Between the ocean and Lake Cazaux-Sanguinet

The proposed route crosses the state-owned forests north of Biscarosse Plage on the border between the Gironde and Landes departments, and takes you along the shores of Lake Cazaux-Parentis. This route will allow you to discover the different faces of the Landes dunes
It takes you along sections of hiking trails marked by the Biscarrosse Tourist Office and a section ofthe GR®8.
Author's note: this route was posted online in 2018 after being tested. As I am no longer in the area, I am unable to verify it and some sections in the forest may have undergone changes as a result of forestry work and the 2022 fires that affected the region.

Details

1413336
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.35 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 164 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 157 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 77 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 18 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Biscarrosse (40600)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 44.43946° / W 1.23274°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1339ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the Cugnes car park at the southern entrance to Biscarrosse Plage.

(S/E) At the far end of the car park, turn right onto the hill that marks the start of the "Cugnes-Ispe" hiking route, cross the cycle path and continue straight ahead, heading south-east.

(1) Follow the tourist office route by turning left and going downhill. Then turn right to follow the perpendicular track (very sandy section) for a few dozen metres. Very high voltage power line.

(2) Take the marked track on the left and follow the open section and the sandy track: "beware of the sun at midday". When you reach the tarmac section, continue right towards the lake.

(3) Turn left, take part of the lake road in front of the hotel restaurant, and follow the lake shore and cycle path.

(4) Turn right to pass in front of Port Maguide.

(5) Turn left before the campsite and go up the hill.

(6) Turn left and take Allée des Brouhailles. Further on, turn right at the hairpin bend and follow the forest path for about 600 metres, then turn right towards the housing estate.

(7) Turn left when you reach Route de Brannes and continue to the intersection with Avenue des Hautes Rives.

(8) Cross the road and continue straight ahead.

(9) At the intersection with the sandy track (gas pipe crossing marked with posts with yellow beacons), continue straight ahead to take a 600 m climb with a 7% gradient.

(10) At the end of the climb, turn right and continue to follow the blue route signs.

(11) At the intersection with the D305, turn right and head uphill towards the roundabout.

(12) Halfway up the slope, turn left onto the track at the barrier, then turn right to rejoin the Blue route until you reach the roundabout.

(13) Before the roundabout, turn left onto the Green route, which will take you back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 19 m - Cugnes car park
  2. 1 : km 1.4 - alt. 45 m - Turn left
  3. 2 : km 1.68 - alt. 23 m - End of the perpendicular
  4. 3 : km 3.78 - alt. 23 m - The port of Ispe. Near the - Canal des Landes ou de Cazaux
  5. 4 : km 6.06 - alt. 32 m - Port Maguide - Étang de Biscarrosse et de Parentis
  6. 5 : km 6.69 - alt. 22 m - Camping
  7. 6 : km 6.99 - alt. 50 m - End of the road
  8. 7 : km 7.8 - alt. 53 m - The Brannes road
  9. 8 : km 8.72 - alt. 37 m - Intersection with Avenue des Hautes Rives
  10. 9 : km 9.93 - alt. 22 m - The climb to the pidgeon hunting hut
  11. 10 : km 10.52 - alt. 71 m - End of the climb
  12. 11 : km 11.82 - alt. 46 m - D305
  13. 12 : km 12.09 - alt. 35 m - End of the PR
  14. 13 : km 12.43 - alt. 18 m - Maguide roundabout
  15. S/E : km 14.34 - alt. 19 m - Cugnes car park

Notes

Bring a map of the area (or a printout of the route) as mobile phone GPS coverage is sometimes unreliable.
Wear mid-calf boots to prevent sand from getting into your shoes. Walking sticks are useful on the uphill sections.

Don't forget to bring something to drink to keep you refreshed, as well as a hat or cap, especially in non-wooded areas.
There is a water point on the route to Port Maguide beach.

Respect nature by staying on the forest paths.

As the forest is a living environment, foresters are involved in its maintenance, and paths that should be used are sometimes closed or altered due to work being carried out.

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

4.2 / 5
Based on 20 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
PapyDeSoulangis
PapyDeSoulangis

Hello
I mapped out this route in 2021. Since then, there has been forestry work and the blue route has been modified. I will look into modifying the route this summer.

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User 6165910

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Well-guided route, but one section of the route instructs you to follow the blue line, which turns left, while the description says to continue straight ahead. We continued straight ahead and everything went well.

