To the Haute Clarée peat bogs from the Laval chalets

You can drive up to Les Chalets de Laval, but why not take the shuttle and help preserve the environment of the Haute Clarée?
We caught the shuttle bus in front of the Névache tourist office and arrived at Les Chalets de Laval half an hour later.
The shuttle drops passengers off at the roundabout just north of the hamlet of Les Chalets de Laval.

(S/E) Set off along the track that climbs north-west, following the left bank of the Clarée.

(1) Pass the path on your left leading to the Pont du Moutet (this is where you’ll end up at the end of the hike) and continue north-west.

(2) Pass the path on your right that climbs towards Lac Long and continue straight on.

(3) At the fork in the road, ignore the path on the left (which will be the return route) and continue to the hamlet of Pont-de-Pierre.

(4) Pass the path on your right which, running alongside the stream, climbs towards the Col de Muandes (signposted) and cross the stream via the Pont de Pierre, heading towards Lac de la Clarée (marked as 2.3 km away on the same sign). First pass close to the Refuge des Drayères, and continue along the track, which soon becomes a path, whilst the Clarée, which until then had flowed through a wide valley, cuts into a series of gorges.

(5) As you fords a tributary of the Clarée coming from the Baume Noire ravine to the north, the path turns westwards and the Clarée, which is still enclosed at first, opens out after about 400 m and flows through a gentler, less steep bed dotted with areas of peat bog.

(6) As you approach a large peat bog, you reach a rocky outcrop; leave the path that climbs the rocks to the left and continue straight on at the foot of the rocks, skirting the peat bog and going round the rocky area to the right.

(7) Take the path paved with large flat slabs to cross the bog, then climb towards the lake, which can be glimpsed at the foot of the scree slopes of the Pointe des Banchets.

(8) Once you reach the lake’s edge, head left or right to go round it; a well-marked path follows the shore at the base of the scree.
After going round the lake, rejoin the path leading back to the start, and cross the bog again via the paved path.

(7) When you reach the foot of the rocks, take the path on the right which crosses this small hill, offering a bird’s-eye view of the Clarée headwaters bog and its zoned vegetation.

(6) Return to the path you took on the ascent and head south-east.

(5) Ford the tributary coming from the north and heading south-east. Pass by the Refuge des Drayères and the Pont de Pierre once more.

(3) At the fork in the road, take the path on the right which crosses the river via a footbridge and leads to the right bank. Follow the Clarée along its right bank as far as Plan du Moutet.

(9) Pass the path on your right that climbs towards Lac des Béraudes; continue towards Pont du Moutet, which you cross to rejoin the track.

(1) Return to the roundabout (S/E) to catch the shuttle back to Névache.

This route presents no particular difficulties. The gradients are always moderate. Part of the route is on tracks, and the paths are mostly easy, apart from a few rocky sections.

There are no drinking water points, but the waters of the Clarée, filtered upstream by the peat bogs, are certainly of excellent quality in the upper part of this route.

Vehicle traffic upstream of Névache Ville Haute is strictly regulated, and it is strongly recommended that you use the shuttle bus. This is free between Roubion (at the campsite) and Ville Haute; beyond that, the price is €4 return per person (2020 rate). Full details are available on the Névache town website.

From Les Chalets de Laval, it is possible to reach the Laramon and Serpent Lakes, or the Lac des Béraudes, starting from point (1).

From point (2), you can climb up to the Col des Muandes, or even do a route to Lac Rond and Lac Long, returning via the Brune torrent and the Pont de Pierre.

It is also possible to extend this route from Lac de la Clarée, adding a loop around Lac Rond and Lac du Grand Ban, just above the Seuil des Rochilles. We did not do this as these lakes, along with Lac des Cerces, were part of a separate hike undertaken from Plan Lachat (Route du Galibier).

One of the main attractions of this hike is, of course, the peat bogs; you can spend hours there studying the unique vegetation and taking in the beautiful scenery.