Our lake
Serre-Ponçon and its exceptional environment
Qui aurait cru que le barrage érigé au milieu du XXème siècle, allait permettre la création d’une véritable petite mer intérieure au coeur des Hautes-Alpes : le lac de Serre-Ponçon, le plus grand lac artificiel de France métropolitaine.
La qualité de l’environnement est remarquable, et les berges escarpées préservent ce caractère sauvage qui constitue tout le charme de Serre-Ponçon. Sur les 90 km de rivage du lac, seuls 13 km sont aménagés pour le développement touristique, laissant ainsi la majeure partie des rives dans leur état naturel.
La Durance et l’Ubaye, affluents du lac, fournissent une eau riche en minéraux et en sédiments qui donnent cette teinte des mers du sud surprenante et caractéristique à ses criques sauvages, véritable invitation à la découverte.
Fort d’un développement maîtrisé, la nature reste omniprésente : un vrai luxe sauvage !
LE BARRAGE DE SERRE-PONÇON
Pourquoi l’idée d’un tel projet ?
L’idée de la construction du barrage remonte à 1856, Ivan Wilhelm ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées est à l’origine du projet qui ne débutera pas avant 1955.
Plusieurs raisons à sa réalisation :
• Dompter la Durance, rivière souvent capricieuse et destructrice. Les crues de 1843 et 1856 et par la suite les sécheresses, en particulier celles de 1895, sont à l’origine des premiers projets du barrage sur la Durance, afin de protéger les différentes infrastructures, les champs et les habitations. Car cette rivière a un rôle majeur pour
• Irriguer les cultures de notre vallée qui vit en majorité de l’agriculture et de l’élevage. Le barrage a donc permis de réguler la Durance en devenant un immense réservoir d’eau.
• Produire de l’électricité : le besoin en énergie électrique était devenu essentiel au lendemain de la seconde guerre mondiale.
C’est de l’émergence de ce projet titanesque et de la destruction de deux villages que notre destination a vu le jour.
Savines-le-Lac, village reconstruit juste au-dessus de la côte du lac (780m) est le seul à ce jour à avoir les pieds dans l’eau. Ubaye, quant à lui, reste abandonné, son cimetière étant le seul élément déplacé.
L’origine de son nom
Le nom du lac de Serre-Ponçon est directement lié à sa situation géographique !
Dès le départ, le site de « Serre-Ponçon« , suscite un vif intérêt. Ce goulet situé entre les roches : le « Serre-Ponçon » et le « Serre de Monge », est idéal pour la construction d’un barrage, car il offre la possibilité de créer une retenue d’eau de grande capacité.
Le nom Serre-Ponçon à ainsi été retenu !
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Key figures
- 1,27 milliards de m3 d’eau = 320 000 piscines olympiques
- Une superficie de 2800 hectares = 1555 terrains de football
- 20km long and 3km wide at its maximum level
- 123m de haut, 600m de large et 650m d’épaisseur
- Côte maximale 780 NGF
- La température de l’eau varie entre 10°c et 24°c selon la saison et la météo.
Serre-Ponçon est le plus grand lac artificiel de France métropolitaine et l’un des plus grand barrage en terre d’Europe.
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Find out more about our lake and its history
Several places to visit await you:
- At the foot of the dam, Espace EDF Odysselec Serre-Ponçon water and energy center in July and August.
- Le Muséoscope du Lac, also in Rousset, above the Serre-Ponçon dam, open all year round,
- The Centre d'Interprétation de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine(CIAP) at Savines-le-Lac, part of the Le XXe cultural center, is dedicated to 20th-century heritage, which has been awarded a label for the entire village.
- Unless you prefer to explore the lake by boat!
Why is the lake low in winter?
EDF regulates the height of Lac de Serre-Ponçon according to the hydroelectric output required, the downstream capacities of the reservoirs, and the inflows from the Ubaye and Durance rivers.
So how does the lake fill up in spring?
In spring, as the snow melts, the Ubaye and Durance rivers, often swollen by rainfall, allow the Lac de Serre-Ponçon to fill up in summer.
L’ impact sur la vallée
La création du barrage de Serre-Ponçon a marqué le début d’une croissance économique et touristique significative pour la région, un élan qui perdure à ce jour.
Le lac de Serre-Ponçon s’est rapidement imposé comme une destination phare du tourisme dans les Alpes du Sud.
De ses plus hauts sommets à ses plus belles plages, vous trouverez à Serre-Ponçon, un cadre fantastique alliant parfaitement loisirs de montagne et plaisirs nautiques.
Focus on water sports
Families will particularly appreciate the 9 beaches Blue Flag" beaches dotted around the lake, with water temperatures of up to 23°C.
The services offered by the harbourmaster's office will facilitate your boating activities, as the lake offers nearly 1,000 moorings spread over 13 ports and pontoons. ports and pontoons and 3 refuelling stations. The lake is subject to appropriate regulations that respect all boating practices.
