The Drac footbridge

A circular hike to do when the boat is not crossing the lake (out of season) or if you want to take your time crossing the footbridges over two days. See the Pont de Brion and Ébron footbridge hike.

This hike is not recommended for people who are afraid of heights or have a phobia of falling.

Details

10588201
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.20 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 494 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 493 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 663 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 484 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Depart from the Savel beach car park (free in June 2021) towards the beach.

(S/E) From the car park, walk along the lake away from the pier and join the D116A departmental road, then follow it in the same direction.

(1) Make a short detour to the Saint-Blaise Chapel, built by EDF, and retrace your steps to take the path marked with the sign: "Passerelle du Drac". You will reach a first fork in the road.

Take the path downhill before the dry toilets to reach a second fork before the footbridge.

(3) Turn right, take the footbridge and reach a third fork.

(4) At the end of the footbridge, take the path on the right towards "Passerelle de l'Ébron". You will reach a fork near a waterfall.

(5) Leave the path and take the small path that climbs up to the left.

(6) Take the wide path on the left marked with a yellow cross.

(7) Leave the path that climbs to the right and continue straight ahead, slightly downhill towards the footbridge.

(4) Cross the footbridge in the opposite direction.

(3) At the exit, continue straight ahead on the path that winds upwards.

(8) At the top of the fields, before the D 116, turn left and walk for 300 metres, following the signs for "Retour parking" (Back to car park).

(9) At elevation 650, back on the tarmac road, after thesecond car park, turn left onto the D 116A and you will soon find a path on the left, signposted "Savel, l'histoire en marche" (Savel, history in motion), which will take you to thefirst fork in the path on the way out.

(2) Follow the route in reverse to the car park at the start (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 494 m - Savel beach car park
  2. 1 : km 0.69 - alt. 515 m - Chapelle Saint-Blaise (Savel)
  3. 2 : km 1.88 - alt. 555 m - Crossroads of the northern circular loop
  4. 3 : km 2.6 - alt. 545 m - Footbridge over the - Drac (rivière) - Drac Noir-Drac
  5. 4 : km 2.85 - alt. 530 m - Crossroads of the southern circular loop - Passerelle sur le Drac
  6. 5 : km 3.88 - alt. 594 m - Waterfall - Fork in the road
  7. 6 : km 4.06 - alt. 637 m - Wide path
  8. 7 : km 4.88 - alt. 631 m - Fourche
  9. 8 : km 6.36 - alt. 646 m - Route D116
  10. 9 : km 6.67 - alt. 641 m - Fork in the road - Route D116A
  11. S/E : km 9.2 - alt. 494 m - Savel beach car park

Worth a visit

- Panoramic views of Lake Monteynard
- Panoramic views of the surrounding mountains
- Two-way footbridge over the Drac river and its panoramic views
- Diversity of vegetation and wildlife (cicadas in June)

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
randoceyreste/83
randoceyreste/83

Nice hike with footbridges as an additional point of interest

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jeanrenemartin
jeanrenemartin

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Visitor numbers depend on the time of year and...the weather.

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randoceyreste/83
randoceyreste/83

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Beach car park subject to a charge on 1 June 2025

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erythro
erythro

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hike done in bright sunshine, so lots of people.
No trouble finding the path.
A very pleasant hike with beautiful scenery.
The only downside: people who stop for several minutes in the middle of the footbridge to take photos and take up the entire width.
They seem to forget that they are not alone and that some people may not necessarily feel very comfortable.
Other than that, a very pleasant hike.

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Hibiscussafi
Hibiscussafi

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk, although it was very crowded around the footbridge and the lake was very low and a bit dull in colour. However, the setting is still magnificent with some beautiful views.

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Baboo Joe
Baboo Joe

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A varied route, even if the descent along the forest track is monotonous.

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hchevalley
hchevalley

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Nice footbridge, beautiful view of the Drac.
Only half of the forest side of the route is interesting.
In my opinion, the roadside section is best avoided, especially in summer (no shade).

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