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

Turquoise water at 2,500 m, dead silence, not a soul on the trail at 7 AM. Or 200 tents crammed along the shore on an August Saturday. The lakes of the Écrins are both of these things. It all comes down to when and how you get there.

If you've made the long haul from Australia to the French Alps, you'll want to make the most of it. As mountain guides based in the Southern Alps, we're not going to pretend we're tipping you off about hidden spots. These lakes are well known, well documented, and some cop a real beating from overcrowding in peak summer. We share them all the same: hiding a place doesn't protect it, but understanding it properly does. The real issue is everyone rocking up at the same time, not knowing the alternatives, sometimes with poor behaviour (fires, wild camping, swimming, disturbing wildlife). Our job on the ground is to look past the postcard, shift the timing, pick less-travelled routes, and put together 2-3 day combinations that spread the pressure.

This selection is inevitably subjective, drawn from hundreds of outings across every season. For each lake, we note crowding levels and, where relevant, the best times or routes for enjoying it without the masses, plus a few pointers for getting beyond the clichés.

Lac de Lauvitel: the big one

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

The track 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 places but well marked, manageable for occasional hikers in reasonable fitness. Works well for families with kids from about 7-8 years old.

The lake sits at the entrance to a strict nature reserve bearing the same name. Given the heavy foot traffic, Park rangers keep a close watch. Check with the local tourist office for any regulations in force.

Behind the postcard, Lauvitel is a scientific site. The strict nature reserve, created in 1995 across 689 hectares, holds IUCN Category 1a status (the most restrictive). The CNRS has tracked ecosystem development here without human interference for over 30 years. The lake level swings by 20 metres across the seasons, a rare thing in alpine environments. Around 50 bird species have been recorded, micromammals monitored since 1992, and alpine meadow diversity grew between 1998 and 2014. Once you know this, the restrictions make a lot more sense: you're walking through a space where nature is being observed, not just set-dressed.

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 stretch the day out, a loop taking in both Muzelle and Lauvitel offers a harder circuit (roughly 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 fills a stark corrie under the Roche de la Muzelle (3,465 m). It's the stop on the GR54, the Grand Tour des Écrins, where most people feel like taking a rest day before finishing the loop. The Refuge de la Muzelle, right at the lakeside, welcomes hikers 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 trail passes through larch forest first, then opens onto alpine pastures and finally the lake. It's long and steep in sections, but getting to the lake makes the effort worthwhile.

Behind the postcard, Muzelle is a lake under scientific watch. It's part of the Lacs Sentinelles network, an observatory monitoring 34 high-altitude lakes across the Alps to track the effects of global changes. Between 2021 and 2023, the National Park and the OFB (French Biodiversity Office) ran a detailed study. Only two fish species live in the lake (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 warming signals: rising water temps, shorter ice-cover, and a drop in deep-water oxygen. On the positive side, neither farming nor tourism seems to be measurably affecting the aquatic life.

The lake has been in the spotlight for another reason lately: summer overcrowding. Up to 200 tents on some August weekends, with the hygiene and ecological problems that come with it. The National Park has since tightened camping rules in the area. If you're heading up independently, check the current regulations before you go.

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

Lac d'Eychauda

Sitting at 2,514 m, Lac d'Eychauda occupies a sealed glacial cirque between the Montagne des Agneaux and the Dôme de Monêtier. The landscape is mineral, stark, nothing like the other lakes in this list.

The standard approach is from the Chambran car park (Pelvoux, Vallouise valley): about 2h to 2h30 of climbing for 800 m of height gain. There's also a route from Le Monêtier-les-Bains (Serre Chevalier) via the Col d'Eychauda (2,425 m), a longer option (3h, 900 m gain) over rockier ground, with a climb 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 stick around into August. Unlike most alpine lakes, it's not held back by a moraine but by a granite bedrock sill. Its outlet doesn't stay on the surface: the water disappears into faults and scree. Fed by the Séguret-Foran glacier, the water is loaded with rock flour, low on oxygen in winter, and the lake is classified as oligotrophic (extremely nutrient-poor). A handful of trout survive here, descended from stocking in the 1950s-60s, but conditions stay harsh. The biological window is just 2-3 months a year.

It's a quieter lake than Lauvitel or Muzelle. You'll mostly run into experienced hikers and the odd mountaineer headed for the glaciers.

Lac du Glacier d'Arsine

Lac du Glacier d'Arsine is a proglacial lake, formed as the Arsine glacier retreated over recent decades. Its milky colour, heavy with sediment, shifts with the light and season. It sits at 2,450 m in a broad mineral cirque enclosed by moraines.

