The three lakes

Looking for a varied hike with different terrain? Then look no further than the Three Lakes Hike.
Rooted footpaths, forest tracks, uneven terrain, crossing the Gazon du Faing, Lac Noir, Lac Blanc and Lac des Truites (also known as Lac du Forlet) and, on a clear day, a diversion to the Belmont Rocher observatory or Rocher de Hans.
A lovely hike to do in fine weather. It's better for the scenery.

Details

481832
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.53 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 425 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 425 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,305 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 954 m

Photos

Description of the walk

From Orbey, take the D48 II towards Les Lacs, Col du Bonhomme. Go past the village of Pairis for about 4.5km and turn left onto the D48.3. Reach the Lac Noir car park, which will be the start of the walk.

(S/E) Follow the D48.3 road for 25m.

(1) Take the yellow rectangular path on your left. This is the Sentier Cornélius. It joins a wider path that curves left and then right.

(2) About ten metres before you reach the D48.2 road, take the small track on your left.

(3) After 150m, turn right to continue along the Lac Blanc.

(4) Continue along the D48 to the left for around 200m, then turn left onto the Sentier Freppel, signposted Cercle Rouge. Continue for 15 minutes, then turn left onto the yellow rectangular path, ignoring the right-hand path signposted "Col du Calvaire".

(5) A short climb will take you to the ski lifts. Take the forest track on your left, GR®5Rectangle Rouge.

(6) Climb up to the Gazon du Faing, following the signs for the Hautes Chaumes crossing or the Yellow Triangle signs, which will take you 30 minutes later to the Lac des Truites.

(7) Turn left and head downhill for 200m until you come to a junction signposted Lac des Truites, on the right, marked with red triangles. The descent continues along a steep, winding path to the Lac des Truites.

(8) At the Forlet farmhouse inn, continue around the lake to the right, marked with red triangles, to reach the dam.

(9) Continue along the path on your left, marked Cercle Rouge, to cross the Forêt Domaniale des deux lacs. At the crossroads of 4 paths, veer slightly to the left to continue straight ahead and join a track a few metres further on, following it to the right. After a bend to the left, fork right onto a path as far as the next crossroads.

(10) Follow the Red and White Rectangle markings. On the left, cross a track to reach the Lac Noir car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 955 m - Parking du - Lac Noir
  2. 1 : km 0.06 - alt. 958 m - Cornélius path
  3. 2 : km 2.09 - alt. 1,025 m - 10m before D48.2, turn left
  4. 3 : km 2.22 - alt. 1,050 m - Possible fork to the - Observatoire Belmont
  5. 4 : km 2.57 - alt. 1,055 m - Parking du - Lac Blanc (massif des Vosges)
  6. 5 : km 3.73 - alt. 1,120 m - Ski touring
  7. 6 : km 4.54 - alt. 1,236 m - Entrance to the Gazon du Faing
  8. 7 : km 6.97 - alt. 1,303 m - Intersection - Gazon du Faing
  9. 8 : km 8.38 - alt. 1,088 m - Refuge le Forlet
  10. 9 : km 8.93 - alt. 1,065 m - Dam - Lac des Truites
  11. 10 : km 10.94 - alt. 1,049 m - Intersection
  12. S/E : km 11.53 - alt. 955 m - Arrival at - Lac Noir

Notes

Off the route: You can continue straight on to make a diversion to the Belmont Rocher observatory and retrace your steps.

(4) From Lac Blanc, you can climb up to see the Vierge Hans by following the small signposted "Cercle Rouge" path to the left of the lake.

This is an average hike requiring a minimum of training.
IBP index=57hkg on the FFRandonnée website.

Good footwear required.

Worth a visit

Hans and the Virgin Rock
Belmont Observatory Rock
Black Lake
Lac Blanc
Lac de Forlet

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

4.7 / 5
Based on 242 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
jctrimintin
jctrimintin

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

I did this hike in April 2026 during the school holidays, so it was very busy. I use a Garmin GPS, so thankfully I had no trouble finding my way, as the GR markings had disappeared.
This hike includes some difficult sections (large boulders on the paths, making access very tricky). Rocky from start to finish. The climb after point 5 has no markings and nothing to indicate a path. For me, this isn’t a hike but more of a trail run.
As for the scenery, I was disappointed – very few views and lots of sections through the forest. This hike should be classified as difficult.
Thanks to the author

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User 18924324

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The scenery was stunning, the trails were brilliant – a bit of a challenge at times, but with the right footwear it’s a breeze.

