Closest ski resort to Paris for sale
La Loge des Gardes, a family-friendly resort, offers year-round activities and is seeking new ownership
The small resort of La Loge des Gardes is family friendly
Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock.
A ski resort and summer park in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is up for sale, with the attractive claim of being the closest family winter sports resort to Paris.
La Loge des Gardes, or Guards’ Lodge, is located on the northern side of the Massif Central mountains, near the village of Laprugne in Allier. It is just 390km from the capital and an hour-and-a-quarter’s drive north-east of Clermont Ferrand.
It was created in 1959 and has been privately owned ever since.
Current owner Philippe Chevrier, 68, bought it with his wife in 2014 when they saw it advertised on LeBonCoin.
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It is the only alpine ski resort in the Monts de la Madeleine and the ski area reaches from 1,050m up to 1,165m elevation with five pistes (three green, one blue and one red) accessible from three ski lifts.
The small resort is family-friendly and the slopes offer a playground for children to learn to ski. The owners developed the business further by building a successful summer activity park.
Mr Chevrier lives in Paris and divides his time between managing the resort and working elsewhere, but is planning to retire soon.
The lack of consistent snow cover meant the station did not open for skiing this winter. Although there were good conditions around Christmas time, it was not viable to open the resort for such a short period.
Mr Chevrier told ici Pays d'Auvergne: “It takes 12 to 15 people to run the resort. We can find students for the summer, that's possible. For the winter, it's more difficult".
La Loge des Gardes is nestled in the Assise forest, and treetop courses and giant tree slides are available for families to enjoy during the summer months.
Off-road scooter and mountain-boarding trails also weave their way through the forest and over the grass slopes, making use of the ski lifts outside of the winter season.
Mr Chevrier said that several people had expressed interest in the site. The price has not been disclosed but was advertised at €550,000 when last for sale on LeBonCoin in 2013.
More information about the resort and contact details can be found on the Loge des Gardes website at logedesgardes.com or the resort's Facebook page.
