A Day at the Lake in Les Gets

When the sun comes out most people think first of popping their swimmers on and heading to the Lake in Montriond or the open air pool in Morzine. Both are fun and amazing places to spend the day, however, this means the Lake at Les Gets often gets passed by. With its green waters, spectacular views across the surrounding valleys and brilliant sports facilities it definitely shouldn’t be missed.

The lake can be found on a little winding road that climbs up out of the centre of Les Gets on the main road from Morzine. There’s currently some building work going on which means it’s even more hidden away than normal.

After parking up and taking a short walk across the bike park track we found the entrance to the lake and weren’t disappointed. Despite it being much smaller than Lac Montriond it’s just as special. The panoramic views stretch out across the whole valley looking out across Les Gets but also some impressive peaks and pistes.

Grassy banks surround the lake offering plenty of space for people to set up camp for the day without feeling like you’re almost on top of another family. There are separate areas for swimming, paddling and splashing which means children can play to their hearts content in various different spots around the waters edge. We spent the day at the lake and found that there was plenty to do for everyone.

The main pull for the children at Les Gets Lake was the water slide, swirling from a rocky waterfall down into a deep plunge pool at the bottom. It doesn’t open until 12:30 everyday (the same applies to the toilets!) because that’s when the main office at the lake is staffed. We went after a few cooler days and it has to be said - only the brave were attempting the slide because the water was absolutely freezing! However, it provided hours of entertainment for the little ones who kept returning to it throughout the day.

There are also lots of sports facilities around the lake, which proved popular with the whole family. There’s a big beach volleyball pitch with a full sized net, an adventure climbing centre for the older children and a play park for the younger ones. But with so much space around the lake a lot of our time was spent playing ball games like cricket and football. All this fun was thirsty work - Good job that there’s also a very accommodating restaurant at the lake as well!

With deckchairs outside, the restaurant provides a great place to get a moment of quiet from all of the fun of the day. It’s a simple operation offering takeaway coffees and ice creams alongside a traditional French menu including fish and meat dishes. The food is relatively expensive but looked good from what we could see. We stuck to ice creams for most of the day. The staff at the bar were happy to provide us with drinks to take back to the lake which is a much needed facility when you’re spending all day playing.

The lake is a great place to go to have fun but it’s also a great place to go to learn a little bit more about conservation in the area. There are signs around the water telling you about the work being done there to conserve a rare type of Alpine Newt. You can see them swimming around the water and are told under no certain terms to leave them alone. They’re trying to repopulate the area with the little amphibian, which made our trip to the lake that little bit more special.

Access to the lake is free with a multipass so is pretty good value but it’s only 3€ for adults and 2€ for children if you haven’t invested in one. The children that we were with told us that they preferred Les Gets lake to Montriond because there was more for them to do and there was more space for them to play sport. We had a great day and would definitely recommend it for any warm, sunny days we have left. But be warned…. Despite the water being blue and tempting, it really is very very cold!