About the Émosson Lake & Dam:
The Émosson Dam was a joint project of France and Switzerland. It is located in Switzerland at 1930m above sea level and it’s purpose is the generation of hydroelectric power.
The lake/dam itself is stunning due to the waters gorgeous blue colour and the impressive peaks that surround it. You are also rewarded with amazing views of the surrounding area, including the Mont Blanc Range and the Bouqui canyons.
The good news is you do not have to hike up, you can drive or take a train, for more information click here.
Our Hike to Émosson Lake & Dam:
We started our morning by taking a train from Chamonix to Vallorcine. Once in Vallorcine we walked to the main road and followed it as far as the tourist office (183 Route des Confins, 74660 Vallorcine). At the tourist office (FYI: There is a public toilet located here), we kept slightly left and walked along the D210 road. The weather was gorgeous and the view from the road was beautiful.
We followed the D210 road until we came to what appeared to be a dead-end however you just continue on a narrow trail through the houses, right past the front doors and you will then be on the real hiking trail. There actually was a signpost on the corner of one of the houses but I only spotted it on my way back.
The forest path was so nice, soft underfoot and gently rolling up and down. It was very quiet, we did not meet anyone!
We followed the signposts for the Cascade de Baberine and the Barrage d’Émosson:
The trail is very easy and enjoyable as far as the Cascade. There were some people at the Cascade but there was not that much water in the waterfall, see photos below!
From the Cascade the trail starts to climb steeply, leaving the soft forest path behind, you find yourself on loose rock instead. The trail then veers right across what would be a large river/ravine at times, but was bone dry when we visited. I almost missed this right turn out from the forest and across the rock section as it seemed after the Cascade the sign posts disappeared! I was lucky to spot some rock cairns which showed me the right way to go. The advantage of leaving the forest path is that you get to see the stunning views around you.
Once you cross the rocky ravine section, you follow the trail left, climbing steeply and zig-zagging continuously. At times I needed both hands to pull myself up and over larger rocks along the trail.
I found myself back in a forested area and was glad to see a signpost once again, a Swiss style one!
It wasn’t long before I left the forested area and began climbing steeply once again. The views continued to make the effort worthwhile though.
I finally started to see the Émosson dam, the red carriages of the train and the Restaurant du Barrage d’Emosson in the distance on the mountain above me.
The final section of the path to the lake/dam is once again steep, zig-zags and on loose rock. I was very glad that I had my Leki Poles with me for stability (even more so on my way back down). It started to get so green all around the trail.
And finally, I could see the blue of the lake - yippee!
After taking a few photos I walked the last section of the trail down to the tarmacked path that runs alongside the lake and took a lot of photos!
The Émosson dam:
After a 20 minute rest where I sat in the glorious sunshine and ate some snacks I began my descent! I followed the same trail as I hiked up. I did take a slightly different trail from the Cascade de Baberine back to the road but it was pretty much parallel to that mornings trail just below it. I returned to Chamonix via train from Vallorcine.
According to my watch the hike was 10.5kms from the train station in Vallorcine to the Émosson Dam and back. The hike took me 3 hours and 10 minutes (moving time) and included 810 metres of ascent. I would definitely agree that this trail requires a good level of fitness due to its steepness but you can of course go as slow as you want, just bring plenty of water and snacks!
Note: As always, I had a GPX of the route on my Garmin Forerunner 735XT watch so I was not relying solely on trail signage for the hike.
More Chamonix Blogs:
We hope you enjoyed this blog! If you did then you might enjoy some of our other Chamonix blogs:
- Taking the Panoramic Mont Blanc Gondola in Chamonix.
- A Short Hike to Chalet du Glacer des Bossons.
- Running & Hiking the Petit Balcon Sud Trail.
- Hiking to the Statue du Christ Roi in Chamonix.
- Tips When Visiting Chamonix in Autumn.
- The Best of Chamonix.
- Back in Beautiful Chamonix.
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