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cybe
cybe

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Very pleasant route, easy to follow

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Ponpon123
Ponpon123

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great time
Great hike 👍

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Netra
Netra ★

Thank you, benmondon, for these clarifications!

The author of the hike is informed of each review received: let's wait for their clarification.

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benmondon
benmondon

Hello and thank you for your feedback

The instructions that leave something to be desired concern:
- point 6: you have to turn right, but not sharply; the junction with the forest path is not described in the guide, nor is the point at which you have to turn right towards the housing estate (which you cannot see when you turn).
- point 8: at one point, you need to leave the main road and turn left, then turn left again at the next junction;
- point 9: at the intersection with the gas pipe, you need to take the path that goes up to the right and not go straight ahead (having gone straight ahead, we were forced to catch up with the route by cutting across a dune with a gradient of about 30%, with a height difference of about 50 metres!);
- between points 12 and 13: you will come to an intersection when you leave the forest, which is not specified in the guidebook. Continue straight ahead and approach the roundabout.
- point 13: the instructions in the guidebook do not match the route. If you want to follow the route, you have to leave the marked trail (there is a cross marking that misled us).

This list is not exhaustive, but my memory of this route is failing me!

Have a good evening

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Netra
Netra ★

Hello benmondon, and thank you for your feedback.

Please note that the presence or absence of markings is not the responsibility of the author or Visorando.

However, we are responsible for the reliability of the information provided in the description. To help the author improve this description, please specify where there are inconsistencies between the map and the description. Thank you in advance!

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benmondon
benmondon

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route to do in any season, although the instructions in the guidebook do not always match those on the map... This makes it difficult to follow, especially as the route is not always signposted!

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sandam19
sandam19

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thanks to our "guide", this walk through diverse landscapes was a pleasure. Without GPS but with a map and written explanations, you have to pay attention, but it worked out fine.
at No. 10, the path is not the one that descends to the right, but the one that continues to climb.
between 12 and 13, don't hesitate to cross the perpendicular road and join the green path. That said, if you take the perpendicular road on the left, you can rejoin the green path on the right about three hundred metres further on.
We did this on 14 October and were alone. The weather was splendid. There is alternating shade and cover. At this time of year, don't hesitate to snack on the arbutus berries, which are abundant. Thanks again.

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claudia33
claudia33

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The description is unreliable. We spent all our time searching, so we had to cut the trip short at number 8. Such a shame. The hike itself was nice. Thank you anyway

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symphonicband
symphonicband

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant day, combining hiking and picnicking:
Landscape varying between land, lake and ocean. 360° view at point 10, climbing slightly up the dune.
Picnic at Maguide Harbour.

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Lavande82
Lavande82
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did the route without GPS, using only the map and the paper description.
Several places caused us to doubt ourselves, as there were no landmarks corresponding to the description.
It has already been mentioned below that the numbered landmarks on the map do not necessarily correspond to the description, which sometimes led us astray.
For (6), Allée des Brouhailles, there is no right-hand bend leading to a forest path. A resident of the alley told us to take the path on the left to reach Avenue des Hautes Rives.
For (10), there is no blue signposted route on the right at the top of the hill.
The end of the route was a bit of a mess, as we couldn't find the blue marked path, so we continued straight ahead and found the road. A cyclist told us that by crossing and following the cycle path, we would reach the village 2 km away. We then had to make our way to Les Cugnes.
Question: is it essential to have a GPS or equivalent to do this type of hike?
Despite these difficulties, we really enjoyed the route from start to finish, except for the last part, which was not planned (crossing Biscarrosse to reach Les Cugnes)... and in fact, instead of 14.35 km, we ended up doing nearly 20 km... We enjoyed the beautiful weather and loved the variety of landscapes along this route.
We are ready to do it again, with GPS equipment!
Thank you to the person who organised this hike.

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Benito
Benito

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike between land, sea/ocean and lake. Flooded section near the lake. The route was mapped using a GPX map, which was a great help

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rmartignon
rmartignon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful route. Possible extension of a few kilometres to access and follow the Biscarrosse beach

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Flocath
Flocath

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in February. The start of the hike was very pleasant, on a sandy track in the forest where you have to follow the green markings. Then, when you arrive near Lake Sanguinet, you walk along a fairly busy road. It was impossible to get close to the lake because the path was flooded. From point 5 on the map, there were no markings. Luckily we had GPS on our phone.the markings then reappear at point 9 but are no longer the same... they turn red and white and then blue a little further on!
Nice view of the lake.
Be warned, this is quite a strenuous hike as you have to walk for quite a long time in sand.

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