The Bacheux Lakes from Les Reisses

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A wild and little-visited valley where you can discover two superb lakes in the middle of a mountain cirque.
A true high-mountain atmosphere guaranteed.

Details

n°2499101
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.93 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 3,448 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 3,448 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 7,238 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 3,789 ft
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Description of the walk

At Premier Villard on the Route du Col du Glandon, head up to the right to take the Bois du Nant forest track. Once on the track, at the first bend, continue straight on to the Pont des Reisses, where there are a few parking spaces.

(S/E) Shortly after the Pont des Reisses, you will find a wooden sign. Turn left and follow the path towards the Chalets du Bacheux. Continue along the left bank of the Torrent du Bacheux until you reach the Chalets des Barnes.

(1) Continue along the left bank of the stream until you reach the Collet valley. Here, leave the stream before returning to it and reaching a fork in the path.
Follow the yellow markings to reach the Chalets du Bacheux, ignoring the path on the left which descends towards Les Granges and the Route Forestière du Stream du Bois du Nant.

(2) Continue left to reach the stream. Cross it and follow its right bank, then cross again. Leave the left bank of the stream and take the path on the right, continuing the ascent to reach the plateau of the Bacheux lakes.

(3) Return via the same route to the Pont des Reisses car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 3,789 ft - Pont des Reisses car park
  2. 1 : mi 1.45 - alt. 5,463 ft - Chalets des Barnes
  3. 2 : mi 2.67 - alt. 6,453 ft - Chalets du Bacheux
  4. 3 : mi 3.46 - alt. 7,238 ft - Lac du Bacheux
  5. S/E : mi 6.93 - alt. 3,789 ft - Pont des Reisses car park

Notes

- The path can be difficult to find at times above the Chalets du Bacheux
- It is possible to reach the Col de la Lavoire summit on your left, but the path remains difficult to see

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 4 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Dany01
Dany01

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A brilliant idea in August for getting away from it all … but you have to work for it
Quite a bit of elevation gain for just a few kilometres… the climb in the sun is very hot
You can’t just bring anyone along…
The descent on the stony road on foot is very tough

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Deuxpattes
Deuxpattes

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Well... an 8-hour walk... We left the car right at the start of the forest track: 1.4 km before the actual starting point.
Then, at the Bacheux chalets, and given the uncertainty of the GPS route, we tried to follow Champet67’s directions but couldn’t find any markings.
Following the advice of a huntress, we headed straight up onto the plateau, then veered left on a hunch (well, trying to stick as closely as possible to the GPS route). That took us an hour and a half...
For the descent: no better! We never found any markings. We made our way back down by sight to the chalets.

At the lakes: the setting is majestic, impressive; steep, jagged, wild. No view of the valley today, due to the mist and clouds.

NB: the path IS the stream. So when there’s water (as there has been recently), it flows... Well, nothing to get your feet wet, but there’s mud and the rock is slippery. Not insurmountable either, mind you... but it’s best to have good shoes.

That said, despite all the twists and turns and unexpected bits, we really enjoyed this hike. Thanks for the post!

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Jacquelinerando
Jacquelinerando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We completed this hike without any problems; just follow the yellow and green markings to reach the lakes. There are two lakes, and it’s possible to reach the Col de la Lavoire in 40 minutes. A very beautiful route.

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champet67
champet67

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Take care at the start of the climb after the chalets: the route shown on the map does not match the signposting. You must keep to the left of the small stream, following the yellow-green markings (signs on rocks or posts); by following these markings, you will reach the lakes (2).
Personally, I missed both options and climbed straight up between two spurs, eventually finding the marked path at the top, about 300m from the lakes.

So be very careful not to miss the marked path, as it is not very visible in some of the less-frequented areas.

Otherwise, the lakes are magnificent!

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