Lac des Meinettes in Saint-Jeure-d'Ay

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On the Ardèche plateau, starting from the village of Saint-Jeure-d'Ay, along Lac des Meinettes and through the hills.

Details

n°1825808
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.02 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 735 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 732 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,542 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,152 ft
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Photos

Riverbank path
At the lake
WELL
Stone façade

Description of the walk

Car park to the east of the village of Saint-Jeure-d'Ay at the Salle des Fêtes car park, behind the silo, accessible via the D17.

(S/E) Leave the car park to the west towards Route de Marsan. Turn left onto Rue de Tournon towards the roundabout. Continue straight on along Route de la Croix du Fraysse. At the next junction (crossroads), turn left onto Route des Meinettes for 60m

White/yellow markings

(1) Take the path on the right. It crosses the meadows and joins a road coming from the left. Follow the descending road which passes through the Bosc buildings. Cross the bridge over the stream.

(2) Immediately after the stream, take the path on the left leading up towards the houses and reach a road. Follow this road to the left. After the last house, the road becomes a path. Continue until you reach the path running along the edge of Lac des Meinettes.

(3) Follow the lakeside path around three bends in the lake and cross three footbridges: Île, Bruyères and Petit Ceintres. You’ll reach a car park and then a path leading uphill to the right.

(4) Follow the path uphill to the right towards a tarmac section, passing a house on the left. You will then reach a through road and the buildings at Ceintres. Follow the road to the left for 100m.

(5) After the buildings, take the path branching off to the right. Follow the well-marked path, ignoring in turn a path on the left, then another on the right in a bend, then athird on the left and afourth on the right.
Reach the forest on the descent and, after 100m, ignore the path continuing in a hairpin bend to the right and take the one heading straight down. Leave the white/yellow markings.

Unmarked

(6) Continue along this path and cross the Ruisseau de Chaudeval. Head uphill towards a house and walk alongside it until you reach a road. Turn left towards the north, then right towards the east to reach another crossroad.

(7) Follow the road to the left. After 100m, continue straight downhill along a dirt track. Cross the forest, follow a stream and reach a road before a bridge on the right.

(8) Ignore the crossroad and follow the road opposite, which continues along the edge of the meadow. 600m further on, ignore a private road branching off to the left. Cross the Ruisseau d'Ozon and ignore another road branching off to the left; instead, follow the tarmac section opposite, which climbs steeply to the right. Reach the dirt track and continue straight up to the crossroads at the 416m mark.

(9) Turn left towards the hamlet of Robin. Reach a section of road and climb towards the hamlet along this tarmac road. Reach a crossroad.

(10) Turn left towards the hamlet and cross through it. As you leave, ignore a path on the right and then another on the left, and continue downhill straight ahead. Cross a wooded area and reach a low point before climbing again and walking past a house on the right.

(11) Reach a road after the house. Continue along this road, ignoring the one branching off to the right towards the riding club. At the next junction (Les Chèzes), continue straight on towards the village of Saint-Jeure-d'Ay, which is in sight. Return via the Route de Marsan to the starting point, which is now on the left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,535 ft - Car park at the village hall
  2. 1 : mi 0.21 - alt. 1,516 ft - Chemin des Pointes
  3. 2 : mi 0.81 - alt. 1,381 ft - The hamlet of Bosc
  4. 3 : mi 1.25 - alt. 1,309 ft - Lac des Meinettes
  5. 4 : mi 2.85 - alt. 1,316 ft - Chemin Sous Ceintres
  6. 5 : mi 3.26 - alt. 1,394 ft - Hangers
  7. 6 : mi 3.79 - alt. 1,345 ft - Bois d'Église
  8. 7 : mi 4.34 - alt. 1,375 ft - Turn left at the road
  9. 8 : mi 5.02 - alt. 1,168 ft - Le Pavé
  10. 9 : mi 5.79 - alt. 1,368 ft - Crossroads at elevation 416
  11. 10 : mi 5.99 - alt. 1,404 ft - The hamlet of Robin
  12. 11 : mi 6.59 - alt. 1,283 ft - Badel House
  13. S/E : mi 8.02 - alt. 1,535 ft - Car park at the village hall

Notes

Standard hiking equipment.
No drinking water facilities apart from the lake and streams!!

