10 High-Altitude Lakes in the Écrins and the Story Behind the Postcard

Turquoise water at 2,500 m, total silence, not another person on the trail at 7 AM. Or 200 tents lining the shore on an August Saturday. The lakes of the Écrins are both of these things. It all depends on when and how you get there.

As mountain guides based in the Southern Alps, we're not going to pretend we're letting you in on secret spots. These lakes are well known, well documented, and some of them are suffering from overcrowding in the height of summer. We're sharing them all the same: hiding a place doesn't protect it, but knowing it well does. The real problem is everyone turning up at the same time, without knowing the alternatives, sometimes with poor behaviour (fires, wild camping, swimming, disturbing wildlife). Our job on the ground is to dig beneath the postcard, shift the timings, choose less-travelled routes, and put together 2-3 day combinations that spread the pressure.

This selection is inevitably subjective, built on hundreds of outings across all seasons. For each lake, we note the crowding level and, where it's relevant, the best times or routes for enjoying it in peace, along with a few pointers for looking past the clichés and discovering less obvious sides.

Lac de Lauvitel: the giant of the Écrins

Lauvitel is the largest natural lake in the Écrins massif. Spanning 35 hectares with depths of over 60 metres, it sits in a glacial basin above the Vénéon valley at 1,530 m.

The path starts from the hamlet of La Danchère, near Bourg-d'Oisans. Allow 1h30 of climbing for about 500 m of height gain. It's steep in spots but well marked, and perfectly doable for occasional hillwalkers in decent shape. Grand for families with children from about 7-8 years old.

The lake lies at the entrance to the strict nature reserve of the same name. With the volume of visitors the site gets, Park wardens keep a close eye on things. It's worth checking with the local tourist office for any regulations currently in place.

Behind the postcard, Lauvitel is a scientific site. The strict nature reserve, created in 1995 over 689 hectares, holds IUCN Category 1a classification (the most restrictive). The CNRS has been tracking ecosystem development here without human intervention for over 30 years. The lake level swings by 20 metres across the seasons, a rare phenomenon in alpine settings. Around 50 bird species have been recorded, micromammals monitored since 1992, and alpine meadow diversity grew between 1998 and 2014. Knowing this is what takes the sting out of the restrictions: you're walking through a space where nature is being observed, not just dressed up.

Practical info: 1h30 walk from La Danchère (Bourg-d'Oisans), 500 m height gain, moderate difficulty. Accessible June to October. Free car park at the start.

• Distance :↔ 8.7 km
• Dénivelé positif :↗ 674 m
• Dénivelé négatif :↘ 679 m

To make more of the day, a loop taking in both Muzelle and Lauvitel offers a tougher circuit (about 6-7h) with open views above the lake. You can also combine the two over 2 days with bivouac or a night at the Refuge de la Muzelle.

Lac de la Muzelle

At 2,105 m, Lac de la Muzelle sits in a stark corrie beneath the Roche de la Muzelle (3,465 m). It's the stop along the GR54, the Grand Tour des Écrins, where you'll be tempted to take a rest day before finishing the circuit. The Refuge de la Muzelle, right at the lakeside, welcomes walkers from June to September.

From Vénosc (reachable by gondola from Les Deux Alpes), the climb takes 4 to 5 hours through the Muzelle valley. The path leads first through larch forest before opening out onto alpine pastures, then the lake. It's long, steep in parts, but the arrival at the lake makes every step worthwhile.

Behind the postcard, Muzelle is a lake under scientific watch. It belongs to the Lacs Sentinelles network, an observatory tracking 34 high-altitude lakes in the Alps to measure the impact of global changes. Between 2021 and 2023, the National Park and the OFB (French Biodiversity Office) ran an in-depth study here. Just two fish species call the lake home (Arctic char and brown trout), both reproducing naturally since stocking stopped in 1996, though growth stays slow because of limited food. The lake is showing signs of warming: rising water temperatures, shorter ice-cover periods, and a dip in deep-water oxygen levels. On the bright side, neither farming nor tourism seems to be having a measurable effect on the aquatic life.

The lake has been in the news in recent years for a different reason: summer overcrowding. Up to 200 tents on some August weekends, with the hygiene and ecological problems you'd expect. The National Park has since tightened camping regulations in the area. If you're heading up on your own, have a look at the current rules before setting off.

