Around Lake Malaguet

de fr

A half-day hike in the heart of the Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park, offering the chance to explore the Lac de Malaguet Regional Nature Reserve and its surroundings; alternating between woodland and meadows...

Details

n°43513986
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.17 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 509 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 525 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 3,589 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 3,346 ft
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Photos

Malaguet Lake
Malaguet Lake

Description of the walk

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

(1) Turn right and keep to the left until the second junction (towards Dignac), then leave the road to take a forest track. At the junction, follow the track to the right. Continue along the track (uphill) and keep to the right until you reach a road.

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

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

(4) At the junction, 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 as you go downhill until you reach a bend.

(5) Follow a forest track on the right (yellow markings) at a picnic table. Carry on straight ahead along the track. When you reach a cross, leave the main track and continue to follow the yellow markings by 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 departmental road, leave the yellow markings and turn left. Follow the departmental road for 100 m before taking a path on the right. Follow this through the forest. Caution: there is a difficult descent for mountain bikes before reaching Lake Malaguet (quiet zone).

(7) Continue left along the track that runs alongside the lake and stay on the official path. The track leads to the road. Follow the route in the opposite direction to the outward journey to return to Malaguet (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 3,471 ft - Malaguet - Lac de Malaguet
  2. 1 : mi 1.08 - alt. 3,445 ft - Route - Lac de Malaguet
  3. 2 : mi 2.39 - alt. 3,553 ft - Route de la Roche
  4. 3 : mi 3.23 - alt. 3,504 ft - T-junction: turn right - Borne (rivière) - Affluent de la Loire
  5. 4 : mi 3.82 - alt. 3,468 ft - Mortessagne hamlet
  6. 5 : mi 4.71 - alt. 3,458 ft - Picnic table
  7. 6 : mi 5.9 - alt. 3,533 ft - D13
  8. 7 : mi 6.54 - alt. 3,386 ft - Lac de Malaguet
  9. S/E : mi 7.17 - alt. 3,474 ft - Malaguet - Lac de Malaguet

Notes

Signposting:
- Sentier des Libellules (lake loop) andPR®® (yellow markings).
- Route not fully signposted, mainly following forest paths and tracks
Possible mountain bike route:
- Before reaching the lake, follow the road towards Varenne; at the hamlet, turn immediately right onto the road to rejoin the route at point no. 2.
- Challenging mountain bike descent at the10-kilometre mark.
Accommodation:
- Les Bois de Malaguet group 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.

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Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 7 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
User 12881259
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, we parked at the meeting point directly opposite the ‘Les Bois de Malaguet’ group lodge on the D13. Point to note: following a recce carried out beforehand at the start of the route, we didn’t go through the lodge buildings (too complicated) but walked straight down the lake road for about a hundred metres before turning left onto the small track which rejoins that same road further on. It’s much simpler. As for the rest, I would advise large groups to ensure both crossings of the D13 are properly secured, particularly the one marked number 6. As cars and/or lorries tend to drive very fast on this quiet road, it is therefore best to have two people wearing high-visibility vests to secure both the upstream and downstream sides of the group’s crossing.

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vissenty
vissenty

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, mostly through the woods at an altitude of 1,000 metres, so very pleasant in hot weather
We parked in the car park at Lac de Malaguet, on the beach at the start of the ‘Sentier des Libellules’ trail

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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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