La Cascade

La Cascade campsite occupies the hamlet of L’Alleau, close to the village of Venosc, at the bottom of the Vénéon valley. It lies at the gateway to the Écrins National Park and at the foot of the Les Deux Alpes resort, which can be reached in a few minutes by cable car from Venosc. The site, rated 2 stars, is run by a local family: the owner, a former carpenter, built the wooden chalets on the site himself.

Pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes are spread between meadows and shaded areas. For rentals, there are four 35 m² chalets for 4 to 6 people, wooden tipis for 2 to 3 people and Tentabois for 2 to 4 people, a kind of tent set on a wooden floor. The whole remains human in scale, with no organised entertainment: the site is aimed rather at hikers, cyclists, families and passing travellers.

On opening, the information needs to be read carefully. The website banner announces the campsite as open from Easter to All Saints’ Day. The chalet rate table, however, covers the whole year: winter high season during the Christmas, February and Easter school holidays, winter low season from 1 December to 8 May, then summer and off-season rates. A short stay of one to two nights is possible in autumn and winter. The rentals can therefore also be booked for the ski holidays.

Pets are accepted on the pitches, but not in the rentals.

Skiing at Les Deux Alpes, reached by cable car from Venosc, during the Christmas, February and Easter holidays; walks and museums of the Oisans.

The campsite relies on simple facilities rather than the offer of a holiday village. A welcome point gives advice on walks, activities and the weather. A covered terrace offers shelter after an outing, and a free Wi-Fi zone is available near the reception office. The washrooms are well kept and a laundry is available, useful for long stays or for travellers on foot and by bike. The website also states that you can have ice packs frozen.

The chalets have a fitted kitchen (large fridge-freezer, oven, microwave, four hobs, coffee maker), a bedroom with a double bed, a bedroom with bunk beds, a sofa bed, a shower and separate toilets. Blankets and pillows are provided, sheets can be rented for 10 euros per bed, and a fondue or raclette set is lent on request, as is baby equipment. Electricity is included in the rate; the tourist tax is not.

Other touches are mentioned: a repair kit for hikers, local produce offered from time to time, a pizza oven in summer and, for mountain bikers, a bike-washing area at the bottom of the Venosc cable car. To empty a motorhome, you need to go 5 km downstream to the Les Ougiers car park. No swimming pool is described on the website.

Here, the main activity is the mountains. The trails of the Écrins National Park start close by and lead to high-altitude lakes such as the Muzelle or Lauvitel, with protected wildlife including chamois, ibex and marmots. The campsite’s welcome point helps you choose a route according to the weather. On site, there is a pétanque court, a few games for children and space to play freely.

The Venosc cable car gives access to the Les Deux Alpes resort for sporty routes: downhill mountain biking, paragliding, road cycling towards L’Alpe d’Huez, rafting on the Vénéon. In winter, the same link opens access to the ski area, which explains the rental rates published for the Christmas, February and Easter holidays.

For rainy or rest days, the Oisans has several museums cited by the campsite: Mémoires d’Alpinisme, Chasal Lento, the Galerie des Trésors Alpins, the Jardin alpin du Lautaret, the Ibex Museum, the Maison de la faune, the Maison des alpages and the EDF Hydrélec museum. The website also mentions local heritage: pedlars, mineralogy, chapels and mountain hamlets.