jun & Sep
Quieter paths. In June old snow lingers on north-facing cols; in September huts start closing and early snowfalls can cover the high cols for days.
Winter · Nov – May
The high routes are snowbound — ski touring or snowshoe terrain with avalanche risk. Météo-France avalanche bulletins run from early November to early June.
GR70 · spring & autumn
Best April–June and September–October. Autumn Cévenol episodes can bring torrential rain and flash floods to the southern stages.
Plan & stay safe
France route essentials
Rules and opening dates change. Treat this as an overview and confirm with the refuges, the park authorities and the préfecture before you go.
Huts, bookings & rules
No permits are needed to walk these routes.
Book huts and gîtes well ahead for July–August. GR20 refuges (Parc naturel régional de Corse) are booked online; many TMB huts use a shared booking site.
Bivouac, dogs and fires follow each park's rules (e.g. the Néouvielle reserve only tolerates bivouac on designated areas, 7 pm–9 am).
Fire risk: in dry summers the préfecture can close Mediterranean massifs (Corsica, Cévennes) to walkers.
Thunderstorms are the main summer killer on exposed routes: start at dawn, cross cols before early afternoon and never shelter under isolated trees or on ridges.
Old snow on north-facing cols in June and after autumn storms: a slip on hard snow is a common accident — carry microspikes or an ice axe when the live page shows snow.
Heat on the GR20 and the Cévennes stages: carry enough water; there are long waterless sections.
None of these routes sleeps above 3,000 m, so altitude sickness is uncommon.
Emergencies & insurance
Dial 112 (free, any phone). In the French mountains it reaches the mountain rescue services (PGHM gendarmerie or CRS). Switzerland: Rega 1414; Italy: 112.
Check your insurance covers mountain walking and rescue — rescue can be billed in Switzerland and Italy.
Leave your itinerary with the hut guardian and keep a spare day for bad weather.
How our score works
A route is not a point. We forecast every hut, village and col hour by hour, corrected to its real altitude, and combine six factors: weather on the cols (07:00–14:00: wind at col height, cold, cloud, thunderstorms), snow & avalanche (the official bulletin level where one is published), rain & slopes against the European landslide rainfall thresholds of Guzzetti et al. (2007), trail weather, views and access.
Météo-France orange/red warnings, Vigicrues flood vigilance and credible closure reports cap the score. 80+ Excellent · 65+ Good · 50+ Fair · 35+ Poor · <35 Avoid. The full method is on each route's page, e.g. Tour du Mont Blanc.
Not an official forecast. Always follow Météo-France warnings and avalanche bulletins, préfecture and park notices and refuge guardians.
Data sources
MET Norway
Weather forecast from MET Norway (Locationforecast 2.0, ECMWF-based, CC BY 4.0), corrected to each waypoint's altitude.
Open-Meteo
Optional: gusts, storm energy and 0 °C level at each route's high point, and the four-model comparison.
Météo-France open data
Vigilance warnings, avalanche bulletins (BRA) and hourly rain gauges, via data.gouv.fr (Licence Ouverte).
SLF · Meteoalarm
Swiss avalanche bulletin and Swiss/Italian weather warnings for the TMB's non-French stages.
Hub'eau · Vigicrues
Real-time river heights and official flood vigilance.
French regional press
Le Dauphiné Libéré, France 3 Régions, Corse Net Infos, La Dépêche, Midi Libre and Google News, classified for closures, rockfall, floods and reopenings.
FAQ
France routes questions
Is it safe to hike in the French mountains right now?
Right now 11 of 15 routes we track score Good or better, 4 Fair and 0 Poor or Avoid. Météo-France has 1 weather warning in force on these routes. On the high routes: Autumn shoulder — Many huts close from mid/late September; early snowfalls can cover the high cols for days. Check hut opening and carry winter layers. Check the live score for your route and always follow Météo-France warnings, avalanche bulletins, park and refuge advice.
Which French long-distance route has the best conditions today?
GR20 — Corsica has the highest score right now: 100/100 (Excellent). Clear morning views likely from Pointe des Éboulis Looking ahead, the best day in the 7-day outlook is Thu 15 Oct on the GR20 — Corsica (score 100).
When is the best time to walk the TMB, GR20, GR54 or GR10?
The high routes are summer routes: from about mid-June, when the huts open and most snow has gone from the cols, to mid-September, when many huts close. July and August are the busiest months and the most prone to afternoon thunderstorms. Early June and late September often still have snow on north-facing cols.
When is the best time to walk the Chemin de Stevenson (GR70)?
Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October). Summer is hot on the southern stages; in autumn, Mediterranean "Cévenol" downpours can flood rivers and fords in the Cévennes within hours — check the Vigilance map.
Do I need a permit?
No permit is needed to walk these routes. What you do need is to book huts and gîtes in advance in summer (the GR20 refuges of the Parc naturel régional de Corse must be booked online) and to follow park rules on bivouac, fires and dogs.
Where do the avalanche levels come from?
Between early November and early June, Météo-France publishes a daily avalanche bulletin (BRA) for every massif of the Alps, Pyrenees and Corsica, and the SLF does the same for Switzerland. Where a bulletin covers a waypoint we use its official danger level. Outside that season, or where no bulletin exists (the Italian stages of the TMB), the level shown is a model estimate and is labelled as such.
What number do I call for mountain rescue in France?
Dial 112 (free, works from any phone). In the French mountains the call is passed to the mountain rescue services (PGHM gendarmerie or CRS). In Switzerland Rega is 1414; in Italy 112.
How is the score calculated?
Each route is scored 0–100 from hourly forecasts at every waypoint, corrected to its real altitude (MET Norway Locationforecast). Six factors are combined: weather on the cols (wind, cold, cloud, thunderstorms), snow and avalanche danger, rain against published European landslide thresholds, trail weather, views and access. Météo-France orange/red warnings, flood vigilance and credible closure reports cap the score.