Lac de Serre-Ponçon Hautes Alpes

With its unspoilt coves and turquoise water, Lake Serre-Ponçon is a sea in the mountains, an ideal destination to have fun in, on and by the water against the majestic backdrop of the mountains. People come to Serre-Ponçon for water sports, to gaze at its scenery, to relax on its beaches, to try its local speciality foods and to discover its fabulous history. It is a place people of all ages and dispositions can enjoy.

Lake Serre-Ponçon is the largest artificial lake in mainland France covering over 28km² and has the largest earth-fill dam in Europe. It is located on the borders of the Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence regions. An exhibition tracing the history of the lake can be seen at the Muséoscope du Lac in Rousset. Originally completed in 1960 to regulate the flow of flood water in the Durance valley, the lake is today a landmark tourist destination in Hautes-Alpes.



The lake has many beaches, some with facilities and Blue-Flag status, others which are completely natural, and a large number of water sports centres.  Serre-Ponçon can be compared to a small Mediterranean port with 500 mooring rings and 3 fuelling stations.

Summertime activities include rowing, paddle boarding, windsurfing, canoeing, catamaran sailing, pedal boats, sailing on a 2-masted schooner, jet-ski, pirogue, boats to hire (with or without permit), cruises, cocktail cruises, tubing, water skiing, wakeboarding and kite-surfing.

Families especially appreciate the facilities and safety equipment around the lake, its numerous fun attractions and the activities and events which take place in summer.

The destination covers 17 towns and villages. At the mouth of the lake lies the town of Embrun, nicknamed the ‘Nice of the Alps’ due to its mild climate. This Art and History Town has a remarkable cultural heritage such as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame du Réal. On the way there, stop off at the Abbaye de Boscodon, a masterpiece of Romanesque art, enjoy the sunshine at a pavement café overlooking the lake at Savines-Le-Lac, then stroll through the streets of Chorges and shop at its market.

Serre-Ponçon is a paradise for fisherman from beginners to experienced anglers as bountiful Mother Nature has endowed it with streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs for all types of fishing techniques. Happy fishing in Serre-Ponçon !