All boating licenses are authorized on the lake (coastal, river, offshore), and you can even take your coastal license on the lake from May to October! And launching is free...
From May to October, the touring boats touring boats as well as the Club Nautique Alpin de Serre-Ponçon at Embrun lake.
By June, all the water sports bases are operational and you can enjoy a full range of activities: rowing, stand-up paddle, windsurfing, kite-surfing, canoeing, sea kayaking, catamaran, pedal boat, schooner, jet ski, boat with or without a license, touring boat and aperitif boat, school boat, towed buoys, water skiing, wakeboarding... unless you prefer to fly over the lake in a microlight/ hydroplane!
Living water!
An invigorating playground.
The whitewater sports begin as early as April, with kayaking, rafting andhydrospeed. In fact, it's hard to imagine a better base camp for white-water enthusiasts than Serre-Ponçon. Two rivers renowned throughout Europe for the quality of their rapids. On one side, the Ubaye, the last naturally flowing river in the French Alps, offers 52km of courses and 60 rapids for rather sporty navigation. On the other, the more accessible Durance offers a progressive and varied course. Fed by the glaciers of the Ecrins massif, the river's flow remains sufficient, even in the height of summer. At Châteauroux-les-Alpes, the Rabioux wave is a freestyle mecca that attracts riders from all over the world.
There's a wide range of whitewater activities for all ages and abilities, all of them original and sporty. A must-try for those who love refreshing sensations!
The Serre-Ponçon thermal bath, a sure bet!
Serre-Ponçon is a mecca for sailing, in the broadest sense of the term, and for all levels of sailor, thanks to a regular thermal wind from the west/southwest, with conditions ranging from 8-10 knots to 25 knots in June and July, and constant water temperatures of 20 degrees.
The mountains encircling the lake and the thermal amplitudes between day and night, which start to develop in fine weather, favor the appearance of almost daily thermal breezes from midday until late afternoon.
Stable, regular conditions, more pronounced from Savines-le-Lac (venturi effect) up towards Embrun, make this area "the spot" for sails, kite-surfing and more and more foils, the new glide that's flourishing in Serre-Ponçon!
Fishing
Lac de Serre-Ponçon and Embrun are also renowned for their fishing. In fact, fishermen are the most assiduous sailors, and don't hesitate to launch their boats in the middle of winter to fish for whitefish, a fish specific to the great Alpine lakes. Serre-Ponçon is particularly renowned for its pike and lake trout, but you'll also find perch, carp and other white fish.
Fishing is permitted all year round on the lake, with specific regulations for carnivorous fish, night carp fishing and trolling. The rivers feeding the lake are all in 1st category (mainly populated by trout), open from March to the first Sunday in October. This is an advantage for the Hautes-Alpes, because in other French departments, 1st category rivers close in mid-September, so you have 15 extra days of trout fishing in the Hautes-Alpes! Another advantage is that the mouth of the Durance into the lake offers a "no-kill" fishing trail that can be fished all year round!
Other services for angl ers include a handi-fishing pontoon at the Embrun lake, and the "cabane des pêcheurs" at Les Eygoires in Savines-le-Lac, a town that has been awarded the "Station Pêche" label (next to a boat launch): a place for information and numerous fishing events. Since 2018, the Serre-Ponçon lake has been awarded the "parcours passion" label by the FNPF national federation and the Hautes-Alpes fishing federation, thanks to its many services and exceptional site, with a high diversity of fish species.
- Find out all about fishing on Lac de Serre-Ponçon on the website of the Hautes-Alpes fishing federation.
- Find the Hautes-Alpes fishing map on the "Géopêche" application. "application.
- Learn or improve your fishing skills with our fishing guides
Serre-Ponçon, the ideal base camp for all outdoor activities!
The Ecrins National Park stretches from the shores of the lake to the highest peaks, at an altitude of almost 3000m. High-altitude lakes (Lac Brun, Lac de l'Hivernet, Lac du Crachet), waterfalls (Cascade de la Pisse, de Réallon, des Razis, etc.), alpine meadows and peaks can all be found here, with Lac de Serre-Ponçon as a backdrop.
Make your choice on the Serre-Ponçon hiking portal ! The shores of the lake offer a number of itineraries accessible to all, mainly the tour of the lake, the Petit Liou wetland, the Crots dike, the path linking the bays of Chanteloube and Saint-Michel... Higher up, the lake of Saint-Apollinaire, Les Gourniers, Réallon, Les Orres, Crévoux and the Châteauroux-Les-Alpes valley.
Of course, you can also enjoy cycling and mountain biking, equestrian and motorized sports, aerial sports and all kinds of other outdoor activities. outdoor activities or simply family fun family (inflatable games, adventure park, panoramic chairlifts...)
