Tour of Carcès via the lake

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, with a lake, shaded paths and a magnificent view of Mont Brauch, which we reached by climbing up the cliff – it was a bit of a workout but really exhilarating. And a visit to Carces – not to be missed!

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CARCES 14 May 2023

CARCES HIKE

It is 8.30 am and, as usual, I am at my meeting point at La Garde Freinet. As is our custom, at 9 am, some of our fellow hikers arrive too. The traditional greeting and off we go to the Luc motorway junction, where we pick up the rest of the group and head towards Carcés via Le Thoronet. We drive for an hour and arrive in Carcés at 10 am. Everyone puts on their final bits of hiking gear and sets off towards Lake Carcés, which is a good three kilometres from our car park. We follow a small canal that supplies the town along a lovely little path, sheltered by a leafy canopy of local trees. We come to a tarmac road which leads us onto a track that feels more like a dirt track, and a little further on we take a narrow path that also runs alongside the small canal once again. We pass close to the magnificent Caramy Falls and finally arrive on a proper, wide, flat forest track, as for once the route is entirely on level ground. This track, which runs alongside the lake after passing the dam, reveals a superb landscape. We walk on like this until, around half past twelve, we come across a small restaurant – or rather, a sort of brasserie – where we stop to eat our packed lunch. I have a beer as an aperitif and my small bottle of red wine whilst eating the packed lunch prepared for me by my grumbling wife. After that, we turn back and take the same route home; it is 1.30 pm. This time we lingered on the benches outside the brasserie. On the way back, we paid less attention to the landscape, which nevertheless remained very attractive in its beauty. We reached the cars at 3.30 pm, having covered 12 km, feeling a little tired but, once again, happy with the walk.

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Date of your route : Apr 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The description is brief, so I relied more on the terrain and the map linked to the route.

The section leading up to the waterfalls and the waterfalls themselves (magnificent in mid-spring) are lovely.
I didn’t understand the issue with point 4; the lakeside path is perfectly passable, and it’s even a cycle path with information boards. As a result, it’s a bit of a long slog, but the lake is lovely.
The return route via the summit is a bit tricky to find (point 7): downhill mountain bike trails criss-cross the area. I preferred to take the path rather than climb up the road.
The view from the summit is well worth the climb; you really must go all the way to the end (large cairn and marker cross).
The descent back to the village is pleasant and well-marked.

The village is well worth a quick visit

The car park indicated is rather small.
Please note, there is a market in the village on Saturday mornings.
Nevertheless, I was able to park in the large car park in the village.

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CARCES 14 May 2023

CARCES HIKE

It is 8:30 a.m. and, as usual, I am at my meeting point at La Garde Freinet. As always, at 9 a.m., some of our hiking friends arrive too. After the traditional greetings, we set off for the Luc motorway entrance, where we pick up the rest of the group and head towards Le Thoronet de Carces. We drive for an hour and arrive in Carcès at 10 a.m. Everyone puts on their latest hiking gear and we set off for Lake Carcès, which is a good three kilometres from our car park. We follow a small canal that supplies the town along a very pleasant path, protected by a green canopy of local trees. We reach a tarmac road that leads us to a path that looks more like a track, and a little further on we take a small trail that also runs alongside a small canal. We pass close to the magnificent Caramy waterfalls and finally arrive at a wide, flat forest track, because for once the hike is on flat ground. This track, which runs alongside the lake after passing the dam, reveals a superb landscape. We walk on until, at around half past twelve, we come to a small restaurant, or rather a kind of brasserie, where we stop to eat our snacks. I have a beer as an aperitif and my little bottle of red wine while eating the snack my grumpy wife has prepared for me. After that, we turn around and take the same path back. It is 1:30 pm. This time we linger on the benches of the brasserie. The return journey is less attentive to the landscape, which nevertheless remains very attractive in its beauty. We reach the cars at 3:30 p.m. and have covered 12 km, somewhat tired but once again happy with the walk.

