Lac de Sainte-Croix at the foot of the Gorges du Verdon
From our 4-star Hyères campsite, Lac de Sainte-Croix is one of the most picturesque excursions in the hinterland. Just a two-hour drive away, you’ll find freshwater beaches offering panoramic views of the Pre-Alps. The lake lies at the foot of the Gorges du Verdon, the Plan de Canjuers and the Valensole plateau, where lavender is grown.
You can also take a stroll along the small roads before reaching the lake.
From the campsite to Lac de Sainte-Croix: a walk in the hinterland
From the campsite to the Lac de Sainte-Croix, you can enjoy a beautiful excursion into the hinterland. Leave the A57 at Cuers, and follow the small roads through the rolling countryside. You’ll discover some very pleasant little towns: Brignoles, Monfort-sur-Argens and its château de Robernier.
In Sillans-la-Cascade, stop off to enjoy… the waterfall! The viewpoint over the waterfall is well worth the effort, through the dense vegetation.
In Aups, you can stroll along the ramparts, before reaching Lac de Sainte-Croix via Aiguines. In the past, this village was renowned for its production of studded wooden balls.
On the other side of Lac de Sainte-Croix lies Moustiers, the Mecca of earthenware. This charming mountain village will delight you with its narrow streets and torrents, and its gentle, peaceful atmosphere will make you forget the hassles of city life.
The lake is ideal for swimming, windsurfing and water sports (catamaran, sailboat, electric boat). You can also fish, pedal-boat and canoe.
An artificial lake on the Verdon
Lac de Sainte-Croix is an artificial reservoir created by EDF and impounded in 1973, following the construction of the Sainte-Croix dam on the Verdon river.
The lake covers an area of 22 km² in the southern part of the Verdon, just outside the Pre-Alps, at the foot of the village of Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon. The dam, built at the entrance to the gorge near Baudinard, holds back 760 million cubic meters of water and produces over 150 million kWh of electricity per year. It supplies nearby towns with electricity.
A little history…
Before Lac de Sainte-Croix, the Verdon valley stretched downstream.
As early as the 18th century, there was talk of making the Verdon navigable, but it was in the following century that major hydraulic engineering projects took shape, initially for crop irrigation. The Aix canal, over 80 km long, was completed in 1873, as was the Quinson dam. Other needs soon became apparent: drinking water supply for the cities of Aix, Marseille and Toulon, and electric power.
All the villages in the valley are affected by the construction of the Sainte-Croix dam, especially as it was originally planned to partially drown Bauduen and Sainte-Croix. However, for geological reasons, the elevation was revised downwards. The presence of the Fontaine-Lévêque resurgence led to fears of a siphon effect. And as the terrain was very chalky, the engineers feared water infiltration. As a result, both villages were saved; only the village of Les Salles was completely destroyed.
The Aiguines bridge linking Les Salles to Moustiers, known as the “Roman bridge” but more medieval according to historians, has been declared “of no interest”, and now lies at the bottom of the lake. An image of it remains in the opening minutes of the film “Forbidden Games”, directed by René Clément in 1951.