Lac Blanc Hike

Intro

Lac Blanc, or the “White Lake,” is a stunning alpine lake nestled in the heart of the French Alps. This moderate hike offers breathtaking views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding peaks, making it a popular destination for hikers of all levels. The trail ascends through picturesque meadows, and rocky terrain, culminating in a rewarding view of the turquoise lake.

Index Chair Lift to Lac Blanc to Flegere Cable Car

Type: Loop
Difficulty: Moderate
Fee: Gondola / Chair Lift Day Pass €39.50 “Chamsummerdeal”
Flégère gondola + Index chairlift
Parking: Free at Planpraz Gondola Station
Distance: 7.6km | 4.7mi | Time: 3-4h
Elevation: ^ 274m | 899ft

After our previous day hike during peak hours to the Cirque du Fer a Cheval we decided to approach this hike a little differently to avoid most of the crowds. I purchased a day pass for the gondola / chair lift in advance from the Mont Blanc Natural Resort which proved to be a great plan!

Gondola to Flegere then Index Chairlift

We arrived at the gondola station at 7:50, parked our car, packed up some last minute items and jumped in line. At 8:00, the doors opened, and we entered the building. Our pre-purchased digital tickets allowed us to bypass the initial queue and proceed directly to the gondola line. Up we went quickly ascending to 1,877m (6,158 feet). At Flegere we took the short walk over to the Index chairlift which brought us to our starting point for the hike at 2,595m (8,513 feet).

We were there and ready for our hike!  We meandered around taking in the scenery. The hike to the lake started off fairly easy, meandering through rolling hills and offering huge views of the surrounding peaks.

At one point we crossed paths with a herd of goats accompanied by 3 large dogs. We bounced back and forth with a few other hikers heading the same direction but it wasn’t at all busy this early in the morning. At times we were 200 meters from others.

Lac Blanc

After a short climb up the last section of trail, we made it to the lake! The first pool is much smaller and is next to the Lac Blanc refuge. The main lake is just around the corner. We sat and enjoyed a snack and some water. Both eager for a coffee, we went to the refuge and saw signs everywhere saying “cash only” I knew I forgot something! A little disappointed we drank some more water and rested before heading on.

There are a couple more hikes you can do from here. We chose to head back but you could do the loop around the lake, take the trail to Lac De La Perserverance or continue east further. We backtracked a little then turned left at the junction to reach the Flegere cable car again. By this time the masses of people were starting to arrive. We often had to step aside to let people go by as we headed back down. The actual trail in this section is quite nice as we were able to get off trail and find a little spot to lay down in the grass and take it all in.

Nearing the cable car station the trail really became undesirable in my opinion. It was more of a steep gravel road than a scenic mountain trail. At our destination we found a shady picnic table and bought a couple of sandwiches from the shop. They do accept credit cards here.

The hike itself was overall very enjoyable with gorgeous mountain views made accessible to most hikers of all skill levels. I’m very happy we went the route we did utilizing the Index chair lift to take us up higher to start. It is a very exposed trail with little or no shade so make sure to take lots of water (we had 2 liters each), sunscreen, sun glasses and any other sun protection you desire.

Continuing our hike further

From here we wanted to do a bit more so we looked at our options hiking to the next cable car at Planpraz. We had two options… continue on the Tour Du Mont Blanc on the lower section or take the Index lift up and hike to Lac Noir and then down to Planpraz. We went for the former as there was still snow on the higher route.