The Thésauque lake

A lovely walk along the shores of Lake La Thésauque in Nailloux, which can be shortened by 4 km by cutting through the village of Montgeard.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.34 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 173 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 165 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 291 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 201 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Montgeard (31560)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.357655° / E 1.646146°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2145E
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Departure from the car park at the Lac de La Thésauque leisure centre in Nailloux.

(S/E) From the car park, climb onto the dyke and follow the lake shore on the right, continuing to the end of the lake.

(1) At the end of the lake, about 150 m before the road, take the path on the right that climbs through the woods to a road.

(2) At the end of the path, almost level with the mill, turn left onto the tarmac road to reach the centre of Montgeard. Cross the crossroads with the statue of the Virgin Mary. Pass in front of the town hall and, at the next crossroads, before the castle, turn right into Rue des Arcades.

(3) Cross Grande Rue du Pastel and continue straight on Rue de la Tour, then turn right onto Chemin de Sous Tourelle and take thefirst left. Join Chemin des Marcheurs again on the left.

(4) Follow this path down to the motorway.

(5) Follow it to the left until you reach Route des Éoliennes.

(6) Follow it to the left to reach the junction with Route de Gibel D43H. Continue to the right until you reach the path in the bend.

(7) At the junction, turn right and cross it to climb up opposite via Chemin du Diable, which joins the D19.

(8) At the road, make a left/right turn and take the path opposite that goes downhill. At the corner of the field, turn left onto the path and follow it until you reach Rue des Moulins à Vent.

(9) Turn right and then take thefirst street on the right, Rue de l'Aouta, and follow it down to the lake shore.

(10) Follow the lake shore on the opposite side from where you started. Return to the car park at the Lac de La Thésauque leisure centre in Nailloux (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 201 m - Leisure Centre car park. - Lac de la Tésauque
  2. 1 : km 2.83 - alt. 213 m - Path at the end of the lake.
  3. 2 : km 3.79 - alt. 277 m - Road junction
  4. 3 : km 4.08 - alt. 289 m - Rue de La Tour in Montgeard
  5. 4 : km 4.3 - alt. 284 m - Walkers' Path
  6. 5 : km 5.38 - alt. 215 m - Motorway - Hyse (ruisseau) - Affluent de l'Ariège
  7. 6 : km 6.26 - alt. 224 m - Wind Turbine Route
  8. 7 : km 7.01 - alt. 271 m - Chemin du Diable
  9. 8 : km 7.16 - alt. 286 m - Le Moulin d'En Haut
  10. 9 : km 7.7 - alt. 287 m - Rue de l'Aouta
  11. 10 : km 9.2 - alt. 211 m - Lakeside - Thésauque (rivière) - Affluent de l'Hers-Mort
  12. S/E : km 11.34 - alt. 202 m - Leisure Centre car park.

Notes

Picnic tables at the leisure centre.

Worth a visit

Lake La Thésauque.
Montgeard Church.
Lac de La Thésauque Leisure Centre.
Restaurants, bars, campsite at the leisure centre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Meysonnet-Cazabon
Meysonnet-Cazabon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We didn't meet many people because it was a weekday in December. The play area with swimming and slides must be very busy in summer. We saw several species of water birds.

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Krystian
Krystian

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike on a sunny Sunday. The route description is very well done. This hike is very interesting because it is shaded and pleasant along the lake, where you can see various animals. We were lucky enough to see about 15 turtles sunbathing on a fallen tree in the water and to hear (rather than see) carp spawning in the reed bed. The village of Montgeard is very interesting for its tranquillity and ancient monuments (house, church, well, mill). There are very few tarmac roads and they are not very busy. For those who are less fit, it is possible to skip the section between points 3 and 8 to shorten the distance. In conclusion, we recommend this very interesting walk.

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Christine6331
Christine6331

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very nice tour around the lake. But not to be done the day after rain, as the path is muddy.
Montgeard is a very pretty village. However, it is exposed to the wind and there is nowhere to shelter if you plan to have a picnic there.
So it's best to do this walk in the summer and on a windless day.

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Pat81
Pat81

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant walk with a few people around the lake, but no one continuing on to the village of Montgeard, whose buildings are well worth a visit. Beautiful view of the Pyrenees from the village of Montgeard.

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Bernard VACHER
Bernard VACHER

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Not many people there that day.

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Bigourdane
Bigourdane

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb route. Very varied. The Pyrenees mountain range in all its glory, with the Pic du Midi.
A few people around the lake on our return.

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Yves Thebault
Yves Thebault

That's right, it is left/right (not right/left). I have corrected it...

Thanks to Vallon for pointing out my mistake, and have a good trip, everyone.

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Vallon
Vallon

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant route in the morning. Crowded on the lake side in the afternoon. Especially on Sundays!
At point 7 of the description, at the road, you have to first turn left then right and not right/left as indicated!
Take the path opposite that goes downhill. Could be clarified: Bouscaties.

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Ludi
Ludi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk around the lake to the village of Montgeard! You can see grey herons and numerous water turtles around the lake!
Don't miss the church in Montgeard and the mill, which is in very good condition!
The walk through the woods is very pleasant!

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M31N19
M31N19

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely short hike with very little tarmac; visit the charming village of Montgeard (notably the gigantic church built in the 16th century with money from the pastel industry).
I noticed that this route is not very busy; in fact, we walked mainly in the morning, which was fortunate because on Sunday afternoons, the lake tour is the ultimate family outing.
There are few difficulties; however, between points 4 and 5, walking shoes were appreciated as the path downhill is very stony.

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l'indienne
l'indienne

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A beautiful hike, especially since we were the only ones on the entire trail!
The only downside was that we walked through mud the whole way, which meant we had to give our shoes a thorough clean when we got home!

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