Tour of Mont Lachat

Short, easy hike with beautiful panoramic views of the Aravis and Mont Blanc. Lac du Mont Lachat at the summit, very pleasant with picnic tables.

Details

n°395698

Creation:
28 Oct 2016

Last update:
25 Jul 2023

Last review:
26 May 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 6.16 km
Average duration: 2h 45
Difficulty: Easy
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 357 m
Descent: - 353 m
Highest point: 1,604 m
Lowest point: 1,283 m

Country: France
Areas: Alps, Beaufortain
District: Crest-Voland (73590)
Start/End: N 45.794407° / E 6.510532°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3531OT, 3531OTR
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Description of the walk

Park either at the Crest-Voland Tourist Office and take the tarmac road behind it for about 1 km, or a little higher up on the road parallel to the road through the village centre and start the hike directly from a small path. The second option has been chosen for the route.

(S/E) So, on this road above the village, on the south side (Route de Bel Avoine), at the intersection with another small road under a ski lift line, head east and take a path following the signs for Mont Lachat. At the intersection with the path shortly afterwards, continue to the left. Further on, the path turns right. Continue until you reach a wider path near a building. Continue left on a wider gravel track until you reach a crossroads.

(1) Ignore the path on the left that goes up to a chalet, turn sharply to the right, then turn left and, at the fork just after, continue on the grassier path on the left. Pass under another ski lift and reach Lac du Mont Lachat.

(2) Go around the lake on the left, towards the building. Take the road in front of it and follow it around the wide left-hand bend. At the crossroads, take the path on the left to reach the summit of Mont Lachat after passing to the left of a ski lift station.

(3) Head south for a few metres, then very quickly west to pass to the other side of the ski lift station and come out on Chemin du Lachat. Turn left onto this road and continue to a fork.

(4) Take a sharp right turn. At the crossroads, turn left and then immediately right. At the fork, continue left (towards a cattle enclosure) and continue straight ahead (west) to the Tour du Pin.

(5) Turn right between the buildings, passing under the ski lifts, and continue along the path. Keep left at the next two junctions and continue downhill in a generally westerly direction. Further on, ignore a path on the left just before you reach a crossroads on the right, near a building.

(6) Turn right and continue straight ahead (north-east) to join the Entre Deux Stream road at a hairpin bend. Descend this road on the left to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,283 m - Parking available at the roadside
1 : km 1.39 - alt. 1,490 m - Crossroads.
2 : km 2.01 - alt. 1,575 m - Lac du Mont Lachat
3 : km 2.74 - alt. 1,604 m - Mont Lachat, picnic area
4 : km 3.16 - alt. 1,567 m - Fork, right-hand hairpin bend
5 : km 3.92 - alt. 1,463 m - At La Tour du Pin, turn right
6 : km 5.11 - alt. 1,320 m - Crossroads, on the right
S/E : km 6.16 - alt. 1,283 m - Parking available at the roadside

Notes

An easy hike, requiring no special equipment.

If you get lost, it is always very easy to follow one of the many ski slopes that all lead to Mont Lachat.

At Lac du Mont Lachat (2), there are picnic tables and a mountain restaurant with a large terrace. Swimming is prohibited in the lake.

Worth a visit

Lac du Mont Lachat, with a beautiful view of Mont Blanc.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5

Based on 23 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.8 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5

Route interest
4 / 5

User 25832918

26 May 2025 at 21:21 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Fortunately, the map is very reliable, as the description does not make it easy to know where you are.
The distance between two points would be helpful.
The passage at point 5 is tricky and a bit risky

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Bruno64

26 Aug 2024 at 18:09 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, the idea is to start from Cermix and
the route in reverse. There is a section with stones that can be avoided by taking a detour through the woods, which is a pleasant walk

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ARDECHOU

04 Mar 2024 at 09:49 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant hike, we did it in the snow but I think it must be great to do in spring. It is classified as easy, but beware, the first part is really steep, with a positive elevation gain of 300m almost all the way up..

