Lac d’Estaing

Lac d’Estaing is 16km from Saint Savin. You start climbing straight away towards the village of Arcizans-Avant. In the village continue straight on the D13 to the village of  Estaing. Go straight through Estaing on to the lake. It is an easy climb of 16km at 4.4%, with a hard section in the middle, where the gradient going up to 15%. The road was resurfaced in 2010 and is in great condition.

Lac d'Estaing, November 2011

Lac d'Estaing

Cows at Lac d'Estaing. The Spanish border runs along the ridge on the horizon.

Starting from La Lanterne Rouge.
1. Head southeast on Rue du Castillou toward Rue de Mousseigne 61 m
2. Turn right at Rue de Mousseigne 62 m
3. Turn right at Rue Lamarque/D101/D13 Continue to follow D13 4.0 km
4. Slight right at D613 2.6 km
5. Turn left at D103 7.4 km
6. Continue onto Les Carrères 1.9 km
Arrive at Lac d’Estaing
Total: 16.4 km – about 1 hour

Below is the interactive Google Map with Street View. Use your mouse to navigate the map and the Street View images.

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Here is the Garmin data from Ride with GPS:

And here in Garmin Connect:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7790848

Arcizans-Avant with Hautacam in the background.

The village of Arcizans-Avant is 1.5km up the climb from Saint Savin. There are two excellent cafes here which make a great lunch stop.

Arcizans-Avant, looking back the road.

Arcizans-Avant. Bales of hay in the Val d'Azun

The above photo is just above the village of Arcizans-Avant in Val d’Azun, the Col du Soulor can be seen in the distance.

Sireix, Val d'Azun, Pyrenees.

On the way up you can take a small detour of the main route which will take you to the village of Sireix. It is a tiny village with a population of about 60. You can take a left turn there for the climb to Cabaliros. Sireix has been in the news this year (2010) as 1 of the local bears has acquired a taste for sheep and goats, needless to say the farmers are up in arms about it. The brown bear is a protected species in the European Union. The population in the Pyrenees is estimated at 30 animals in 2010, it is hoped to raise the population to between 60 & 100 to have a viable population, so the citizens of Siriex will be out numbered. It is also planned to release some female bears from Spain in the area in 2011 & 2012. Sireix is also the ancesteral home of of the Swedish royal family.

Lac d'Estaing

Lac d'Estaing

Lac d'Estaing

The lake is home to a small population of Trout Pike & Minnows. It is a great place for a swim on a hot summers day. Lac d’Estaing is on the route of the GR10, the coast to coast hiking route, 866km with 48000m of ascent, the average time for completing the route is 52 days.

Lac d'Estaing Winter

The roads are ploughed in winter so can be ridden most days, this photo was taken in mid December. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a training ride.

Below is an embedded Google Earth 3d file with the route. Use your mouse and the controls on the top left to play with the 3d map.