Lac des Hermines

Yes, you can swim at Lac des Hermines: it is THE swimming lake of Super-Besse, supervised in July and August, with a sand and grass beach that is free to use. Lac Pavin, very close, is closed to swimming: here, it's the opposite, everything is set up for you to get in the water.

Swimming at Lac des Hermines: supervision and access

Swimming is allowed and supervised in July and August, but only at certain times of the day: outside those times, and before or after the season, you swim at your own risk, keep an eye on children.

The lake is perched at 1,350 m altitude: dip a toe in before you dive.

Access to the lake is open and free, and so is the car park, along the shore. Dogs are allowed around the lake but not on the beach. For a break, the Hermines bar-restaurant serves sandwiches, burgers and salads, with a terrace looking onto the lake.

Much more than a lake

This artificial lake of 14 hectares, created in 1968, is 9 m deep at most. In summer, the water-play base hires out canoes, kayaks, pedalos and paddleboards, and sets up an inflatable course floating on the water (in 2026: every day from 4 July to 30 August, from 11:00 to 19:00). Around it: beach volleyball and a multi-sport pitch (city stade) with open access, a tennis court, pétanque, trout fishing, and the Hermin'eau park for little ones (slides, zip lines, swings).

The lake in the resort

You are at the foot of the Super-Besse ski slopes. From the beach, you can go straight on to the summer toboggan, the Fantasticable (a 1,600 m zip line) or the Perdrix cable car that climbs towards the heights of the Sancy. The combination that works: a walk round Lac Pavin in the morning, swimming at the Hermines in the afternoon.

Our take

It's the family spot par excellence after a hike in the Sancy: the children splash about, you recover on the grass. One reservation: the atmosphere is that of a leisure centre in the middle of a resort, not of a wild lake. And keep some time for the walk round the lake: 1.3 km, half an hour, doable with an all-terrain pushchair.