Lac de la Girotte (via Les Contamines side)
Most visitors to the Beaufortain never realise that the Lac de la Girotte — a stunning glacial reservoir at 1,731 m — is accessible on foot from the Les Contamines side via a little-used path that climbs through the reserve boundary near the Chalets de Miage. The reward is a turquoise lake ringed by moraines with almost no one else on the shore.
The approach from Les Contamines
The trail begins at the Chalets de Miage (1,559 m), themselves a worthwhile destination — a cluster of traditional stone summer farm buildings where you can sometimes buy fresh cheese directly from the herder in July and August.
From the chalets the path climbs steeply northeast through a boulder field left by the retreating Miage glacier, gaining around 170 m of elevation before the lake suddenly appears in a natural bowl — the view from the lip of the moraine is genuinely jaw-dropping.
The full round trip from the Chalets de Miage takes 2.5–3 hours at a steady pace; the path is unmarked on some older maps so download the IGN 1:25000 sheet 3531ET (Saint-Gervais-les-Bains) before setting out.
What makes it special
The Girotte is a managed reservoir for hydroelectric power, which means the water level fluctuates — visit in late June or early July when snowmelt keeps it high and the colour is at its most intensely turquoise.
The north shore offers a direct view back toward the Dômes de Miage and their glaciers; on a still morning the reflection is perfect and the silence is total, broken only by the occasional marmot whistle from the surrounding scree.
Because the standard tourist approach comes from the Beaufortain side (via Hauteluce), the Les Contamines path sees perhaps a tenth of the foot traffic — making this one of the genuinely uncrowded alpine experiences left in the Mont Blanc area.
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