Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas municipal campsite

On the volcanic Devès plateau, at 1,220 m altitude, the municipal campsite of Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas is a natural campsite in the heart of a village of 267 inhabitants (2023 census). You are in the Haute-Loire (postcode 43510), 25 km south of Le Puy-en-Velay. The campsite has 13 pitches, with sanitary facilities, electric hook-ups and a service area for motorhomes (emptying and filling). It's rustic, accessible, cheap, in a setting of absolute silence.

About 2.5 km from the campsite, Lac du Bouchet is a perfectly circular maar (a volcanic explosion crater), at 1,205 m altitude. It is one of the most beautiful maars in Auvergne, awarded the Pavillon Bleu (Blue Flag) in 2026. Supervised swimming in summer, walking around the lake (a loop of about 3 km), fishing.

The Devès plateau

You are camping on a high plateau formed by basalt flows. It is flat or very undulating, dotted with secondary craters, scoria, dark colours. An average altitude of over 1,100 m gives the plateau a harsher climate than you would expect from the Haute-Loire: cool nights even in July, stars very visible because there is no urban centre nearby.

Why this campsite in particular

• On the Chemin de Stevenson (GR70): the 272 km trail linking Le Puy-en-Velay to Alès passes through Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas. Stevenson spent the night there in 1878 on his journey with his donkey Modestine, immortalised in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. The campsite is among the accommodation listed along the trail.
• Low prices: in 2026, a tent pitch costs €4 per day, plus €3.50 per person per day, tourist tax included. Motorhome package €14 per day (pitch, two people, electricity), €12 for a caravan or a converted truck.
• Complete calm: no entertainment, no communal pool, just the essentials.
• Close to Lac du Bouchet for swimming and walks.
• A logical stage on the Le Puy-en-Velay - Pradelles - Langogne route to cross the southern Velay.

How to get there

• From Le Puy-en-Velay: 25 km via the N88 then the D31 and D311. Allow 35 minutes.
• From Pradelles: 18 km via the D311.
• From Mende (Lozère): 75 km via the N88, about 1 hour 30.
• From Saint-Étienne: 100 km via the N88, 1 hour 40.
• By train and on foot: Le Puy-en-Velay SNCF station, then two stages of the GR70 (Chemin de Stevenson) via Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille, two days of walking.

Good to know before you go

• Opening season: in 2026, from 1 March to 31 October. Town hall: 04 71 57 32 22.
• Booking: only thirteen pitches. In July and August, call the town hall before you come, especially if you are arriving on foot at the end of the day.
• Sanitary facilities: provided, and basic.
• Food: a grocer's and a bar-restaurant in the village, another bar-restaurant by the lake, Le Puy 25 km away. Bring supplies.
• Climate: cold nights even in midsummer, around 10 °C, so pack a winter sleeping bag or a good warm one, even in summer.
• Minimum equipment: tent, insulating mat, head torch, water bottle (water point at the campsite).

Things to do from the campsite

• Lac du Bouchet (about 2.5 km on foot): swimming, a walk around the lake (about 3 km, 45 minutes), fishing.
• GR70 Chemin de Stevenson: the next stage heads south-east to Pradelles, the previous stage goes up north-east to Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille. Allow a good day's walking in each direction.
• Lac de Naussac (under 30 km): another big lake, more developed, in Lozère.
• Le Puy-en-Velay (25 km): cathedral, Notre-Dame de France statue, old town.
• Pradelles (18 km): listed among the “Plus beaux villages de France” (Most Beautiful Villages of France).

Our take

Practical, plain, silent. Thirteen pitches, basic sanitary facilities and a big sky at over 1,200 m, far from the lights of the towns. Lac du Bouchet is about 2.5 km away on foot. If you are walking the Stevenson trail, it is the logical stage after Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille.