We’ve been saying we must camping for ages but it was only recently we finally committed to sleeping beneath the canvas. JD and I camped as kids but since then it’s been all about the glamping – aside from the days we had in the Venezuelan jungle. We had the best time camping in Switzerland. Lots of you asked to see more of the beautiful Camping Molignon campsite so here it is!
Location
Surrounded by the Arolla alpine forest and lush green meadows, the village of Les Haudères, where Camping Molignon is situated, is in the Valais region of the Swiss Alps. It’s where the Arolla and Ferpècle valleys meet to form Val d’Hérens. Les Haudères is surrounded by the Grande Dent Veisivi (3,418 metres), Tsa de l’Ano (3,368 metres) and Mont de l’Etoile (3,370 metres) with its Vouasson Glacier.
The landscape surrounding the village of Les Haudères is spectacular. While the area, which includes Evolène, is a starting point for hikers in the summer (skiing in the winter months), there’s plenty to keep families occupied.
Camping Molignon is just over nine hours drive from Calais excluding breaks. We took Eurotunnel Le Shuttle from Folkestone to Calais (c.35 minutes), so we had our own car. We booked an early morning crossing for the outbound route (overnight stay in Dijon) with an afternoon crossing on the way back (staying near Reims on the way back). While it seems a long way, there are plenty of places to stop and stretch your legs in France, many of which have green space and picnic tables – some even play areas. We took our food with us which reduced how often we stopped.
We wanted to arrive at Camping Molignon mid-afternoon so we had enough time to pitch our tent, unpack and get settled before the light faded. Having not pitched a tent before, we had a practice run in the garden before we left the UK. It was definitely worthwhile doing as it meant we familiarised ourselves with our Vango Winslow 600.
Pitch types and availability
Camping Molignon is in a magnificent location surrounded by larch trees, mountains with a fast-flowing river at the bottom of the site. The site has lodges and cabins in addition to grass pitches for camper vans/motor homes, caravans and tents. We had a 10 metre by 10 metre pitch with ample space for our 6 person tent and our car. We paid a little extra to have an electricity hook-up which meant we could charge my camera, battery packs and our phones from inside the tent.
The campsite has two main sections, both tree-lined with mountain views, we opted for the quieter of the two – pitching our tent where someone had done before us. We had a few looking on while we put the tent up so we were thankful for the practice run and got the tent up in 20 minutes! We then unpacked everything (including all the camping gear we’d borrowed!), pumped up our airbeds and got ourselves settled.
On-site facilities
POD loved the swimming pool onsite and went in it several times – even after a full day’s hiking! There’s a paddling pool, next to the main pool, with seating on both sides of the pool area and showers nearby. Just up from the pool is a children’s play area with 3 slides, swings and some climbing apparatus. There’s also table tennis. We took our own games which we didn’t use much as we were mostly exploring – even less so when new neighbours arrived with a zip wire!
We relished our camp meals especially breakfast which we ate while waiting for the sun to hit our valley. Although the campsite wasn’t noisy, it was the quietest time of the day as we were always first up. We got into a great routine with mealtimes, cooking on a brilliant stove from Halfords which cost £8. There’s a pizzeria on site, which we went to on our first night, but otherwise cooked for ourselves with all the food we’d brought. Occasionally we’d get fresh bread for breakfast or taking out with us.
Amenities
The toilets, showers and washing up facilities were just a couple of minutes walk from our tent and completely spotless. On the occasions we needed to get up in the night, we were thankful we didn’t have far to walk and weren’t so close we could hear the hand dryers! Our morning routine normally consisted of breakfast, washing up and tag-teaming with the showers. You just pressed on a button to get hot water and I discovered you could lean on it for hair washing – helpful when you have long hair!
There was also a freezer on site so you could freeze ice packs every day. We alternated ours to keep the cool box cooler.
Available nearby
There are various shops nearby which you can get to by walking out of the main campsite entrance and turning right. We discovered there was a supermarket in a hiking shop that did fresh bread which was handy for hiking after we’d devoured what we brought. The first time we went to explore locally, we took the scenic route from near our pitch and discovered an amphitheatre. There’s plenty to see in the Valais region and you don’t have to drive far to begin your adventures. We adored our first family camping trip and exploring the Swiss Alps. Let’s hope we can do it again soon.