The Muzelle-Lauvitel loop via the Col du Vallon is a classic 2-day outing we offer as part of our weekend refuge trips in the Écrins.

Lac d'Eychauda

At 2,514 m, Lac d'Eychauda occupies a closed glacial cirque between the Montagne des Agneaux and the Dôme de Monêtier. The feel is mineral, austere, very different from the other lakes on this list.

The usual approach is from the Chambran car park (Pelvoux, Vallouise valley): about 2h to 2h30 of climbing for 800 m of height gain. You can also reach it from Le Monêtier-les-Bains (Serre Chevalier) via the Col d'Eychauda (2,425 m), a longer route (3h, 900 m gain) over rockier terrain, climbing back from the col to the lake (90 m extra).

Practical info: 2h-2h30 from Chambran (Pelvoux), 800 m height gain, intermediate difficulty. Alternative via Le Monêtier: 3h, 900 m gain. Accessible July to September.

Behind the postcard, Eychauda is a lake with near-polar conditions. It stays frozen 9 to 10 months of the year, and icebergs can linger into August. Unlike most alpine lakes, it's not held back by a moraine but by a granite bedrock sill. Its outlet stream doesn't stay on the surface: the water vanishes into faults and scree. Fed by the Séguret-Foran glacier, its waters carry rock flour, are low in oxygen through winter, and the lake is classified as oligotrophic (very nutrient-poor). A few trout hang on here, descended from stocking in the 1950s-60s, but the conditions remain harsh. The biological window is just 2-3 months a year.

It's a quieter lake than Lauvitel or Muzelle. You'll mostly meet experienced hillwalkers and the odd mountaineer bound for the glaciers.

Lac du Glacier d'Arsine

Lac du Glacier d'Arsine is a proglacial lake, formed by the retreat of the Arsine glacier over recent decades. Its milky colour, loaded with sediment, changes with the light and the season. It sits at 2,450 m in a wide mineral cirque enclosed by moraines.

The walk begins from the Col du Lautaret (2,058 m) along the Sentier des Crevasses, a balcony path above the valley. Allow 3h to 3h30 for roughly 450 m of height gain. The modest gain can be misleading: the distance is long (7-8 km one way) and the ground uneven.

Practical info: 3h-3h30 from Col du Lautaret, 450 m height gain, moderate difficulty but long distance (7-8 km one way). Accessible July to September.

• Distance :↔ 15.9 km
• Dénivelé positif :↗ 374 m
• Dénivelé négatif :↘ 870 m

Behind the postcard, Lac d'Arsine nearly caused a catastrophe. Formed by glacial retreat, it was held back by a hefty moraine system left over from the Little Ice Age (1550-1850). By 1985, the lake covered 6 hectares holding 800,000 m³ of water, its level climbing roughly 50 cm a year. The moraine was in danger of giving way, with the village of Le Casset sitting downstream. In spring 1986, emergency works brought the level down and stabilised it. The lake is still monitored today.

The Arsine glacier has become a "black glacier": covered in rock debris that insulates it and slows the melting. Its moraine system is considered one of the best preserved in the western Alps. It's a remarkable site for hiking in the Écrins and seeing glacier evolution up close.

Lacs de Pétarel

The Lacs de Pétarel sit in a hanging valley above the Valgaudemar, between 2,080 and 2,100 m. Two main lakes occupy the back of a cliff-walled cirque, with a sweeping view down to the valley below.

The climb is tough: between 850 and 1,500 m of height gain depending on where you start (Andrieux, Les Portes, or l'Ubac). Allow 3 to 5 hours. This is a demanding day out, best saved for when you're feeling strong.

Behind the postcard, Pétarel has been monitored for about twenty years as part of the Lacs Sentinelles network. In 2009 and again in 2017, minnows were found in the lakes, a surprising discovery at this altitude. Since 2022, a team from Aix-Marseille University and the National Park has been studying where these fish turn up: they've been found in two ponds linked to the main lake and in the outflow up to 200-300 m below. The site also hosts alpine newts and dragonflies (common hawker). An initial hydrobiological study of the lake goes back to 1996, making it one of the best-documented high-altitude lakes in the massif.

We've written a full article on this route: Randonnée aux Lacs de Pétarel with GPX track, route alternatives, and practical tips.

