Réserve naturelle nationale de la Grande Sassière, National nature reserve in Tignes, France

The Réserve naturelle nationale de la Grande Sassière is a protected area in the French Alps featuring alpine meadows, mountain lakes, and rocky slopes with steep elevation changes. The landscape shows typical high mountain structures with open grasslands at lower elevations and wilder rock formations higher up.

The reserve received its protected status in 1973 as a trade-off linked to the development of a major ski area in the nearby Haute Tarentaise region. This decision aimed to preserve the untouched alpine landscape in this particular area.

The reserve is home to marmots that visitors often spot on sunny alpine meadows, where these animals are a regular presence. Their calls and behavior are part of what makes the high mountain landscape feel alive and inhabited.

Access to the reserve is at the Saut dam area where a parking lot sits at high elevation and trails depart from there into the terrain. Wear sturdy hiking boots and prepare for changeable mountain weather, especially during transition months between seasons.

The reserve was created in 1973 to compensate for the loss of protection when part of the Tignes-Champagny reserve was declassified for the Grande Motte glacier ski area. Its rocks range from quartzites and limestones to dolomites and gneiss, while the summit lies under thick lustrous schists.