Towards Lac de Pelouse from Lac des Peatlands

This hike starts at the beautiful Lac des Sagnes and ends at Lac de Pelouse, passing through woods (full of raspberries when we were there) and mountain pastures (with flocks of sheep and their canine guardians), where you may be lucky enough to spot lots of chamois.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.05 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 579 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 578 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,455 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,897 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Car park at Lac des Sagnes.

(S/E) From the car park, take the path to the right of the lake.
Walk along Lac des Peatlands, then a kind of marsh for about 800 m.

(1) Next, the area becomes bucolic with the Torrent des Granges running under the trees with a sort of lawn. Continue straight along the stream until you find a slightly tricky crossing point from stone to stone, or take off your shoes and cross with your feet in the cool water.

(2) Once you have crossed the stream, head north through the undergrowth until you come to a path.

(3) Follow it to the right to go around the lake to the south-east, crossing a small wooden bridge.

(4) Then rejoin the path coming from Lac des Sagnes and the car park (it is therefore possible to come directly from there).

(5) Turn right to climb up towards the Pelouse valley. The path will take you through woods and, depending on the season, you may be able to pick some raspberries. Continue along the path until you reach an enclosure.

(6) After this enclosure, the trail becomes less marked (tall grass), but the terrain does not present any particular difficulties.
Continue through the Pelouse valley for 2 km, heading south-east. The various paths are probably due to the herds grazing here.
At the break in the slope, the terrain rises more noticeably and, around a ridge, the small Lac de Pelouse comes into view.

(7) Descend by the same route until you reach the crossroads near Lac des Sagnes, which you passed on the way up.

(5) Turn right and walk along the lake to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,897 m - Lac des Sagnes (Jausiers)
  2. 1 : km 0.88 - alt. 1,904 m - Path around Lac des Sagnes
  3. 2 : km 1.27 - alt. 1,927 m - Torrent des Granges
  4. 3 : km 1.71 - alt. 1,904 m - Returning to the path
  5. 4 : km 2.06 - alt. 1,901 m - Small wooden bridge
  6. 5 : km 2.1 - alt. 1,904 m - Head towards the Pelouse valley
  7. 6 : km 3.97 - alt. 2,143 m - Enclosure
  8. 7 : km 6.24 - alt. 2,445 m - Lac de Pelouse
  9. S/E : km 11.05 - alt. 1,897 m - Lac des Peatlands (Jausiers)

Notes

For those who wish to do the hike in one day, bring the usual mountain hiking essentials:
-> food and drink,
-> weather protection (sun, rain, wind, cold, etc.),
-> a torch in case the hike ends late.
Depending on the season, there may be flocks of sheep and sheepdogs roaming freely.
The dogs do their job well and will alert you if you get too close to the flock, so if you are afraid of dogs, take a small detour to avoid any unpleasantness.

Access to Lac des Peatland is via a forest track.
From Jausiers, it is 2.5 km once you have crossed the Ubaye river, heading towards the Col de la Bonnette.
At the end of these 2.5 km, in a right-hand bend, you will find the start of the track on your left.
The track was very passable when we visited: follow it for about 10 km and park in the car park near Lac des Sagnes

It is possible to go from point (1) to (3) by following the path that goes around the lake and its marshes to the south. Switching the route from IGN map mode to satellite photo mode allows you to see the path clearly and where you need to turn to get back on it.

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

Depending on the time of your descent (we started our descent at around 5pm) or ascent, you may be lucky enough to spot chamois and other horned animals.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
jjlarribal
jjlarribal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a very beautiful walk with wide-open views. Easy

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motardes04
motardes04

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pretty hike, starting at a lake with a few fishermen and a flock of sheep, ending at another lake, and in between, forest, meadows with marmots, and rocky outcrops.
Not marked on the IGN map, which guarantees peace and quiet ;-)
However, the paths are generally well marked, even if not signposted, and it's difficult to get lost. The lake is at the very end of the valley below the Tourrillon (the peak shaped like a bishop's mitre or a fool's cap for chess enthusiasts!)
Please note that part of the hike is in the Mercantour park, where dogs are not allowed.

We didn't go around Lake Peatland, as the surrounding area was somewhat muddy and waterlogged after Saturday's storms.
There were no herds higher up in the meadows at the start of the season.
Flowers everywhere (trolls, manilles, orchids, gentians, lots of yellow flowers, and even tiny toadflax).