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GUILLAUME.S
GUILLAUME.S

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I was very surprised by the amount of snow at this time of year. Visibility was poor from various vantage points. Worth doing again in good weather

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User 27962901

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Hike on Sunday, 9 November.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, but luckily for us, most of the hike takes place in the forest ( ).
The whole route is well marked and the route on the app is very realistic.
The least enjoyable part, concentrated on the plateau above Lac Blanc, consists of mud, slippery grass and rocks, which is not very pleasant and tiring over long distances. The rest of the hike is fairly accessible.
The tour took three hours, with no stops to eat due to the weather, but a few short stops to enjoy the scenery when the clouds cleared.

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User 12726897
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We completed this wonderful and varied route on Tuesday, 4 November 2025 in sunny weather. For timing reasons, we shortened the route towards the end, skipping Lake Trout and descending directly to Lake Black. On the long straight stretch of Hautes Chaumes, we initially turned left too early to descend, but we quickly realised our mistake! There are some muddy sections at this time of year on the climb from Lac Blanc to Les Chaumes, but it's fine! There were surprisingly many people (and not just pensioners!) for a weekday outside the holiday season! But it was nice!

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User 20619355

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful route, but lots of large rocks.
A tiring trail for me, best avoided with children.

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User 24910184

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This hike includes some difficult sections (large rocks on the paths, making access very complicated). It would be good to point this out, as not all hikers will be able to navigate them easily.

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User 12859905

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, done in September. Some tricky, rocky and wet sections, so you need to wear suitable footwear. We had to take a detour due to forestry work on the last section before returning to Lac Noir, which added an extra 4 km

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reyesdetaifas
reyesdetaifas

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in September 2025. A very beautiful outing, but I found it much more difficult than the comments I had read beforehand suggested. The trail is rocky from start to finish, which makes it quite challenging, especially for people who are not used to this type of terrain. We had to shorten the route by turning off before point 7, and even on this path, the descent to the black lake was not easy either.

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User 21778399

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike this summer with a 12-year-old child.
The trail was busy but not too crowded... Beautiful views. Really very nice...
A bit technical, so make sure you have good footwear

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jpvisorando
jpvisorando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant route with few difficulties

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User 16983617

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes


Nice walk!
Need to get used to the app, which is buggy (due to the internet connection?)

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User 18459162

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

A very beautiful route, well detailed and corresponding to what we found on site. Thank you for contributing to this beautiful route, which reveals the beauty of the Vosges mountain lakes

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User 27282074

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

We went hiking on a Sunday in August, so there were quite a few people in both directions.

We got lost on the plateau because we didn't see the path that started behind a bush, especially as we wanted to admire the magnificent view from the cliff overlooking the lake. It was a 300-metre detour that was totally worth it. Apart from that, the route is fairly well signposted. But you need to pay attention as several paths cross each other.

The terrain along the route is very varied: a little bit of tarmac (road), sandy path, dirt track, roots and rocks.

The scenery is just as varied. You go from forest to lakes, to plateaus, to cliffs.

All this with a parish specific to Brittany level of difficulty. Between the flat sandy path, the near-climbing over a landslide, and the steep slopes covered with roots, there is everything. Some passages are easy, while others require more caution. Special mention should be made of the half-flooded areas, protruding stones and other roots. In winter it must be particularly dangerous.

Not having hiked for a good decade, I found it an excellent way to get back into shape. However, I think that some sections can be quite difficult, even discouraging and dangerous for people who are poorly equipped and unprepared, children and the elderly.

Luckily, it wasn't particularly hot, and the forest cover provided shade and coolness for much of the route. However, sunscreen is recommended!

As for cleanliness along the route, it's almost perfect. There are, of course, rest areas that are a little more prone to neglect, and a keen eye will sometimes notice litter near the paths, but nothing that detracts from the charm of the hike.

Cow pats don't count, they're organic! However, even with your left foot, it's slippery... Be careful 😉

In short, we had a great time, rounded off with a refreshing drink at the end of the trail. We'll be back!

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User 19008213

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike. Expect some technical sections with rocks and slippery paths in places. Very busy on the trails during the summer. The views are magnificent.

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