Lac du Lauzon and Lac Bleu

From the Chalet-Hôtel du Gioberney, Lac du Lauzon (2,008 m) is just 1 hour's walk away. The path is well marked, the height gain gentle (about 450 m doing the loop with Lac Bleu). It's one of the most accessible outings in the Écrins for getting to a high-altitude lake.

Lac Bleu, a little higher up, naturally completes the loop. The two lakes are quite different: Lauzon is a green, shallow lake that borders on being a pond thanks to its aquatic vegetation, while Lac Bleu does justice to its name with water of a striking blue.

Behind the postcard, Lauzon is a glacial over-deepening lake, carved roughly 10,000 years ago into gneiss fractured by a north-south fault. It's what's called a "grassland lake": thawed 4 to 5 months a year, it gets relatively mild conditions for the altitude. Aquatic vegetation is plentiful, a sign of healthy biological productivity. Around the lake, peat bogs fringed with cotton grass complete the picture. Chamois are regularly spotted first thing in the morning.

The detailed route, GPX track, and alternatives are in our dedicated article: Lac Lauzon et Lac Bleu.

Lacs de Crupillouse

Less well known than their Valgaudemar neighbours, the Lacs de Crupillouse are well worth the effort. Perched at roughly 2,630 m in the Champoléon valley, they offer a wild, unspoilt setting far from the crowds at the better-known spots.

The standard start is from the hamlet of Les Baumes (around 1,300 m). The walk takes 4 to 5 hours for close to 1,400 m of height gain. It's one of the most physically demanding "lake walks" in the massif. The path follows the Crupillouse torrent valley, first through forest, then across alpine pastures before reaching the lakes.

Practical info: 4-5h from Les Baumes (Champoléon), 1,400 m height gain, sustained difficulty. Accessible July to September.

• Distance :↔ 17 km
• Dénivelé positif :↗ 1358 m
• Dénivelé négatif :↘ 1339 m

Behind the postcard, Crupillouse is one of the finest sites for seeing glacial erosion at work in the Écrins. The cirque shed its ice relatively recently in geological terms: the rock is still barely weathered, pale, almost lunar. The lakes are over-deepening lakes, separated by rounded humps covered in glacial polish (those smooth surfaces sculpted by passing glaciers). The bedrock is augen gneiss, rocks with large feldspar crystals that give the site its white-pink tone. It's also a good area for spotting chamois and ibex, and the rock ptarmigan nests in the scree around the lakes.

Lac Lautier

Lac Lautier, at 2,360 m above Villar-Loubière in the Valgaudemar, is one of those lakes you come across almost by surprise. It doesn't feature in many guidebooks, and it tends to attract people who know the massif well.

The climb from Villar-Loubière (around 1,000 m) takes 4h to 4h30 for over 1,350 m of height gain. The path passes through larch forests, by the Refuge des Souffles (1,968 m, a handy halfway stop), then continues to the alpine meadow around the lake.

• Distance :↔ 15.9 km
• Dénivelé positif :↗ 1348 m
• Dénivelé négatif :↘ 1348 m

Lac du Goléon

Lac du Goléon (2,438 m): on a clear day, the Meije (3,983 m) and its glaciers reflect in the lake, with the Aiguilles d'Arves behind. It's the photo everyone's seen, and the August crowds come with it.

The walk starts from the hamlet of Valfroide, above La Grave. The ascent takes about 1h30 for 570 m of height gain. The path is well marked and accessible to most walkers, including families with children from age 6-7. The Refuge du Goléon, staffed in summer, means you can extend the trip with an overnight stay.

Practical info: 1h30 walk from Valfroide (La Grave), 570 m height gain, moderate difficulty. Accessible June to October. Staffed refuge in summer (19 places, booking recommended).

Behind the postcard, Lac du Goléon isn't entirely natural. A dam was built in 1965 on the site of a former glacial lake, creating a body of water of about 10 hectares and 2 metres deep. A bigger dam project had been studied by EDF but never went ahead. Above the lake, the Glacier Lombard's alluvial plain forms a sandur (glacial outwash plain), one of the best preserved in the French Alps. Pioneer Arctic plant formations are found here, inherited from Quaternary glacial advances, protected under Natura 2000 (site "Plateau d'Emparis - Goléon", 7,476 ha). These habitats are fragile: some visitors carve names and dates into the rock slabs, paths get widened by those who cut switchbacks, and dogs off the lead disturb wildlife (chamois, black grouse, rock ptarmigan). Every walker's behaviour here makes a difference.

