A beautiful family hike with the chance to see marmots just a few metres from the path (from the start and also at the lake).
Vallon de Lauzanier car park (see Practical Information).
(S/E) From the car park, take the path towards Lac du Lauzanier (concrete path for a few dozen metres). There is only one path to the lake.
(1) Once you reach the lake, you can continue on to the lake behind the cross (+150m elevation gain). Return via the same path to get back to the car park (S/E).
Please note that access to the car park in the Lauzanier valley is not possible between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. from 14 July to 20 August. A free shuttle bus runs from the village of Larche (every 30 minutes).
It is also possible to come from the car park located almost at the top of the Col de Larche.
This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Sep 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
Very pleasant hike, parts of the route well maintained.
Access to the red pint is very narrow. In our van, we preferred to start from the car park below the Col de Larche, as we could enjoy the view at the pass.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Aug 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
Magnificent hike. Beautiful scenery from start to finish. However, despite the low elevation gain, most of it is concentrated in the last third of the hike. The end of the hike is very challenging.
Good physical condition required!
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Overall rating : 4.3 / 5
Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes
This is a very popular tourist route, so it is busy until you reach Lake Lauzanier. However, if you continue on to the next lake, known as Derrière La Croix, you will find yourself in a more mountainous and peaceful setting
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Overall rating : 3.7 / 5
Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes
I think it's worth mentioning that despite the low elevation gain, you have to walk 3 km before you start climbing, and then there are lots of steps, which makes this hike as difficult as others with a greater elevation gain. On the other hand, it's very beautiful
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Aug 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
The Lauzanier valley is very pretty, with marmots, flowers and a river. We extended our route by a few kilometres, starting from the Col de Larche
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Jun 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
Very pretty hike, with a steep climb as you approach the lake, but accessible.
The view is magnificent.
The marmots are very present and easy to photograph.
The access road is very narrow and difficult to reach the car park. Please note that access by car is not permitted in summer. You will need to take a small bus from the village of L'Arche.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Jul 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
As for parking, the best option in my opinion is to park in the car parks just before or directly at the Col de Larche.
please note that the access road is reserved for the shuttle bus between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., which can be inconvenient.
As for hiking, I was surprised, almost stunned, to see a sign saying that it was forbidden to feed the marmots 
That doesn't make sense, does it?
Tourists walking with dogs, which is strictly forbidden
In short, the place is magical, with the stream winding through the greenery.
The lake is clearly overcrowded, and you can see the marmots, which aren't very shy. I think I understand why... it's almost like being at the zoo...
To escape the crowds, we pushed on to Lac de Derrière la Croix to find the peace and quiet we were looking for and get lunch out of our bags...
There's a bit of a climb, but it's worth it.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Aug 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
A very beautiful hike in a valley ending at a lovely lake overlooked by a small chapel offering superb views of the lake and surrounding mountains.
It was very busy at this time of year.
Regarding the road leading to the start of this hike, I can confirm that it is very narrow and we had to reverse twice to let vehicles coming down the road pass. There are about sixty parking spaces, which means that when we arrived at 11 a.m., it was full.We had to drive back down and park a little over a kilometre from the car park. Please note that parking is not allowed on the road for a kilometre before this car park.
I think it's best to either leave very early in the morning or start from the Col de Larche, which is just a few kilometres after passing through the town of the same name.
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Overall rating : 4.7 / 5
Date of your route : Jul 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes
Flowers everywhere this year and marmots galore
The lake is very busy, it's true, but it's worth a visit
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Jun 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
A very beautiful hike, we were accompanied by marmots at the lake during our picnic. A very beautiful site, but busy.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Jun 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No
a beautiful hike at the beginning of June, with lovely flowers and lots of water in the streams, offering beautiful waterfalls and spectacular scenery. The view of the lake from the chapel is magnificent, with lots of snow still on the ground at the beginning of the month. Lots of playful marmots throughout the hike. The scenery is so beautiful that you almost forget the effort it takes to reach the lake. We did the hike as a group of about twenty walkers, young and old, and had no problems. The route is easy to follow, just follow the Ubayette river up to the lake (signposted GR5/GR56).Recommended hike, with one caveat: access to the car park at the start is via a narrow road from the village of Larche, so it is best to set off in the morning and return in the late afternoon, as it is difficult for vehicles to pass each other.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Jun 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
Very pleasant with gradually increasing difficulty, allowing you to acclimatise to the elevation and altitude at the start of your stay in the region
Lots of ibexes
One regret: the abundance of snow prevented me from climbing to the pass after the lake
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Overall rating : 4.7 / 5
Date of your route : Jun 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes
The end of the route, near the lake, is very steep.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Jun 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No
Very beautiful valley, marmots nearby, a bit greedy at the lake (be careful with your picnic and above all don't feed them!). If you look very carefully, you can see a chamois in the morning, several ibex in the afternoon but very far away on the sunny side, then a few young ibex just across the river near the Donnadieu hut on the way down.
Not many people during the week, still too much snow this year to go to the lake behind the cross.
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Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of your route : Sep 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes
Without a doubt one of the prettiest valleys I have ever seen. At the beginning of September, it was marmot festival time! If we had tried to count them, we would never have managed. They were everywhere! Like all beautiful, easily accessible places, this valley is very popular. It's best to visit out of season and on weekdays if you want to explore it without too many people around.
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