Malrif Lakes

Beautiful mountain lakes and magnificent landscapes.

Details

11719
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.37 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 799 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 801 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,765 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,964 m

Photos

Description of the walk

From Aiguilles, take the road that climbs up to the car park below the Lombard sheepfold. It is a stony road, passable with a standard vehicle, but watch out for potholes and ruts.
Let's go, enjoy the walk!

(S/E) From the car park, take the path on the left that passes near the sheepfold.

(1) Follow the path until you see the sign for "Le Lombard", "Aiguilles" and "Les Lacs". You are now on theGR®58variant.

(2) Turn left towards "Les Lacs" and 500 metres further on, go around the rock and pass "La Crête du Serre de l'Aigle".

(3) Continue along the mountainside until you reach the foot of the stream and take the path that climbs to the right and goes around the hill to arrive at "Grand Laus"

(4) After admiring the superb Lac du Grand Laus and perhaps having a bite to eat or a swim, as it is not very cold in summer, take the small path on the left that climbs steeply towards Lac Mézan. We met a few fishermen there who are not afraid to walk to practise their sport in such magical surroundings.

(5) Go around Lake Mézan to the south and join the path heading north towards "Petit Laus".

(6). The wind was blowing hard on the day we went up, so we had to kit ourselves out a little (don't forget to line the bottom of your rucksack).

And there you have it, we've seen the three magnificent Malrif lakes. We'll go back down the same way or take a few small detours, for example by staying north of Lake Mézan or taking the path on the right at Grand Laus, until we reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,966 m - Parking is available below the Lombard sheepfold
  2. 1 : km 0.45 - alt. 2,012 m - Bergerie du Lombard
  3. 2 : km 1.37 - alt. 2,198 m - GR58 variant
  4. 3 : km 2.84 - alt. 2,471 m - Serre de l'Aigle ridge
  5. 4 : km 4.1 - alt. 2,582 m - Grand Laus Lake - Lacs du Malrif
  6. 5 : km 4.79 - alt. 2,679 m - Lac Mézan
  7. 6 : km 5.35 - alt. 2,765 m - Lac du Petit Laus
  8. S/E : km 10.37 - alt. 1,964 m - Parking is available below the Lombard sheepfold

Notes

Apart from the lakes, there are no water sources along the route.
Make sure you are well equipped before setting off, as the hike ends at high altitude, where it is windy and the temperature drops considerably as you climb. However, don't forget your swimsuit, just in case...
There are marmots along the route --> keep your dogs on a leash.
Don't forget your cameras.

Worth a visit

The more adventurous can descend via theGR®58to Abriès, but don't forget to retrieve your car from the sheepfold, which is another challenge in itself...

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.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 39 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Floren
Floren

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 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.
I had no difficulty reaching the starting point and didn't encounter any other cars on the track. On the way back, I saw several cars parked along the track, despite the no parking sign, which makes it impossible to pass other vehicles. The track is narrow, and there are few places where it is possible to pass.
At the start, access to the Lombard sheepfold was not signposted and the path was closed by a barrier. I took the marked path that leads to the GR. There are no orientation difficulties, as the paths are well signposted.
There were other people at the first lake, but no one at the second or third
The lakes are magnificent.

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Stephlarando
Stephlarando
• Edited:

The hike is very beautiful. We did it on 23 June, and there was still a lot of snow after the first lake. The main problem with this hike is getting there by car. It's 4.5 km of rocky track, which we had to drive in first gear, so when we started up again after the hike, the red coolant light was on. The car overheated. I therefore think we should have left from Abries like most of the people we met

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Domdt08
Domdt08

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike with spectacular views.
Discovering the small lakes above the main lake is well worth the effort!

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francis.t
francis.t

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
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, the lakes are magnificent. Access to the car park is easy with a passenger car if you drive slowly. The walking route is easy to follow. The return trip along the ridge of the Serre de l'Aigle offers a beautiful view of the Bisous.

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sergio05
sergio05
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasant hike with three different lakes, all of them magnificent.
Beautiful views throughout the route.
The access road is rutted in places, so caution and appropriate speed are required.
You can stop at the first lake with less experienced hikers; it's already a beautiful outing...

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frederic.seguy@wanadoo.fr
frederic.seguy@wanadoo.fr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike
We didn't go all the way to the top (stayed at the third lake) because it was very windy
Not too crowded for July
Access road passable with caution

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AUJAMES Denis
AUJAMES Denis

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We went hiking on a Saturday and encountered very few people, especially at lakes 2 and 3.
A superb hike with beautiful scenery, especially on the way back with views of the lakes and surrounding mountains in the distance. The elevation gain is steady, which makes it easy to maintain a steady pace.
There were very few flowers, but I think the drought had something to do with that.
We had a wonderful day.

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DoMass
DoMass

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Apart from the long, bumpy and narrow access road... a lovely walk with three lakes

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Eric05
Eric05

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike with magnificent scenery, but do not bring your dog because of the Anatolian shepherds who do their job very well

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JPC07
JPC07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Access road impassable for low-clearance vehicles: length = 4.3 km. Warning signs at the start of the route from AIGUILLES: "drive at your own risk, no parking for 1.5 km, rockfalls..."
We didn't have any problems with our old PANDA 4X4.
Otherwise, very beautiful lakes: definitely worth a hike and, if you can, with the return trip to the MALRIF peak starting from GRAND LAUS.

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Stella228
Stella228

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Some beautiful lakes, definitely worth a visit.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, Jean-Claude

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you all for choosing this hike.
@lacris64 and Melquiond Bernard
I personally stopped doing these kinds of popular hikes during the two summer months. Well, it's easy for me since I live in the area. And on top of that, post-Covid has attracted an incredible number of disrespectful people who have no regard for anything to these relatively accessible hikes. I'm horrified.

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lacris64
lacris64
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

very beautiful hike
starting from the village of Aiguilles and returning via the village of Abriés; there is a bus service between the two villages
the only downside to this outing is the crowds on the hike; no one respects social distancing and there is litter everywhere
the motorway in the mountains!!!!!!!!!!

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Melquiond bernard
Melquiond bernard

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Climbed via Abriès and Le Villard. Too many people on the route. A veritable procession, a huge crowd – is this the COVID effect? Fortunately, there were magnificent views of the Queyras massif

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