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Popa

24 Jul 2023 at 19:59 7200 • Edited: 24 Jul 2023 at 20:09 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. Very beautiful views.
Difficulty at point 5 in finding the path; building work forced us to cross pastures to find the way down.

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robal1

08 Aug 2020 at 20:25 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We searched at the beginning to discover that we had to go around the tourist office and walk along the cemetery in the meadow before reaching the Bel Antoine road.
The climb is well marked and easy to follow. However, the descent was another matter. After the lake, we couldn't take the small circular route to a viewpoint (3) because the path was blocked by a milking machine and a herd of cattle. Then, shortly after (4), we had to climb over a fence to reach an old farm, and there, luckily, the GPS was working because no path was clearly visible in the mountain pasture (crossing under the chairlifts). Once we found the signposted path, the descent was completed without incident. However, before that, we had to cross four or five fences.

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Monicapatata

21 Jul 2020 at 18:10 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We extended the route by going through the Terres Rouges. A very beautiful circular. A bit long but not difficult.

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Ludovic92

22 Jun 2020 at 15:59 7200 • Edited: 22 Jun 2020 at 16:01 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route is very varied and offers many magnificent panoramic views. The downside at this time of year is that shortly after the start of the descent (just after point 4), the proposed route is closed to make way for grazing. This results in a long detour (easy to identify and without difficulty) which adds 2 km to the route to descend to the Route des Moulins. But knowing this, it would not have stopped us.

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patte

10 Aug 2019 at 21:53 7200

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A hike where you're pretty much on your own, as tourists take the car or chairlift up to sunbathe by the lake. So it doesn't feel like a mountain atmosphere. We couldn't find the route back down, so we just walked straight down through the meadows. In short, PARISH SPECIFIC TO BRETAGNE!

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JP-AL

01 Oct 2018 at 18:46 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Beautiful views of the Alps. The only slight downside is that you are constantly under the cable cars.

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CLUB DE MENTHON

24 Sep 2018 at 20:20 7200 • Edited: 24 Sep 2018 at 20:21 7200

We didn't do the same route. We left the cars near the top of Lachat and walked to the lake, then did a short loop from the lake: from the lake, we descended the trail towards Crêt Voland and took the path on the left at the bottom of the trail to reach the summit of Mont Lachat. This walk is perfectly suitable for people over 80 years of age.

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cometna

14 Aug 2018 at 10:43 7200

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

The route runs through the Alpages, which are nothing more than ski slopes. The interest of the route is moderate, particularly at the summit of Lachat, which is nothing more than a convergence of chairlifts, and the lake is just a body of water used to feed the snow cannons. The only interesting thing about the route is the unobstructed view, which offers beautiful views of La Tournette, Mont Blanc and the Aravis mountains.

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grandin

02 Aug 2018 at 12:54 7200 • Edited: 02 Aug 2018 at 12:55 7200

Thank you for your comments. We have tried several times to improve the description and route, but apparently without much success. Unless a hiker takes the time to send us a precise description, there is not much more we can do. Future hikers are warned that they are embarking on something of an adventure...

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Garay Michèle

02 Aug 2018 at 12:37 7200 • Edited: 02 Aug 2018 at 15:12 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, but thank goodness we had the map!
On the way back, the trail passes through several animal enclosures with electric fences – not easy to cross with a rucksack on your back – and leaves the main path, following old yellow markings.
This complicates things! That said, it's a very pleasant hike, and we enjoyed the blueberries!
But please review the route for future hikers!

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babelli

30 Jul 2018 at 08:58 7200

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

The description isn't really clear, but luckily there was a map! The arrival is disappointing: cars, ski lifts, not really a summit but more of a tourist plateau. The descent is in a wilder environment and therefore much more interesting.

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grandin

20 Jul 2018 at 20:18 7200

I have tried to provide more details in this description to make this hike easier to follow

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Author

junicolas
5 Walks

Visorando member

District: Saint-Nicolas-la-Chapelle (73590)

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