Our selection of hikes in Clarée:
Lake Cristol

Discover the most beautiful hikes in Clarée

Cristol Lake Hike

The Cristol Lake hike This is one of the most beautiful family hikes from our hotel. It's accessible to all and a favorite with lovers of the great outdoors. It's a walk of around 4 hours and 645m of elevation gain, taking you along magnificent forest trails before discovering splendid views of the Clarée Valley.

From the upper town of Névache, you have to follow the course of the Cristol stream to the lake of the same name. It's a challenging hike in places, passing through magnificent larch forests to the lake's plateau, located at an altitude of 2245 m.

Cristol Valley offers a magnificent view of Cristol Mountain and its green slopes. In spring, the lake's shores are covered with rhododendrons. It's an ideal picnic spot before heading back down, and a well-deserved break after a demanding climb.

It takes between 4 and 5 hours to make the round trip to Lake Cristol from the Upper Town of Névache. On the return trip, there is an alternative route to return to the Lower Town via the Fort-Ville Bridge. The changeover takes place at the Cristol Passerelle intersection.

Equip yourself with the IGN TOP25 3535OT card to accompany you on your hikes in Névache and Vallée de la Clarée.

The start of the Lac de Cristol hike

The departure of the Cristol Lake hike is located at the Pont de l'Outre in the upper town of Névache, a few steps from the Saint-Marcellin church. For parking, use the Roubion car park (during the operating period of the Summer shuttles) or Ville Haute parking lot.

Let's go for the hike:

The route to Lake Cristol begins in the hamlet of Ville Haute: go to the church, turn left after the church, cross the Outre bridge over the Clarée and follow the Clarée along the GR57 for around 5 minutes.
We arrive at a crossroads which indicates on the left the direction of Buffère and Cristol: take this direction and leave the GR57 which continues along the Clarée.
The path climbs through a larch forest and gradually the gradient becomes more and more significant.
As you leave the forest, you come to another crossroads: turn left to cross the stream via a footbridge and join the GR C5. The climb then becomes gentler in the Cristol valley to reach the lake.
The return is done by the same route.

After this magnificent hike to Lac de Cristol, you will have well deserved a moment of relaxation at spa of our hotel or over a drink on our terrace.

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