Plateau d'Emparis: Lac Lérié and Lac Noir

The Plateau d'Emparis is a vast alpine grassland perched between 2,000 and 2,500 m, facing the north side of the Meije. Lac Lérié (2,410 m) and Lac Noir (2,457 m) are the landmarks of this crossing. In calm weather, the Meije's glaciers reflect in their waters.

The shortest access is from the Le Chazelet car park above La Grave. Allow 1h30 to 2h to reach Lac Lérié. The full traverse of the plateau to Besse-en-Oisans (1,500 m) makes for a grand day's walking (5-6h, about 15 km). Once you're on the plateau, it's largely a gentle descent. The effort is about distance rather than height. The terrain is open, no technical difficulty, but exposed to wind and weather.

Practical info: 1h30-2h from Le Chazelet to Lac Lérié, 450 m height gain, moderate difficulty. Full traverse to Besse: 5-6h, 15 km, mostly downhill after the lakes. Accessible June to October.

Walk to these lakes with a guide

All these lakes are reachable as day walks or over 2-3 days. To discover them with a mountain guide who knows the quiet hours and less-travelled alternatives, we offer several options:

• Écrins Traverse in 5 days: a hut-to-hut trek passing by several of these lakes
• Weekend Refuge Trip in the Écrins: 2 days with a night in a mountain hut, ideal for combining 2 lakes on the same route
• Weekend in the Écrins: 2 days with bivouac or gîte, programme suited to your level
• Bivouac in the Valgaudemar: 3 days going lake to lake through the Valgaudemar
• GR54, the Grand Tour des Écrins: the full circuit of the massif, 7 to 13 days, taking in Lauvitel, Muzelle, and many more

See all our hiking holidays in the Écrins.

Frequently asked questions about Écrins lakes

Can you swim in the Écrins lakes?

In the core zone of the National Park, swimming isn't formally banned but is strongly discouraged. High-altitude lakes are fragile environments: the flora and small fauna in them are sensitive to disturbance, sun cream degrades water quality, and swimming itself is dangerous (cold water, unsupervised, potentially contaminated by animal remains).

In the Park's buffer zone, several communes have issued local by-laws banning swimming outright:

• Ornon, Oulles, and Livet-et-Gavet for all lakes on the Taillefer plateau (including Lac Fourchu)
• La Grave, Besse, and Mizoën for all lakes on the Plateau d'Emparis (including Lac Noir and Lac Lérié)
• Le Monêtier-les-Bains for all lakes within the commune

To cool off in summer, there are designated swimming spots in the valleys around the massif: Lac du Casset, Lac de la Roche-de-Rame, plan d'eau d'Embrun, Lac de Serre-Ponçon, the Orcières leisure centre, plan d'eau de Valbonnais, plan d'eau du Champsaur, and Lac de la Buissonnière at Les Deux Alpes.

When is the best time to walk to the lakes?

Most lakes are accessible on foot from late June to early October. July and August offer the most settled weather but also the heaviest crowds. September is often the sweet spot: fewer people, low-angled light, heather going red, and larches starting to turn gold. The lower lakes (Lauvitel, Lauzon) open from June. For the highest ones (Eychauda, Crupillouse, Emparis), you need to wait for the snow patches to clear, usually early July.

Which lakes suit families?

Lac du Lauzon (1h walk, easy path) and Lac du Goléon (1h30, well-marked trail) are the most family-friendly. Lac de Lauvitel is fine from age 7-8 too, even though the climb is steep. Lac du Glacier d'Arsine, with its gentle height gain from the Col du Lautaret, is another solid pick for children used to walking.

Can you link several lakes on a 2-3 day trek?

Absolutely. The Muzelle-Lauvitel loop via the Col du Vallon takes 2 days. Our Valgaudemar bivouac trip connects Pétarel, Lauzon, and Lautier over 3 days. The Écrins Traverse in 5 days passes by several of these lakes. The GR54 is the full circuit for seeing (nearly) all of them.

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