Around the salt marshes of Peyriac-de-Mer

A pleasant little family hike around a restored salt marsh for everyone to enjoy and discover.

Details

146092
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.05 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 68 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 64 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 59 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 0 m

Photos

Description of the walk

There are yellow signs all along the way.

(1) Start at the end of the car park (information sign). Take the boardwalk heading north-east, which takes you below the lake.
Caution: there are no barriers or guardrails, and the planks are uneven.
There are information signs along the route at points of interest. At the end, return to dry land and continue to a customs hut that is currently being restored.

(2) Head east-southeast to cross the salt marsh on the planks. Once on the other side, the boardwalk goes around a small bump on the left.

(3) At this point in the walk:
- either turn right to climb to the top of the hill for a 360° view, then descend to the edge of the salt marsh and continue south-southwest to La Passière (this is the option shown on the map).
- either continue along the edge of the pond on the main path to reach the edge of the Doul pond.
- or join the edge of the salt marsh on your right. N.B. Due to wildlife protection, this third option is not available at certain times of the year.

(4) Turn left (east) onto the path that climbs towards Le Mour. The path is lined with wires and posts to prevent hikers from trampling the flora. Caution: from the sign, the path climbs steeply. The trail skirts around the Mour on the left to avoid excessive erosion caused by both hikers and rainfall (repair work in progress), before finally turning right and continuing to the summit.

(5) Retrace your steps and descend to the right along a path that winds through the vegetation towards the small marina and fishing port.

(6) Turn right (north-west) to return to La Passière.

(4) Turn left, pass between the salt marsh (on your right) and the Peyriac pond (on your left). Then turn right to reach Peyriac along the roadside (which has been developed).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1 m - Start
  2. 1 : km 0.38 - alt. 1 m - House
  3. 2 : km 0.89 - alt. 1 m - Variations: hill, pond, salt marsh
  4. 3 : km 1.75 - alt. 1 m - La Passière
  5. 4 : km 2.68 - alt. 59 m - Pech du Mour
  6. 5 : km 3.24 - alt. 1 m - Port
  7. S/E : km 5.05 - alt. 2 m

Notes

Remember to take water, a hat and sun cream depending on the time of year and the weather. The ever-present wind masks the effect of the sun!

No major difficulties, no special equipment required. Be careful on the narrow paths on the pech (rocky outcrops): they're prickly!

Several variations are possible:
- From the starting point (3), you can follow the edge of the Doul pond to go around it.
- From the Mour hill, you can descend to the Doul pond.
- From the small port (6), you can reach the Doul pond via a track along the edge of the Bages/Sigean pond
- To significantly extend the walk, from the Doul pond you can take a marked path (yellow) that loops back to Peyriac, climbing above the pond and going around it.

Worth a visit

Customs officer's hut (2): exhibition on salt marsh activities.

From the top of Pech du Mour (5): 360° panorama offering views of the Peyriac salt marshes and their surroundings on one side and the entire coastline from Port la Nouvelle to Gruissan (Vieille Nouvelle beach, Chalet beach) on the other, with the islands of La Planasse, L'Aute, Sainte Lucie and Saint Martin in the foreground.

Accommodation and restaurants available in Peyriac.
More info:

The village is also very pleasant to visit.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 49 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
PMOURET
PMOURET

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A route taken on a sunny Sunday morning in December.
The start on the pontoons is truly unusual, set in surprising surroundings. We encountered several families out for a stroll along the route, such is the appeal of this site.
The 360-degree view from the top of Le Mour is splendid!
The walk takes about 50 minutes and ends in the village square with a quick coffee. The shopkeepers are lovely.
We highly recommend it for clearing your head.

Machine-translated

PMOURET
PMOURET

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A route taken on a sunny Sunday morning in December.
The start on the pontoons is truly unique, set in surprising surroundings. We encountered several families out for a stroll along the route, such is the appeal of this pleasant site.
The route takes about 50 minutes to complete and ends in the village square with a quick coffee. The shopkeepers are lovely.
We highly recommend it as a way to clear your head.

Machine-translated

josbaud
josbaud

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The route is beautiful, with a footbridge crossing the pond. With a bit of luck, you may see flamingos. Crossing the woods is very pleasant in warm weather. A very enjoyable family hike.

Machine-translated

Addelix
Addelix

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike, starting on a pontoon, then inland and finally between the two lagoons. We chose a windless, sunny day and it was magnificent. We had a little trouble finding our way between points 4 and 5 because the trail split, so we turned back twice before finding the trail again. The yellow markings are not very visible, so we used the app a lot to find our way.
DON'T FORGET YOUR INSECT REPELLENT. We did the hike at the end of April and were eaten alive. At times there were swarms of mosquitoes, but only when we were on the hilltops; there were few mosquitoes at the water's edge. Despite this, the hike is well worth doing because the landscape is beautiful.
The part on the water is busy, but each group kept a good distance from each other, so it wasn't really a problem.

Machine-translated

Patou63
Patou63

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely discovery. Best done early in the morning or, like us, at the end of September to avoid the summer crowds.

Machine-translated

VINCEVF67
VINCEVF67

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely short hike with beautiful scenery, unfortunately there weren't many birds that day

Machine-translated

nathaliem66
nathaliem66

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

beautiful, easy hike
great for birdwatchers
but not to be done when there is a tramontane wind or sea breeze!
no problems with signposting

Machine-translated

Phane2
Phane2

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with lovely views on this sunny day. Be careful on one section where it is better to wear trousers. Don't forget to bring water and a good hat.
I'd like to do this again at another time of year.

Machine-translated

Véro81
Véro81

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Great hike. A feast for the eyes. Hike done after a rainy morning. So the ground was very sticky. And it was a windy, cold day. Despite everything, I really enjoyed it

Machine-translated

michelyog
michelyog

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a really easy family hike with lots of options to extend the walk in all directions.

Machine-translated

ChristelleR
ChristelleR

A really nice, easy walk. Thank you for introducing us to this

Machine-translated

jpvls
jpvls

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A picturesque stroll to aid digestion

Machine-translated

Orfeo
Orfeo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An essential loop to enjoy all the beautiful views of Peyriac, the salt marshes and the Doul lake.
Perfect at this time of year: we were almost alone and there were lots of flamingos close to the shore.
The route is generally easy to follow, but the yellow markings are almost non-existent and, despite using the app, we couldn't find the suggested path down from Le Mour (we took another one, which was unfortunately quite steep).

Machine-translated

larsen Detdl
larsen Detdl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A departure around 12:30 p.m. is ideal for enjoying the footbridges (almost) without anyone else around. It's perfect for this spot, which offers great photo opportunities. The route is intuitive; climbing the 21-metre hill is (in my opinion) a must, as after just a few minutes you realise how vast the site is. The climb up Le Mour is along a lovely trail (hmm, the scents of the South, wild herbs). The 360° view from the summit (74 m) is worth the effort, especially when you're there alone. For the descent, we followed our instincts while staying on what appeared to be the main path (we put our smartphones away).
Highly recommended.
We followed the hike with the app and the IGN map in cache (so without mobile data), using only GPS location.
However, there were no wading birds on the salt flats in May, but there was a lot of bird chirping on Le Mour (identified using Birdnet)

Machine-translated

tmail
tmail

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It is difficult to follow the route with the description as there are many junctions that are not necessarily signposted.
Very pleasant walk.
Very few people at this time of year except on the footbridges.
Free parking at the edge of the village is recommended

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.