Esparron-de-Verdon

de fr

Above the lake of Esparron-de-Verdon.

Details

n°18855
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.12 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 202 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 196 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 528 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 360 m
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Photos

There is also a small beach!
On the way down...
On the way, first view of the lake
The start after leaving the small car park

Description of the walk

Park in the Rue de la Barque car park on the edge of Lake Esparron in front of the restaurants.

(S/E) Leave the village of Esparron via the D82 towards the castle. Take the road lined with plane trees and pass a wash house on your right.

(1) When you reach a plane tree with a large hole in its trunk, take the road on the right called Chemin de la Tuilière

(2) 70 m further on, turn left onto the discovery trail and then, when it splits, take the right-hand path. The path narrows and becomes a trail, reaching a flat area where it joins another trail. Continue straight ahead to the top, keeping the slope on your right, and cross to the right onto the trail, which becomes a little flatter. After crossing a small ravine, the trail climbs again, then turns left. You will arrive near a ravine. Go left, and a little further on you will come to another path. Follow it to the right.

(3) This will take you to a path known as the botanical trail. Turn right and cross the Séouve plateau. Follow this path for 2 km and you will see a radio pylon on your right. Continue slightly to the left and keep going. When you reach the undergrowth, you will see a path on the left. Take it and go straight ahead. When you reach a stony clearing, go downhill and take care as it is a little difficult.

(4) At another clearing in the woods, you will arrive at the lake.
Continue along this path on the right-hand side of the lake and you will come to a road a little further on. When you reach a campsite entrance on the right, continue and pass a fairly old building on the left.

(5) After the building, take a path on the left that descends towards the lake.

(6) Further along the lake, climb up to the right to rejoin the road.

(7) When you reach the road, you will see the castle on your left and the D82 road opposite

(1). At the end, turn left towards the castle and the wash house, continue towards the village and arrive at the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 374 m - Parking - Lac d'Esparron
  2. 1 : km 0.77 - alt. 390 m - Take the Chemin de la Tuilière on the right
  3. 2 : km 0.85 - alt. 396 m - Turn left onto the discovery trail
  4. 3 : km 1.94 - alt. 519 m - Botanical trail, turn right
  5. 4 : km 3.5 - alt. 362 m - Arrival at the lake - Verdon (rivière)
  6. 5 : km 4.51 - alt. 387 m - Take the path on the left that leads downhill
  7. 6 : km 4.91 - alt. 360 m - Go back up to the right to find the road
  8. 7 : km 5.08 - alt. 401 m - When you reach the road, continue straight ahead
  9. S/E : km 6.12 - alt. 374 m - Parking

Notes

A very pleasant hike but with some difficult ascents and descents, but very pretty views.

Worth a visit

Visit Quinson and the dams.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 55 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Ratus84
Ratus84

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very busy, especially at the beginning. We got a bit lost on the last part. Very pretty views. Varied.

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M W W
M W W

Very pleasant hike with beautiful views of the lake and the village.

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hoetcoudray
hoetcoudray

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route enjoyed in the sunshine, with lots of shaded paths. It is best to use GPS, especially in the forest on the way back. At this time of year, the route was fairly quiet.

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Bmrando
Bmrando

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Hike completed in gloomy weather. Grey and windy. But beautiful landscapes and views.
Signage was adequate for the terrain.
Signage was sometimes unreliable. But the GPS route is there!!!
Overall, very good.

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Fred Ardèche
Fred Ardèche

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Nice route. I think it's better to do it the other way round because the descent is a bit dangerous

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Antonio Pires
Antonio Pires

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful route, but also difficult, especially on the descent, which can even be dangerous in the rain

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Randovan
Randovan

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A fairly challenging route with steep climbs and descents, offering beautiful views of the lake. The hardest part is finding parking in August...

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SamFa
SamFa

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent views

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Geor
Geor

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with pleasant shaded sections in the middle of summer, ending at the lake for a well-deserved swim.

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francois stéphane
francois stéphane

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a very beautiful route with a challenging climb halfway through, but the view at the top is well worth the effort!

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JulienAgasse
JulienAgasse

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

This hike is relatively easy, with a few interesting and beautiful viewpoints, but they are few and far between given the length of the loop. The end of the hike (2 km) is on the road.

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Monze
Monze

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

When I arrived on the plateau, it wasn't easy to find the path that went all the way around the field
Otherwise, it was nice

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Nick34
Nick34

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route was quiet due to the date, being a weekday in June. Due to thunderstorms, we were unable to enjoy the lake. Pleasant hike, but the path along the lake was less interesting.

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Vincent2904
Vincent2904

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this hiking suggestion. Beautiful views of the lake and gorges.
Suitable for families, but not with pushchairs; OK for dogs (it would be good to see this information more often, please ). Lots of potential swimming spots.
Be careful in high summer, as there are many exposed areas and parking is paid in summer.
It's a shame that the St Julien town hall hasn't put up signs explaining the history of the Verdon canal.

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acide01
acide01

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

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