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 bus and help preserve the environment of the Haute Clarée?
We took the shuttle bus from in front of the Névache tourist office and arrived at Chalets de Laval half an hour later.
The shuttle drops passengers off at the roundabout just north of the Chalets de Laval hamlet.

(S/E) Take the track that climbs north-west along the left bank of the Clarée.

(1) Leave the path leading to Pont du Moutet on your left (this is where you will arrive at the end of the hike) and continue north-west.

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

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

(4) Leave the path on your right that climbs along the stream towards the Col de Muandes (sign) and cross the stream on the Pont de Pierre bridge, heading towards Lac de la Clarée (marked 2.3 km on the same sign). First pass by the Refuge des Drayères, and continue along the track, which soon becomes a path, at the same time as the Clarée, until then in a wide valley, becomes enclosed in a series of gorges.

(5) As you ford 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 up after about 400 m and flows into a gentler, less steep bed dotted with areas of peat bogs.

(6) When you see a large peat bog, you will come to a rocky ridge. Leave the path that climbs the rocks on the left and continue straight on at the foot of the rocks to walk along the peat bog and go around the rocky area on the right.

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

(8) When you reach the lake, turn left or right to walk around it; a well-marked path follows the shore at the bottom of the scree.
After going around the lake, take the path you came on and cross the bog again on the paved path.

(7) When you reach the foot of the rocks, take the path on the right that crosses this small hill to enjoy a bird's eye view of the Clarée springs bog and its zoned vegetation.

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

(5) Ford the tributary coming from the north and head south-east. Pass by the Refuge des Drayères and the Pont de Pierre bridge again.

(3) At the fork, take the path on the right which crosses the river via a footbridge and leads to the right bank. Follow the Clarée on its right bank until you reach Plan du Moutet.

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

(1) Go to the roundabout (S/E) to take the shuttle bus back to Névache.

This route does not present any particular difficulties. The slopes 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 price). All information is available on the Névache town website.

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

From the 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 tour of Lac Rond and Grand Ban, just above the Rochilles threshold. We did not do this because these lakes, along with Lac des Cerces, were part of a separate hike starting from Plan Lachat (Galibier road).

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