Summer in the Alps

Thyon-Les Collons is a fabulous dual season village in a region of Switzerland that benefits from 300 sunny days a year and boasting a huge number of mountain trails and winding alpine roads making it ideal for mountain bikers, road cyclists and hikers looking for that next challenge. Many gondolas have mountain bike attachments and hoses at the lift stations to wash down your bike before heading back up.

Lake Dix can be reached by cable car where you can then take a boat across the lake admiring the breath-taking views. The Grande Dixence Dam is the world’s highest gravity dam.

You can hike across the mountains with all the routes signposted with varying challenging gradients. A number of the alpine restaurants stay open for the summer season so you can stop, take a break and savour the blue-sky views.

Half an hour away is the Sion Golf Club overlooked by vineyards and surrounded by the most spectacular views.

Only 10 minutes away, are stables where you can go horse riding along the mountain paths and experience the peace and tranquillity of the mountain.

The Valais region is known for its apricots and wines, with a vineyard just at the foot of the mountain in Sion where they offer wine tasting tours.

There are plenty of thermal spas across the region, where you can relax and unwind after a day trekking across the mountain.

There’s plenty to entertain the children with a playground just at the top of the driveway to the chalet, and swimming in either Thyon-Les Collons or a bit further afield in Thyon 2000.

A bit further afield is an adventure park in the Valley, about a 40 minute drive away towards Lake Geneva.

You can’t go far in Switzerland without coming across a lake large or small; the water is crystal clear whether you’re on the valley floor or up at 3000 metres and you can’t get much fresher.

Of course, where there are mountains and valleys, there are of course, rivers and the Valais area is lucky enough to have its own white-water rafting centre where they can offer kayaking, rafting and ducking (inflatable kayaks if you aren’t in the know) and you can face challenging rapids.

Bring your rackets, as there are two tennis courts nearby that you can rent by the hour.

High up in the sky above the mountain, you could try paragliding, taking in all the views and breath-taking scenery

If you’re bringing your pooch, they will love the hundreds of mountain paths to explore, but why don’t you give canicross a go – a local club will provide you with the equipment that you and your 4 legged running buddy will need and you can head off with the pack to explore the trails.

Parking is free in a lot of the carparks in Thyon and surroundings villages and the buses are also free to use.