The lake plateau from Poursollet

A walk at the foot of the Taillefer massif among the many lakes.
This hike crosses a Natura 2000 site and is subject to specific regulations. Please respect them (see practical information).

Details

388580
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.11 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 607 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 613 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,128 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,648 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Access: Take the D114 road to the Alpe du Grand Serre resort and the village of La Morte. At the resort, take the D114E road east towards Chalets de Poursollet. The road is paved throughout. Park in the mandatory car park just before the hamlet.

(S/E) Turn right towards the houses and pass the lake on your right, following theGR® 50, marked in white and red.

(1) Follow theGR® trail to the left (east). Cross the meadow and then the forest. Take a good path up a steeper section to reach the plateau and arrive at a fork.

(2) Turn left onto several paths and go around Lac Fourchu on the left.

(3) At the end of the lake, turn right and climb slightly towards the south-east, then east. Follow the ridge and arrive at a crossroads at Pas de l'Envious.

(4) Turn right at a right angle towards the Jasse valley. A pleasant trail skirts the mountain, heading south-west. Pass north of the Lacs de la Vèche lakes, then the adjacent Lac de l'Agneau and Lac Noir lakes.

(5) After Lac Noir, leave the trail and head southeast towards the end of Lac de l'Agneau, then head southwest, passing below a small hillock on your right and following the stream bed. You will reach two pools of Lac Culasson on your left (dry in summer).

(6) Head west to the end of the third pool of Lac Culasson on the right. After the last pool, start climbing, still heading west.

(7) Join theGR® and turn left. You will then reach the crossroads on the plateau of the lakes.

(2) Continue straight ahead and follow the path back down to the hamlet.

(1) Turn right, pass the chalets and return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,660 m - Parking - Lac du Poursollet
  2. 1 : km 0.27 - alt. 1,649 m - Poursollet chalets
  3. 2 : km 2.24 - alt. 2,032 m - Crossroads on the lake plateau
  4. 3 : km 3.34 - alt. 2,053 m - End of Lac Fourchu
  5. 4 : km 4.48 - alt. 2,071 m - Crossing the Pas de l'Envious
  6. 5 : km 5.56 - alt. 2,044 m - Lakes Noir and Agneau
  7. 6 : km 6.02 - alt. 2,058 m - 3rd lake of Lac de Culasson
  8. 7 : km 6.4 - alt. 2,100 m - GR junction
  9. S/E : km 9.11 - alt. 1,660 m - Poursollet car park

Notes

Rules to follow on Natura 2000 sites:
- no swimming,
- no camping or bivouacking (except in designated areas),
- fires prohibited,
- littering prohibited,
- dogs must be kept on a leash.

Bring your own water supply. There are many lakes and water sources, of course, but is it safe to drink?
Mountain equipment.

Worth a visit

Hameau des Chalets de Poursollet.
Taillefer Massif.
Distant views of the Grandes Rousses massif and the Grenoble region.
The lakes of the plateau: Fourchu, Vèche, Noir, Agneau, Culasson.

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 48 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Yvou73
Yvou73
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Warning! The GPS track is incorrect in the south-western part of the loop (points 5, 6 and 7). If you do the loop in the direction indicated, there is no problem; you will immediately realise the error and stay on the path. However, if you do it the other way round, as we did, the track starts to follow the path up to Taillefer before you realise the error and find yourself stuck on very steep slopes. You will be forced to turn back. In addition, around point 5, it crosses protected areas.
Otherwise, no complaints, it's a magnificent hike, even if it is very busy.

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Josci
Josci
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Probably one of the most beautiful hikes I've done in recent months.
No major difficulties. A plateau and lakes in an environment of exceptional quality.
I hesitate to praise the beauty of this place too highly, fearing that it will be too busy and wanting this jewel to be preserved.

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j-p
j-p

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Lovely hike, best done in summer.

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smashdc
smashdc
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

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olivier brasseur
olivier brasseur

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

Hike on 12 August. Very popular, family-friendly place. The car park was very full. The path is perfectly signposted. If you go up with children in the afternoon, take water as the path is exposed. The climb is tough but the view of the lakes is worth the effort.

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Celine3874
Celine3874

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice hike but personally I found it difficult - you need good shoes and poles... Pebbles make it slippery ....The return is difficult

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bader
bader

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice walk and not too difficult

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nlx
nlx

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A magnificent plateau with lakes set in lush greenery. Allow plenty of time to explore the area,

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bader
bader

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did it yesterday and it was a Monday, which must explain why it wasn't too busy. We changed our itinerary a lot to go for a walk on the plateau and see the different black lakes...
We also set off backwards to do the slightly steep climb first.
This made a total of 14 kms.

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ocarina0656
ocarina0656

Hello,
In fact, I mixed the "Plateau des lacs depuis Poursollet" route (followed in reverse) and the "lac Fourchu par les chalets de la Barriere" (still partly in reverse) and made the following circuit: Start at Lac du Poursollet, climb steeply to the plateau, on arrival at Lac Fourchu, descend to the right via Lac Noir, Lac de la Veche, Vallon de la Jasse, climb back up to Pas de l'Envious, towards La Valette (the name of this stage is missing from your topo of Lac Fourchu and Chalets de la Barriere). Without a signpost, I crossed the Ruisseau du Rioupéroux and climbed up (yellow path) towards Lac Canard and Lac Fourchu. Descend back to Lac de Poursollet on the uphill path.
A very pleasant walk. Lots of tracks but no risk of getting lost (in fine weather!). You should expect to find a lot of people at the car park and to have to look for a space for your car for a few minutes.

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mohammadarzi
mohammadarzi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

It's a beautiful route that we did in a loop. The outward journey takes a relatively steep path that runs parallel to the watercourse and is therefore damp. When we arrived at the lake, which is one of the most beautiful in the mountains, we walked along the entire length of the lake, leaving the lake on the right, before descending along a gentler but slightly longer route.

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jeanjean12
jeanjean12

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

very nice route, not so easy to get to the plateau (good gradient), then easy and contemplative;
On the other hand, at the top, you have to navigate a bit haphazardly between the many tracks, but there's no risk of getting lost because the area is completely clear and so beautiful and rare that you're not there to run!

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cathyferrer
cathyferrer

Today I added the road closure to the "Practical info" section, following COTIBRI's information.

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COTIBRI
COTIBRI
• Edited:

Unpleasant surprise: the road is closed for roadworks until 1 November inclusive.
Nevertheless, we were able to make a loop via Lake Brouffier, with some very violent gusts of wind as our companions at altitude...

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maxyme
maxyme

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : Yes

It's a very busy area, so parking at Le Poursollet becomes impossible.
The climb is short but intense, especially as it is sunny all the way after 10 am.
The Plateau des Lacs is great but I wouldn't recommend going there in the summer.

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