VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
Écrins and Oisans by campervan from Grenoble: lakes, glaciers and the new 2026 wild camping rules
Bourg-d’Oisans, Alpe d’Huez, Lac du Chambon, Col du Lautaret, La Grave: the campervan route through the Écrins massif from Grenoble, and what changes in 2026 for Vénéon valley access and wild camping.
Grenoble opens onto two mountain ranges, and the drive looks completely different depending on which way you point the van. North lies the Vercors and Chartreuse, already covered in our Vercors and Chartreuse by campervan guide. Southeast lies the Oisans and the Écrins massif — the higher and wilder of the two, home to the largest national park in mainland France. By van it's a different scale of scenery: glaciers visible from the road, turquoise reservoir lakes, passes above 2,000 m — and in 2026, a reshuffled access plan worth knowing before you set off.
From Grenoble to Bourg-d'Oisans, the gateway to the massif
Allow about an hour's drive from Grenoble: the A480 toward Sisteron-Gap, the "Vizille — Oisans resorts" exit, then the D1091 to Bourg-d'Oisans, the historic capital of Alpine cycling and the logical base camp for a van trip. The town has several service points for water and waste, plus two large free car parks at the north and south roundabouts — around a hundred spaces between them — handy for parking before heading up to the resorts.
Alpe d'Huez and its 21 hairpins, the legendary climb
The D211 and its 21 numbered hairpin bends climb to Alpe d'Huez (1,860 m) without particular difficulty for a campervan or converted van; a large semi-integrated or A-class motorhome needs more care in the tightest bends, and engine braking is essential on the way down — our mountain driving guide covers the technique. At the top, the view over the Meije massif rewards the climb, and the resort's aire welcomes vans outside the ski season.
Lac du Chambon, Col du Lautaret, La Grave
Back down in the valley, Lac du Chambon — an EDF reservoir with a striking blue-green colour, overlooked by the Mont-de-Lans glacier — is worth a stop before continuing on the D1091 to the Col du Lautaret (2,057 m), open year-round and rarely busy. At the top, the Lautaret alpine garden, one of the highest in Europe, brings together more than 2,000 mountain plant species from around the world facing the Meije glaciers; it's open from early June to early September. Just beyond, La Grave sits at the foot of those same glaciers: its cable car climbs to 3,200 m over the most renowned off-piste terrain in the French Alps, and the village keeps a handful of simple aires, away from the bustle of Bourg-d'Oisans.
The Vénéon valley and La Bérarde: access changes in 2026
This is the detail to check before you go: since the June 2024 floods, the lower Vénéon valley has stayed closed to vehicles, and reaching La Bérarde — the historic gateway to the park's core — now means taking a shuttle bus, running some fifteen round trips a day in July and August 2026. A van can no longer venture in: three free, unlimited-stay car parks take vehicles at Bourg-d'Oisans (north and south roundabouts) and at Venosc, where the shuttles depart. Plan this as a day trip, not an overnight stop.
Wild camping in the park's core: the rules are tightening
A van has no business in the park's core anyway — it's reached on foot — and it's precisely tent camping there that the Écrins National Park is regulating more strictly from summer 2026: overnight stays only between 7pm and 9am, one night maximum at the same spot, pitching at least an hour's walk from the core boundary or the nearest car park, and a total ban near Lauvitel and Muzelle lakes. A 2025 study published in the journal Diversity by Veronika Piscová and co-authors (Google Scholar page) confirms, in the neighbouring Tatras, what the ground already shows in the Écrins: repeated trampling durably degrades mosses, lichens and dwarf shrubs on high-altitude turf, which regenerates very slowly at altitude — a good reason why the park stepped in after tent numbers doubled in some flagship sectors between 2021 and 2025. For a van crew, the rule stays simple: aires and campsites in the valleys for the night, the park's core reserved for day hikes. Our wild camping in Europe guide covers the principles that apply everywhere else in the Alps.
Budget and season
Budget €95–180 a day for a converted van or semi-integrated motorhome in July-August, in line with the rest of the Alps — see our Alps road trip guide. The useful window runs from June to September: the Lautaret stays open year-round, but the Vénéon shuttles and the alpine garden close with the first snow. Three to four days are enough for the Bourg-d'Oisans – Alpe d'Huez – Lautaret – La Grave loop; add two days of day-hiking for anyone who really wants to get into the park's core, on foot rather than behind the wheel. Our hiking from your campervan guide rounds out this stage nicely.
Free checklist: your first campervan trip
Licence and vehicle size, pick-up inspection, stopovers or campsites, water and electricity, insurance, drop-off: everything to check before and during a first trip. Sign up — the link to the full checklist appears immediately.