The walk starts from the Col du Lautaret (2,058 m) along the Sentier des Crevasses, a balcony track above the valley. Allow 3h to 3h30 for about 450 m of height gain. The modest gain is 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 disaster. Formed by glacial retreat, it was held back by a hefty moraine system from the Little Ice Age (1550-1850). By 1985 the lake covered 6 hectares holding 800,000 m³ of water, and the level was climbing roughly 50 cm a year. The moraine was at risk 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": blanketed in rock debris that insulates it and slows the melt. Its moraine system is considered one of the best preserved in the western Alps. It's a cracking site for hiking in the Écrins and getting a firsthand look at glacier evolution.

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 at the back of a cliff-walled cirque, with a cracking view down into the valley below.

The climb is tough: between 850 and 1,500 m of height gain depending on your start point (Andrieux, Les Portes, or l'Ubac). Allow 3 to 5 hours. It's a solid day out, best kept for when you're feeling fit.

Behind the postcard, Pétarel has been monitored for around twenty years as part of the Lacs Sentinelles network. In 2009 and 2017, minnows turned up in the lakes, a surprising find at this altitude. Since 2022, researchers from Aix-Marseille University and the National Park have been mapping where these fish appear: 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 supports alpine newts and dragonflies (common hawker). The first hydrobiological study here dates to 1996, making Pétarel one of the best-documented high-altitude lakes in the massif.

We've put together 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 an hour's walk. The track is well marked and the height gain gentle (about 450 m doing the loop with Lac Bleu). It's one of the easiest ways in the Écrins to reach a proper high-altitude lake.

Lac Bleu, a bit higher up, rounds out the loop nicely. The two lakes are chalk and cheese: Lauzon is green, shallow, practically a pond with all its aquatic vegetation, while Lac Bleu lives up to the name with water of a deep, clear blue.

Behind the postcard, Lauzon is a glacial over-deepening lake, carved about 10,000 years ago into gneiss fractured by a north-south fault. It's classified as a "grassland lake": ice-free 4 to 5 months a year, it gets relatively mild conditions for the altitude. Aquatic vegetation thrives here, a good sign for biological productivity. Peat bogs edged with cotton grass surround the lake. Chamois are regularly seen early 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, untouched setting well away from the crowds at the popular 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 toughest "lake hikes" in the massif. The trail 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 standout sites for glacial erosion in the Écrins. The cirque was freed from ice fairly recently in geological terms: the rock is barely weathered, pale, almost lunar. The lakes are over-deepening lakes, separated by rounded humps covered in glacial polish (those smooth surfaces carved by the passage of glaciers). The bedrock is augen gneiss, rocks with large feldspar crystals that give the site its white-pink colour. It's also reliable for chamois and ibex sightings, 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 that catches you off guard. It doesn't feature in many guides and mostly attracts 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 track passes through larch forests, by the Refuge des Souffles (1,968 m, a handy halfway point), then continues to the alpine meadow at 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 shot everyone's seen, and the August crowds are part of the deal.

The walk starts from the hamlet of Valfroide, above La Grave. The climb takes about 1h30 for 570 m of height gain. The trail is well marked and accessible to most hikers, families with kids from age 6-7 included. The Refuge du Goléon, staffed in summer, means you can stay the night and make more of it.

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 larger dam 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 survive 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, trails get widened by those cutting switchbacks, and dogs off-lead disturb wildlife (chamois, black grouse, rock ptarmigan). Every hiker's behaviour matters here.

Plateau d'Emparis: Lac Lérié and Lac Noir

The Plateau d'Emparis is a broad 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) punctuate this crossing. In still weather, the Meije's glaciers reflect in their waters.

The shortest access starts 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 solid day (5-6h, about 15 km). Once on the plateau, it's mostly a gentle descent. The effort is about distance rather than height. The terrain is open, nothing technical, 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 descending after the lakes. Accessible June to October.

Hike to these lakes with a guide

All these lakes are accessible as day hikes or over 2-3 days. To explore them with a mountain guide who knows the quiet windows and less-travelled options, we run several trips:

• 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 one route
• Weekend in the Écrins: 2 days with bivouac or gîte, programme matched to your level
• Bivouac in the Valgaudemar: 3 days going lake to lake through the Valgaudemar
• GR54, the Grand Tour des Écrins: the full loop of the massif, 7 to 13 days, taking in Lauvitel, Muzelle, and plenty more

See all our hiking trips 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 living in them are sensitive to disturbance, sunscreen degrades water quality, and swimming itself is risky (cold water, unsupervised, potentially contaminated by animal remains).

In the Park's buffer zone, several communes have passed 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 in the commune

For a swim in summer, there are proper 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 hike to the lakes?

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

Which lakes work for families?

Lac du Lauzon (1h walk, easy trail) and Lac du Goléon (1h30, well-marked trail) are the pick for families with kids. Lac de Lauvitel works 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 good option for children who are used to walking.

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

Definitely. The Muzelle-Lauvitel loop via the Col du Vallon takes 2 days. Our Valgaudemar bivouac trip links 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 ticking off (nearly) all of them.

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