Lac de la Valette

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike with stunning panoramic views (peaks, glaciers, lakes and waterfalls) and pleasant trails.

We went to the Lavalette refuge and the lake of the same name, modifying the route suggested by Visiorando to make it circular and take a gentler, more interesting ascent (views, lake, etc.), but this adds about 4 km:

1) Take the free shuttle bus from Pralogan and set off from the terminus car park (after the Hameau des Prioux)

2) Walk about 200–300 m along the tarmac road, then take a wide track on your left signposted ‘Refuge de la Lavalette’ (4 hours). This track soon turns into a very pleasant footpath. You’ll pass the landmarks ‘Plan des Bos’ and ‘Le Chalet de Clou’ before reaching ‘Le Chalet des Streams’.
There’s a slight challenge: you’ll need to cross the stream just before the Chalet des Nants, which can be tricky if the water is flowing strongly (we managed it easily); if the flow is too strong, you’ll need to take a detour to use a footbridge a little further down (adding 30–40 minutes to the walk).
This section features a more gradual ascent along a fairly flat, balcony-like path towards the Chalet de Clou. It also offers beautiful views of the valley floor, including the Aiguille and the Polset Glacier, the Chavière Glacier (to the south), the Vanoise glaciers and the Petit Mont Blanc. There’s also a lovely little lake just past the Chalet de Clou.

3) From the Chalet des Nants to the Refuge de la Valette: a steeper climb but one that’s easy enough to manage (around 420 m elevation gain). Beautiful panoramic views of the valley floor, waterfalls… At the Refuge de Lavalette, there’s a very sweeping panorama, notably featuring the Grande Casse Glacier. Then, head off to the right towards the ruins of the Lac refuge: you’ll come across a lovely little lake, then follow the cairns to discover the beautiful Lac de Lavalette, which lies below you.

4) Return: from the Lavalette refuge to the Chalet de Nants, follow the same route as on the way there.
Then, from the Chalet de Nants, we followed the route described in the Visiondo guide, which takes you back to the hamlet of Les Prioux in 1 hour, where you can catch the return shuttle. We preferred to walk back to Pralognon along the stream (around 1 hour and 5 km).

Total duration of the Prioux-to-Prioux circular route: approximately 5½–6 hours’ walking (plus a lunch break) / 14 km / Elevation gain: 1,100 m
Ascent to the old Lac refuge: 4 hours
Return to the hamlet of Les Prioux: approximately 1 hour 30 minutes–2 hours

If returning to Pralogan on foot: approximately 7 hours’ walk and 19 km / Ascent: 1,100 m / Descent: 1,400 m

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you for sharing this lovely walk, which we did on 6 August 2026 as a family with two children aged 6 and 10 who are used to walking.
The start of the route, up to the crossing of the Stream des Nants, is of little real interest apart from the physical challenge (it’s a steep climb right from the start!).
The section between the Chalet des Nants and the Refuge de La Valette remains steep but offers lovely views over the Chavière valley, with the Aiguilles de Péclet and Polset as a backdrop, as well as the surrounding glaciers.
The arrival at the Refuge de La Valette is spectacular, with the Grande Casse and even a glimpse of Mont Blanc!
To see the La Valette lakes, you need to gain a bit of height, and the Pic de la Vieille Femme is perfect for this, as the climb is fairly easy compared to the rest of the hike. From up there, as well as the lakes, you can see the Barre des Écrins to the south and catch a glimpse of Mont Blanc to the north! Impressive.
The circular path leading down to the lower lake at La Valette doesn’t offer much, apart from the chance to see even more marmots (which are already very numerous around the refuge).
Overall, the route is a really lovely walk – well worth doing again if you’re passing through Pralognan!

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A challenging route, finishing at the Valette mountain hut, which offers a brilliant 280° view!!! It wasn’t very busy that day; in fact, we didn’t see a soul between the hut and the lake. Yet the lake, still half-frozen, is well worth a detour.
The only downside is the path up to the Pic de la Vieille Femme: don’t follow the ridge at the start of the climb, but keep further to the left.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very popular route to the refuge, no one above the old refuge.
The only downside is the route to climb the Vieille Femme peak: do not follow the ridge at the start of the climb. Take a path further to the left in the scree, which is easier to follow and a little marked, although it is more visible from above where there is a cairn that showed me the way down. Route available at https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-pic-...

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really lovely walk, which gets off to a steep start but has the advantage of quickly gaining altitude so you can admire the beauty of the landscape. You can even catch a glimpse of Lac de Chalet Clou on the right. What’s more, if you set off around 8 or 9 in the morning, the slope is in the shade for the first 700 metres of ascent, which is perfect on summer days. There aren’t many people about, as this route does require you to be reasonably fit. From the La Valette mountain hut, I headed to the old lakeside hut overlooking Lac de la Vieille Femme (a small lake), but I didn’t want to push on all the way to the Pic de la Vieille Femme (I needed to save my energy for all my hikes that week!) I naturally finished up at the magnificent Lac de Valette, though I didn’t actually go down to the water’s edge; instead, I stayed on the rocks to admire the view whilst having my picnic. The route isn’t signposted from the refuge, so thank you to the author of this Visorando for marking it out so clearly on the map. I even spotted a lovely marmot on the way down!

Machine-translated