Worth a visit

The village of Saint-Jeure-d'Ay.
Lake Meinettes
The many small streams.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 15 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 24213347

After the Badel house, 200 metres to the left, I found a path leading back to the lake, allowing me to walk all the way round it and return to the starting point via the route I’d taken that morning. This also meant I avoided having to walk straight back to Saint Jeurre d’Ay along a tarmac road.
In any case, a very pleasant walk.

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User 24213347
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

After the Badel house, 200 metres to the left, I found a path leading to the Meinettes farm, which allowed me to return to the lake and thus complete the full circuit of the lake, coming back to the starting point via the morning’s route. This also avoids having to return directly to Saint Jeurre d’Ay along a tarmac road.
In any case, a very pleasant walk.

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ClodyFauve
ClodyFauve

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that was very quiet on the day of this discovery:

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vivianew
vivianew

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Currently, several footbridges are missing around Lake Meinettes. It is interesting to do this walk in the opposite direction to have a picnic by the lake. You could also add Montbard for the view!

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michel1941
michel1941
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A beautiful, fairly easy hike. We did it in the opposite direction so we could have lunch by the lake. Thank you to the author of this hike, Michel B

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désapointé26
désapointé26

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A short but interesting hike in very cold weather in the morning but with beautiful sunshine. The lake was still frozen along its banks when we walked along a small section of it.

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caresse
caresse

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Hike done today in beautiful sunshine, easy and interesting route. To be repeated in spring D:

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henri974
henri974

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Although the start of the hike is clearly marked, once you leave the lake shore, it's a different story – which is a shame. Why not mark the suggested hikes with the "VISORANDO" logo?

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Pascal07300
Pascal07300

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very well, the real Ardèche countryside
After the hamlet of Badel, at an altitude of 410 metres, a few kilometres before the end, you can take a track towards "Les Meinettes" to reach the lake and its picnic tables, finish the loop, and then return to St Jeure d'Ay via the path you took at the start. This adds an extra 2 km, but less road.
Thanks to the author for sharing.

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pallandre chantal
pallandre chantal

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

An easy walk, a pleasant alternative route around Lake Meinettes.

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barou jy
barou jy

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We only did part of the route. As always, we adapt it according to the time available, the weather, and the sites we want to add.
have a good evening

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Kélig07
Kélig07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk taken at the end of January in spring-like temperatures.
I know Lake Ménettes well, having walked around it many times. The appeal of this hike, which is very well described in this guidebook, is the variety of landscapes.
No difficulty. The path along the lake is slippery when wet because it is muddy. This is the only place where walking sticks may be useful.

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Conforti
Conforti

Thank you, but the hike has not been completed to date

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raphael07
raphael07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

My beloved Ardèche region.
Diverse landscapes, fields stretching as far as the eye can see, woodlands, the poor Lac des Meinettes, which has suffered greatly from this year's heatwave. I will return when the water returns so that I don't have to keep this image in my mind and can enjoy hearing the streams flowing and crossing the little wooden footbridges...
A very beautiful hike away from everything, where a few visitors watch us pass by quietly (horses, cows, donkeys) and only the sound of black woodpeckers on tree trunks can be heard.
I highly recommend it, even if on the way back, section 11 to 1 no longer has the same charm and, above all, it is very hot on this part of the route! So take precautions.

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CATBER
CATBER

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We completed the route in very hot weather, and the proximity of the lake during part of the walk was very pleasant.
Running late due to a late start, we took a shortcut along a marked path that was not shown on the IGN maps.
This alternative route starts at point 5. Instead of turning right and going around the large house (bed and breakfast), we went straight on the road towards point 8 and quickly turned left onto a marked trail. From there, a beautiful shaded path led us to the ford between points 8 and 9 (at the foot of the stairs, turn right for 50 metres and rejoin the route on the left). We saved ourselves a good kilometre of road.
A very beautiful walk, thanks to the trailblazer

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