Paddleboarding on Lac Montriond

The beauty of Lac Montriond never fails to amaze me. It’s stunning greeny-blue waters reflect the dramatic wooded valley and mountains that surround it and on good days the water shimmers and glints in the sunlight. From the footpath it’s spectacular but I have to say that from right in the middle of the lake it’s even more special.

I had friends visiting us for the first time from the UK and was desperate to make their holiday one to remember. However, unbeknownst to me, they’re not massive fans of height or speed so we were immediately restricted with our choice of things to do! We went through all the exciting possibilities from trying out the various via ferrata in the area, testing our nerve on the zip wire in Chatel, flying at breakneck speeds down mountains on bikes, we even talked about white water rafting but none of this really ticked the right boxes. They wanted something that helped them see what the area was made of, they wanted to relax and they wanted to have fun. Therefore it didn’t take us long to decide that having a go at paddleboarding across Lake Montriond was the thing for us.

We’ve often looked at paddleboarding and thought “we don’t really understand the point. It looks hard work and not that exciting!” but we were quickly proven wrong. Alongside paddleboarding the adventure centre at the end of Lake Montriond offers canoeing and kayaking, but it seems paddleboarding is the favourite activity on offer for most people. As a result there’s often a short wait for one whilst someone else finishes their adventure on the water.

After you pay for your time, you’re given a life jacket and a paddle and directed to the waters edge. From here you’re given a board and quite literally pushed into the water. All I was told was which end of the board should go forwards, the rest you sort of have to work out for yourself.

After tentatively kneeling on the board for a few minutes whilst attempting to get my sea legs and understand how to work the paddle, I was away! Once you understand that it’s most effective to push from the very top of the oar, it’s pretty easy to get some speed up. Then when you’re ready, you can try standing. I managed it first time, which with my balance, was pretty surprising for me and everyone with me! I was a little bit wobbly at times which of course is the fun of it. (Will she fall, won’t she fall?!!!) It was at this point, once I’d got my balance, that I was able to look and really take in my surroundings. You’ve got a panoramic view of the mountains and trees around you and it’s extremely peaceful on the lake. If you’ve got time you can even have a little sunbathe on your board and really relax. Of course, I didn’t have this opportunity.

I hear a huge splash from the bank and here 'he' comes to have his 15 minutes on the paddleboard, swimming with both dogs in tow. My peace was over. Once he arrived at the board, it was my turn to swim back to the bank. The water at this time of year is pretty warm and it’s a great way to cool off after the exertion of paddleboarding. I think it’s a great workout and really gets your core muscles going: not the boring, pointless sport we first thought. He’s pretty into the extreme side of things but when asked what he made of our more chilled out activity he said “it was harder than I thought, it was difficult to balance but it was definitely faster than a canoe, therefore much more fun!” (He also fell off, much to the amusement of us all!)

So at 8€ for half an hour, paddleboarding in one of the most beautiful spots in the world, is not to be sniffed at. It’s great fun, quite tricky to get right but very rewarding and quite speedy when you do. A great afternoon was had by all and I’d definitely advise giving it a go if you don’t mind (potentially) getting a little wet!!

 It’s very reasonably priced with a spell of half an hour priced at 8€.