Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the car park on the road to Lac Pavin, walk down to the shore and follow the path round the lake through the beech woods, climbing and dropping a little along the steep sides of the crater. The water is dark in the middle and turquoise at the edges in summer, and the path gives views across the lake from every side before returning to the car park.
It is 4.6 km round with 143 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours. The grade is Easy: a woodland path with short ups and downs and some roots and steps.
Lac Pavin fills a crater about 6,900 years old, the youngest crater lake in mainland France. It is an almost perfect circle 800 m across and 92 m deep, which gives it its dark water. Swimming is strictly forbidden and dangerous; fishing is allowed only under the rules, from a boat. The path can be muddy after rain and icy in winter.
The car park is on the road south of Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise towards Super-Besse.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Lac Pavin fills a crater about 6,900 years old, the youngest crater lake in mainland France
- The lake is an almost perfect circle 800 m across and 92 m deep, which gives it its dark water
- A path of about 2.7 km runs right round the lake through beech woods; swimming is forbidden
Getting there
Start: Lac Pavin car park. 45.50192, 2.88983
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Vosges, Jura and Auvergne: Booking.com → Expedia →
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Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.