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Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike undertaken under overcast skies at the end of February, with few people about, but this was certainly due to the lack of sunshine.

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Date of your route : Feb 16, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I did the route alone... lots of hikers along the lake, none in the forest, the path isn't marked, you have to guess where it is...

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Date of your route : Oct 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We set off from the guardhouse in a light, damp mist and headed for CARCES, where we met up with some of our hiking friends. The weather was superb, already warm for the end of the season. After greeting each other with kisses, we set off on our hike. After a few steps on the tarmac road and then the dirt track, I realised that I knew this route. Indeed, we soon rediscovered the small canal supplying the adjacent land, and we walked along it to the dam structure on Lake CARCES. But first, we admired the CARAMI waterfalls, a superb cascade on the river of the same name.
After the dam structures, we turned off onto a small path leading up to the right towards a road leading to an intersection, where-there we turned left this time to take a track which, after an hour, led us to a flat, wide track where we walked for an hour to finally find the small restaurant where we had eaten in previous years. Once again, we stopped for a bite to eat at this spot, even though it was closedAfter half an hour, we resumed our journey through the forest along a small tree-lined path that provided shelter from the sun, finally reaching our vehicles at 2:35 pm. The club offered us a drink, we said our goodbyes, and we each set off on our way home. It was a lovely walk in good spirits.

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Date of your route : May 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Well-marked route. You can avoid parking in the village by parking closer to the start, near point 1.
Then follow the route as indicated.

- After point 6, after the lake, from the fishermen's house, you can take the shortcut marked with a black dotted line on the map, on your right, before the car park. The path is more suitable for hikers and is part of a mountain bike route, so be careful with reckless drivers. The gradient is easy.
- At the crossroads between points 8 and 9, to find the start of point 10, look in the bend on your left. It is slightly hidden by the grass and the bend, slightly in the first third on your left. It is impossible to see it clearly. Follow the GPS carefully.
- At point 11, you can avoid the village by taking the path on the right at the chapel, towards the starting track.

Enjoy your hike!

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Date of your route : Mar 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant, easy route, completed after a period of rain, so the waterfalls were magnificent.
The GPS track is good and easy to follow; it's a shame there are sections on tarmac.
You can park just before the start, in a car park in the town centre, which allows you to visit Carces.
There is a fairly large picnic area at the end of the lake.

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Date of your route : Mar 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this very pleasant, easy route with varied landscapes.

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Date of your route : Feb 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike,

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Date of your route : Dec 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike in glorious sunshine, with lots of water and beautiful waterfalls. We had a bit of trouble finding the start of point 9 because the route doesn't follow the right path, but after two attempts we finally found it. It's a bit steep at the beginning (be careful at this time of year as the rocks are wet and slippery, especially on the way back). We followed the GPS.

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Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

you should rely on your GPS rather than the description. Between the starting point and point 1, there is a small path on the right that passes between the houses and allows you to make a small circular route and pass in front of the St Jaume chapel before passing the Notre Dame du Carami chapel and the apiary and returning to the route. The walk around the lake is beautiful and pleasant, but very busy! the waterfall is magnificent and the dam is interesting; there is a lot of water and it is a popular spot for fishermen. After the car park (fishing and hunting lodge) (lots of picnic tables), take the small path on the right (PR) rather than walking along the road. After point 8, the path leading to point 10 is not marked and is overgrown with grass, so you have to use your GPS to find it!

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Date of your route : Apr 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful scenery, mostly shaded route. We were lucky because there was plenty of water and the waterfalls were roaring. One member of the group had previously seen the lake empty. To be verified.
The route and description between 6 and 10 are confusing, to say the least. In the description, 7 appears three times, including once with "take the road and turn back"??. 8 is missing from the description.

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Date of your route : Mar 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We had a little trouble finding our way after point 7 (when we turned back), but the GPS was there to help us.
The hike is magnificent and there was plenty of water

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