Around Lake Malaguet

Half-day hike in the heart of the Livradois Forez Regional Nature Park, allowing you to discover the Lac de Malaguet Regional Nature Reserve and its surroundings, alternating between forest and meadow...

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.53 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 155 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 160 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,094 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,020 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From Les Bois de Malaguet, go around the buildings on the left until you reach the road. Follow it to the left and take the bend. Continue on the downhill track, then straight ahead on the road before turning right to reach the Lac de Malaguet car park. Turn left onto the Sentier des Libellules trail which runs alongside the lake. After a short climb, you will reach the road.

(1) Turn right and keep left until the second crossroads (towards Dignac), then leave the road and take a forest track. Continue along the track on the right at the intersection. Continue along the track (uphill) and keep right until you reach a road.

(2) Go right until you reach a sharp right-hand bend. Leave the road and take a path on the left, following the yellow markings. Ignore a crossroads, then turn right onto a path that descends and joins a road. Follow it to the left, then straight on to the stream and its crossroads.

(3) Leave the path and the yellow markings to take the path that climbs through the forest on the right. Join the district road, cross it and take the path directly opposite. Follow it, cross the old railway line, and the path leads to a road and descends to the hamlet of Mortessagne.

(4) At the intersection, take the road on the left. After the hamlet, leave the road and take a path on the right. Turn right again to join a road. Keep left downhill to a bend.

(5) Follow a forest track on the right (yellow markings) at a picnic table. Continue straight ahead on the track. When you reach a cross, leave the main track and continue to follow the yellow markings, taking a path on the right. When you reach a road, follow the yellow markings to the left, cross the hamlet of Le Favet and continue to the departmental road.

(6) When you reach the main road, leave the yellow markings and turn left. Follow the main road for 100 metres before taking a path on the right. Follow it through the forest. Be careful, there is a difficult descent by mountain bike before reaching Lac de Malaguet (quiet area).

(7) Continue on the left along the path that runs alongside the lake (small paths allow access to the lake shore in places). The path leads to the road. Take the route in the opposite direction to the outward journey to return to Malaguet (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,058 m - Malaguet - Lac de Malaguet
  2. 1 : km 1.73 - alt. 1,050 m - Road - Lac de Malaguet
  3. 2 : km 3.85 - alt. 1,083 m - Route de la Roche
  4. 3 : km 5.2 - alt. 1,068 m - Fork in the road on the right - Borne (rivière) - Affluent de la Loire
  5. 4 : km 6.14 - alt. 1,057 m - Hamlet of Mortessagne
  6. 5 : km 7.59 - alt. 1,054 m - Picnic table
  7. 6 : km 9.5 - alt. 1,077 m - D13
  8. 7 : km 10.52 - alt. 1,032 m - Lac de Malaguet
  9. S/E : km 11.53 - alt. 1,059 m - Malaguet - Lac de Malaguet

Notes

Signposting:
- Sentier des Libellules (lake tour) andPR® (yellow markings).
- Route not fully marked, mainly using forest paths and tracks
Possible mountain bike route:
- Before reaching the lake, follow the road towards Varenne, at the hamlet immediately on the right on the road to join the circuit at point no. 2.
- Difficult descent by mountain bike at the10th kilometre.
Accommodation:
- Les Bois de Malaguet lodge - www.lesboisdemalaguet.com

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
User 21802846

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The start of the trail was poorly signposted as the route began inside some buildings... but after asking for directions, we found out it was the campsite. So, for other walkers coming after us, go around it and follow the road.

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mariecrif
mariecrif

A very beautiful, easy hike with little elevation gain.
The picnic table at point 5 is very welcome.

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ROUSSETC15D
ROUSSETC15D

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Follow the route as it takes several different paths (red, orange, blue, dragonfly, etc.) and is not signposted. At the very beginning, part of a marshy meadow was inaccessible because it was too waterlogged, but we were able to cross the meadow above it. And at the end, the path was blocked three times by trees that had been pruned by professionals but had not yet been cleared away.
Otherwise, the hike is not particularly difficult.

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MJO'
MJO'

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful, easy hike with views of the lake and beautiful scenery, forest paths. Few paved roads.
I started from the car park by the lake.
The route was quiet at this time of year.

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catherines
catherines

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, easy hike. With GPS, it's easy to follow the route. Beautiful scenery and few people. Perfect for immersing yourself in nature. Thank you for this enjoyable route.

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Les Bois de Malaguet
Les Bois de Malaguet

It's a shame you got it wrong. However, I can assure you that I do the route several times a month, often running (in one direction or the other). The region is indeed very beautiful.

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mousse54
mousse54

Strange. I did this hike starting from the lake instead of the planned starting point (as the route planned to pass where I parked, so there was no room for error). I scanned the route from the Visorando website because I never use topographical maps or Google Maps, and I can assure you that I didn't make a single mistake. Best regards.

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lpmbbp
lpmbbp
• Edited:

Unreliable description. We couldn't find the route. The roads mentioned were paths... Luckily we had a map to guide us, but we had to walk an extra 5 km. In short, I don't recommend this hike because the route is completely ridiculous. It's a shame because the region is very pretty and the villages we passed through were superb.We wondered if the walk had actually been done or published using maps and Google Maps 😥

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mousse54
mousse54

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike through pleasant countryside in complete silence. Thank you.

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