ViaRhôna at the Champagneux dam

In the Avant-Pays savoyard, the ViaRhôna runs beside the river at the Champagneux dam. 'This stretch of the ViaRhôna is ideal for families! From the car park at the Champagneux dam, spend the day cycling right beside the Rhône.' On one side the villages of the Ain 'with their stepped roofs'; on the other, 'the cycle route climbs towards the village of Champagneux then La Balme'. And this line, rare in our sources: 'Also to be discovered on foot or with a pushchair.'

The section belongs to official ViaRhôna stage 6, 'Belley to Groslée via St-Genix-sur-Guiers', that is 36 km in total — but straddling the Ain and Savoie: no official French page gives a figure for the Savoie portion alone, and we do not invent one. Across the whole stage, '28 km (79%)' are on cycle path and '8 km (21%)' on road. The Virignin footbridge 'lets you cross from the Ain to Savoie and back over the Rhône in complete safety'.

'All year round', with no seasonal closure announced. For a short family outing, the Val Guiers tourist office offers the Galletti loop, 'a small, playful, family bike loop of 6.5 km starting from La Guinguette at Champagneux'; the fitter have the Mandrin loop, 23 km with 450 m of ascent.