Arsine Glacier Lakes

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Hiking in the Ecrins massif towards glacial lakes.

Details

n°40348
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.68 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 812 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 805 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,459 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,713 m
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Photos

Lakes
Lacets des Voutes

Description of the walk

Park in the last car park accessible via an unpaved track. To reach the car park, take the D1091 towards Briançon. Pass Villar-d'Arêne and shortly afterwards, leave the D1091 on the right towards the D207 until you reach the Arsine bridge car park. Continue along the track to park a little further on at the bottom of the valley in the last car park.
(S/E) Take theGR®54southbound. Follow the Romanche river on the right bank until you reach the Pas d'Anna Falque.

(1) Cross a stream via a footbridge and climb Les Voute via a winding path. Leave the Romanche springs path on your right. Reach the entrance to the Parc des Ecrins.

(2) Stay on theGR®54, still marked in white and red, and the whole valley will open up before you. Pass by the weather station. Then walk along the edge of the Villar-d'Arêne refuge.

(3) Now walk along the right bank of the Rif de la Planche. You may be able to see Lac de l'Étoile on your right.
The trail continues to the Col d'Arsine.

(4) Leave theGR®54on your left. Take a path on the right between large boulders. Discover the enormous moraine opposite. Go around it, following the track to reach the lakes, which have a characteristic milky colour due to the fine particles suspended in the water.

(5) Return via the same route to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,713 m - Terminal car park - Romanche (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.65 - alt. 1,762 m - Pas de l'Ane in Falque
  3. 2 : km 2.02 - alt. 2,055 m - Ecrins National Park
  4. 3 : km 3.18 - alt. 2,084 m - Refuge de l'Alpe de Villar d'Arêne
  5. 4 : km 6.2 - alt. 2,351 m - Col d'Arsine (2340m)
  6. 5 : km 7.29 - alt. 2,459 m - Lacs d'Arsine
  7. S/E : km 14.68 - alt. 1,713 m - Terminal car park

Notes

On the way, stop at the Alpe de Villar-d'Arêne refuge (drinks, etc.), a guarded refuge with 94 places.

You are hiking in the heart of the Ecrins National Park.

The Écrins massif is an exceptional area, open to all, with a rare natural, cultural and landscape heritage. To protect these treasures, the heart of the park is marked by blue, white and red flags, where regulations must be observed. Please familiarise yourself with these rules when planning your hike in order to preserve this collective asset, at https://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr.

Worth a visit

Villar-d'Arêne is located right next to La Grave and its panoramic view of La Meije.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 19 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
sempervivum
sempervivum

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

The track is no longer passable and is closed, so you will need to stop at the lake car park and add half an hour there and back to reach the starting car park indicated on Visorando. High mountain atmosphere, spectacular landscapes, milky-coloured lakes, waterfalls, numerous marmots... an ideal hike. The GR 54 is very popular (Tour d'Oisans and des Ecrins)

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ed102
ed102

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike in marmot country. Once at the summit, there is a superb view of the lake and its glacier.

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User 17876446

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike, beautiful surroundings, beautiful panoramic views. Very well marked. People and marmots.
We started from the car park at the lake.

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cchambault
cchambault

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike, gradual climb, stunning colours of the lakes, varying with the colour of the sky.

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bergen38
bergen38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

beautiful hike; the glacier is receding!!!!

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Rando Leo
Rando Leo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2025
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 with varied landscapes, partly done during a reconnaissance trip (in September, I will bring a group to do the Villar d'Arène/Col and Arsine Lakes/Lac de la Douche/Le Casset crossing, leaving cars at Villar d'Arène and Le Casset).
The only slight downside is that I would advise against parking at the last car park (unless you have a 4x4), as the track is very bumpy due to the Romanche river overflowing and carrying large rocks. In my opinion, it is better to park at the car park at the end of the tarmac road next to the small lake. Especially since the GR passes by there and climbs gently up a very beautiful path (a good warm-up before tackling the steeper climbs). I started the hike at 7:30 a.m.: there were very few people and I had the pleasure of seeing a chamois crossing the path. There are more people during the day, as the GR du Tour des Ecrins is quite popular, but it's also an opportunity to chat with other groups

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Francou38
Francou38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Superb, magnificent landscape.
Crossing: from the foot of the Col du Lautaret to Le Casset.
Climb up this valley without much difficulty to the plateau where marmots await us
Very easy and relaxing alpine pasture on the plateau, short climb up the moraine to reach the foot of the lake and glacier.
The descent to Lac de la Douche is a little steep in places.
Best done at this time of year to enjoy the autumn colours of the blueberry bushes.

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Laurence57C
Laurence57C

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent route, with a high-mountain feel throughout. The path from the pass to the lake is easy, so don't hesitate – it's really worth the detour for those who love unusual landscapes. It's very interesting to climb the small ridge on the right when you reach the lakes, as the commanding view is a real bonus. We came back down at around 3pm – at this time of day, be careful not to crush any marmots!

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VirginieL
VirginieL

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

This side is relatively busy, but busier from Lac de la Douche than from Villar d'Arene. After the first climb, the rest of the hike is simply magnificent, with spectacular scenery and lots of marmots. Enchanting!

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Randofamily
Randofamily

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We went on a magnificent hike and spent the night at the Les Alpes mountain refuge.
We walked through mountain pastures surrounded by very friendly cows , lots of marmots that we saw up close, and numerous sheep... The second part of the hike took us through a more rocky landscape, and the lake was impressive in both size and austerity.

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christinec
christinec

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The time indicated is slightly overestimated: it took us 5½ hours, including breaks, passing by the banks of the Romanche on the way back

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JOSETTE25
JOSETTE25

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Superb hike, a magnificent lake. Gradual climb without difficulty. Marmots all along the hike.

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franma
franma

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

We didn't see the start of the track at the Arsine Bridge car park and walked along the track that continues the road but is blocked by boulders... On the way back, we saw that the track we should have taken starts on the right, 40 metres before the Arsine Bridge car park.
Despite this slightly longer route, it took us just under 6 hours, excluding stops.
It's a very beautiful hike, even in October.
It wasn't too crowded, but it is the end of the season.

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bebert38
bebert38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Lake Arsine is a glacial lake, which sets it apart from other high-altitude lakes. It's a pleasant hike with a superb plateau that's well worth the trip. We saw at least 20 marmots before reaching the cool pass.

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michelpacaut@yahoo.fr
michelpacaut@yahoo.fr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very good, easy and interesting hiking route (rocky outcrop, interesting alpine geology).

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