Haute-Savoie has more lakes than Annecy and Lake Geneva. Here are six smaller ones, from the valley floor to mid-mountain, with what the official listings say: altitude, access, walking time and swimming. Annecy and Lake Geneva have their own full pages.
In short. Six Haute-Savoie lakes besides Annecy and Lake Geneva: Montriond, Lac Vert (Passy), Lac Bleu (Morillon), Lacs aux Dames (Samoëns), Lac de Passy and Lac de Vallon. Swimming is banned at the Lac Vert in Passy, a protected site, but possible, and supervised in summer, at Lac Bleu in Morillon, the Lacs aux Dames and Lac de Passy. Lac de Montriond, also called “the green lake” by the tourist office, has a swimming area for small children. Altitudes differ between sources: for Montriond, 1,071 m (tourist office) or 1,055 m (Wikipedia).
This page covers six lakes that the rest of the site does not describe in detail. Each appears in an official listing of the Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc tourist board or of the Département, with altitude, access or rules. A lake without a clear official listing was left out. For the two big lakes, open their full pages: measurements, access, photos and webcams.
Lake Annecy: full pageFor each one: commune, altitude, access and walking time where the sources give them, then what they say about swimming. A missing value is not guessed.
Altitude: 1,071 m according to the tourist office; Wikipedia gives 1,055 m in its infobox and 1,067 m in the text. Area 0.32 km², maximum depth 18.5 m (Wikipedia, which calls it the largest lake of the Chablais). Access: “via the D902 from Thonon-les-Bains, then the D228 from the village of Montriond” (official text in French); free parking and a free shuttle stop “in winter and summer” from the village. From the centre of Montriond to the lake, the tourist office lists a 5.4 km loop of about 2 h (moderate). Swimming: “in summer a dedicated area delights the youngest” (paraphrased from the French listing). A “Lac de Montriond” webcam is listed on the Montriond resort page.
Altitude: 1,266 m per Wikipedia, 1,260 m per the tourist office (its text also says “1,200 metres”). A small lake of about 8,900 m², maximum depth 9.3 m, a protected site since 1909, with no inflowing stream. Access: the D43 to Plaine-Joux, then “a fairly easy 30-minute walk”; in July and August free shuttles link the Plaine-Joux car park to the lake. Lac Vert loop: 3.1 km, 1 h, easy. Swimming: “no swimming or water activity is permitted, to protect this fragile ecosystem” (translated from the French listing). Dogs must be on a lead and are not allowed in the lake.
A leisure base about 500 m from the centre of Morillon, in the Giffre valley. A small lake of about 2.5 ha, at 675 m according to the tourist office’s walk listing (the lake’s own listing gives no altitude). Free, open access all year; three bus stops nearby. Swimming on the beach is free; the lake listing calls it “supervised” and the tourist office specifies July and August. For walkers: the Lac Bleu loop via Les Miaux and Le Châtelard, 3.4 km, about 1 h. This is the lake of the Morillon “Lac Bleu” webcam (see below).
Two lakes at the foot of the Criou, “a few minutes’ walk from the centre of Samoëns”, at 720 m. Swimming is “supervised from early July to early September”; another listing says “during the summer school holidays a supervised swimming area opens every day”. Rule: “tight swim shorts and flip-flops are not allowed” (translated). Free parking nearby. From the base, a flat walk leads to Lac Bleu in Morillon: 5 km return, 2 h 10, easy, from 5 May to 10 November according to the tourist office.
The Îles leisure base, at the foot of Mont Blanc on the Passy side: a beach over 1 km long, mini-golf, electric and pedal boats, paddleboarding and windsurfing (Département listing). Open all year, free access to the beach; paid parking in summer (€3 a day from 28 June to 31 August 2026). Swimming: supervised “only in summer, in the afternoons” (tourist office) or in July and August in zones marked by depth (Département); the two listings give different periods. Animals not accepted. The listings give no altitude.
A lake in the Brevon valley, formed in March 1943 by a landslide, at 1,080 m (Wikipedia and the Département listing). Area about 11 ha in Wikipedia’s infobox, 15 ha in its text; maximum depth 10.5 m. Access via the D236 to the lake car park (La Chèvrerie, Bellevaux). Walk round the lake: 5.3 km, about 3 h, 110 m of ascent, moderate. Fishing with a permit. The listings we read give no swimming rule, so AlpeSnow states none.
Two Haute-Savoie lakes carry this name. The Lac Vert in Passy (1,266 m), above Plaine-Joux, is a small protected site where swimming is banned. Lac de Montriond, in the Chablais (1,071 m), is “also called the green lake” in the tourist office listing: a much larger lake, with a swimming area for children. Check which one you want before you set off: they are in different valleys.
Passy Plaine-Joux: weather and accessHaut-Giffre Tourisme publishes a webcam titled “Morillon – Lac Bleu”, with no description. Morillon’s official listings present only one lake of that name: the leisure base about 500 m from the village. That is our inference; the Haut-Giffre page does not confirm it itself. The Morillon webcams page shows this view alongside Les Esserts. Wikipedia’s disambiguation page lists no Lac Bleu in Haute-Savoie (only one, at Saint-François-Longchamp, in Savoie), so do not confuse this lake with other “Lacs Bleus” in the Alps.
Morillon webcamsBanned: Lac Vert in Passy. A set-aside area for small children: Lac de Montriond. Free and supervised in July and August: Lac Bleu in Morillon. Supervised in summer: Lacs aux Dames and Lac de Passy, with periods that differ between listings (early July to early September for the first; July–August or “in the afternoons” for the second). Lac de Vallon: no rule read. “Supervised” does not guarantee safety and dates change every year: ask the local tourist office or town hall before you go.
Free shuttles announced: to Lac de Montriond from the village (summer and winter), to Lac Vert from Plaine-Joux (July–August; the listing’s timetable dates from 2025), and a stop within 300 m of the Lacs aux Dames (summer and winter, to be checked with the tourist office). The air temperature on this site’s webcams and forecasts is not the water temperature: a mountain lake stays cool long after a hot day, and AlpeSnow publishes no water temperature for these lakes.
Morzine webcamsNo. The tourist office listing says: “no swimming or water activity is permitted, to protect this fragile ecosystem” (translated). The lake is a protected site; dogs must be on a lead and are not allowed in the lake.
The tourist office listing calls it “the Lac de Montriond, also called the green lake”. Do not confuse it with the Lac Vert in Passy, which is smaller, in another valley, and where swimming is banned.
It is the Lac Bleu leisure base, about 500 m from the centre of Morillon. Access is open and swimming on the beach is free; the tourist office says it is supervised in July and August. The Haut-Giffre “Lac Bleu” webcam belongs to Morillon.
Among the lakes we could document from official sources, only the one in Morillon is covered. Wikipedia’s disambiguation page lists no Lac Bleu in Haute-Savoie, but it may be incomplete: if you are looking for another one, ask the local tourist office.
It depends on the lake and the year: early July to early September at the Lacs aux Dames, July–August at Lac Bleu and at the Lac de Passy base according to the Département, “in the afternoons” according to the Passy tourist office. The listings differ: confirm dates and hours with the tourist office before you go.
No. The temperatures AlpeSnow shows are air temperatures, measured or forecast. A mountain lake warms slowly and is often much cooler than the air. No water temperature is published for these lakes.
Text of this page last revised on . This date says nothing about how recent the images or data are: the webcams are supplied by the credited operators and their timestamp shows when the image was taken; model forecasts and official reports are separate pieces of information, each with its own time.