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nadette04
nadette04

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

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herveg07
herveg07

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent wild valley, even in the height of summer! Impressive avalanche debris at the edge of the woods at around 2,000 metres. A brief chat with the young shepherdess (point 6). You can climb (20 minutes off the trail, steep and rocky but not difficult) to the small pass at 2,617m overlooking the Salso Moreno basin for a view to the south.
Like "SoleilDeProvence" (14 July), I think the direct route from point 1 to point 3 is more interesting than the detour via point 2, where you have to take off your shoes and walk through wet grass (dew or after rain) in a vague animal trail between 2 and 3; the undergrowth is also pretty between 1 and 3.
As for the track, I agree with the previous comments! For us, it took 35 minutes with a slightly high car (Partner).

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clemclem05
clemclem05

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello, we did this hike on 15 August this year. The lake was still full thanks to the regular rainfall over the previous weeks. It was cool at the top! Don't forget your fleece for the picnic break! The colours were superb on both lakes! We had a wonderful time! Be sure to factor the 10 km trail to Lac des Sagnes into your departure time, as it took us almost an hour to cover (large puddles with no visible bottom, protruding rocks in some places, etc.).
We'd love to do it again!

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Jean-Marie83
Jean-Marie83

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Bad day? bad timing? Not feeling lucky today? First, getting to Lac des Sagnes: you'd better have the right vehicle, with high ground clearance ++ It rained yesterday, the road is a mess, bumpy as can be, with huge puddles that make you worry about what will happen to your shock absorbers. The result: an hour of motorised trudging to reach the lake from the Col de la Bonette road, just after Jausiers. You can choose to access it via a road of similar quality, taking the latter after Lans, a 50-minute adventure, but 10 minutes to climb to the access point.
Then, today, the right question would be: How many horseflies are there? We were literally eaten alive. The slightest pause for a photo, a drink or anything else, and we were the target of a horde of horseflies, each one hungrier than the last. Hellish!
The walk itself is nice once you've passed Lake Peatland, because the total lack of signposts sends you into a maze of streams and peat bogs (if that's what they are). We could have followed the path as described, turning right and then left at the end of the lake, crossing the stream, but with all the rain that had fallen the day before, we were guaranteed to have wet feet for the entire hike.
A dense forest, running alongside a stream and providing shade, shelters the first climbing section of the route, followed by rocky meadows in places and patous (shepherd dogs) watching over you peacefully.
Lake Pélouse... well, we're glad to be there because it's been a tough climb, and the end is very steep.

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SoleilDeProvence
SoleilDeProvence

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
Thank you for this beautiful hike, which remains very quiet, even in July (picnic with marmots and frogs around Lake Pelouse, which was not dry, with no other hikers around). There was even snow left to take photos with our feet in the snow! No chamois, probably out earlier in the morning.
Even though it is well maintained, the 10 km track to access the peatland car park takes about 1 hour by non-4x4 car (there and back): take this into account so that you can be at Lake Pelouse for your picnic without being too late!
Crossing the Granges torrent (between points 1 and 5) is of little interest... I suggest following the option (mentioned in the practical information) of using the path connecting points 1 and 3. You'll keep your feet dry!
The GPX file is recommended for the descent as the cairns are less visible than on the ascent.
Thank you again for this route and happy hiking!

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nini05!
nini05!

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 07, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

a beautiful hike to discover, shame that the lake was dry at this time of year, but I expected as much...
however, the access road is long and in more or less good condition, which is a shame because Lake Peatland alone is worth the trip

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pascalmartinache
pascalmartinache

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Please note that vehicle access is via a road that is over 10 km long and difficult to drive on

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lesablenoir
lesablenoir

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Constant elevation gain spread over 2½ hours. Tiring and tedious because you can never see the end. Lake Pelouse is right at the end. Really right at the end. Otherwise, the walk is very beautiful and varied, undoubtedly one of the two most beautiful on this side of the Mercantour.

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inoxlu101
inoxlu101

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

please note: there are no trail markings; follow the cairns. However, there is the advantage of being able to move around freely. The chamois are below the lake, descending to the left at the edge of the scree slopes on the meadow side

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iam
iam

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very beautiful hike. The lake still has water.

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Cory2411
Cory2411

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent hike that we would never have found without Visorando! (A long forest track to cover before reaching the starting point at the lake)
A beautiful climb leads to a magical valley of mountain pastures.
Please note: Lake Pelouse is dry at the end of summer, so you'll need to look for a bog.

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cyril h
cyril h
• Edited:

Still a bit early, actually
I had a similar problem during a hike to the Lignin lakes at the same time of year, not on the forest track leading to the start, but on the trail itself.
At the time, I didn't yet have snowshoes to deal with this kind of surprise

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lescheche
lescheche

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Caution: snow on the forest track. Impossible to pass by car.
We had to walk an extra 10 km (in hail!), making a total of 31 km including the return trip.
There was up to 5 metres of snow at the lake... best to do this hike on a sunny day!

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