Baraque de Fraiture is a small real outdoor ski area in the Belgian Ardennes, clustered around one of the highest points in Belgium and marketed locally as La Station.
- 560 m Base
- 647 m Top lift
- 87 m Vertical
- 3 Lifts
Best known for
Après & vibe
A cluster of cafes and an inn at the roadside crossroads serve hot chocolate, beer and Ardennes fare after a few runs.
The snow centre
This is a genuine, if very modest, outdoor ski area sitting on the windswept plateau of the Ardennes in Wallonia, one of the highest spots in the whole country. It is a short-run, gentle-gradient place built for local families and first-timers rather than serious descents, with drag lifts serving broad nursery pitches and cross-country loops through the surrounding moorland. Snow here is genuinely marginal and short-lived, so it opens only when a cold snap dumps enough cover, sometimes topped up by machine snow. When conditions align it fills with day-trippers from across Belgium and just over the German and Dutch borders. It is best treated as an easy, low-key introduction to snow rather than a mountain holiday.
The slope
Broad, gentle nursery pitches make this an easy first-snow venue.
A handful of slightly longer runs, but nothing sustained.
Little to hold stronger skiers beyond a quick outing.
No expert terrain; cross-country trails are the draw for the fit.
Cross-country on the plateau
The high Ardennes moorland around the station offers marked Nordic loops that come into their own when snow falls, popular with local ski-de-fond enthusiasts.
On the map
Legend
Run difficulty
- Novice
- Easy
- Intermediate
- Advanced / Expert
- Freeride / Extreme
- Unknown
Run types
- Downhill — groomed
- Downhill — ungroomed
- Downhill — gladed
- Nordic (groomed)
- Ski tour
- ☾Lit (night)
- △Not patrolled
- →One-way
- ❄Snowmaking
Lifts
- Operating
- Operating (private)
- Non-operating
- Lift station
Slope-gradient grading
Downhill / ski tour
- Flat<3°
- Easy3–14°
- Intermediate14–22°
- Advanced / Expert22–45°
- Freeride / Extreme>45°
Nordic
- Easy<6°
- Intermediate6–9°
- Advanced>9°
Aspect (sun exposure)
- N — least sun
- E — morning
- S — most sun
- W — afternoon
Legend after OpenSkiMap
Stay near Baraque de Fraiture
Most visitors come for the day; for an overnight, the nearby Ardennes towns of Vielsalm and La Roche-en-Ardenne offer inns and holiday cottages.
A base in town — the snow centre is a day trip, not a resort stay.
Self-catering flexibility for a family visit or a longer city break.
Handy if the centre is a stopover between flights.
Book access to Baraque de Fraiture
Snow sessions, lessons and slope passes for Baraque de Fraiture.
Online access tickets for Baraque de Fraiture will be bookable here shortly. In the meantime, book direct on the venue's own site.
How to get there
Liège Airport is the nearest gateway, with Brussels also within easy reach.
An easy drive on the E25/N-roads through the Ardennes; there is no direct rail, so a car is by far the simplest way in.
Best time: Only worth targeting in a cold spell from roughly January to February, when the plateau holds snow.
Nearby resorts
Other resorts within reach.
Lierneux (Le monty)
- Vertical
- 58 m
- Lifts
- 2
Faces north-east © Thomax4545 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Ski Val de Wanne
- Vertical
- 111 m
- Lifts
- 2
Mont des Brumes Piste de Ski
- Vertical
- 141 m
- Lifts
- 2
SnowWorld Landgraaf
- Vertical
- 65 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 4
- Lifts
- 5
Snow Valley Peer Ski & Snowboardcentre
- Vertical
- 1 m
- Pistes (mapped)
- 1
- Lifts
- 5
Getting to Baraque de Fraiture
Book an airport transfer up to the resort, or pick up a car at Düsseldorf (DUS) — search and compare without leaving the page.
Ski data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via OpenSkiMap & Skimap.org. Basemap © OpenFreeMap / OpenMapTiles. Editorial: mynext.holiday. Accommodation via Stay22; transfers via Kiwitaxi; car hire via Travelpayouts.