Do you like swimming in a Swiss lake, or stand up paddle boarding, but you sometimes feel the Lac Léman near Geneva gets too crowded? The ‘Lac de Joux’ in the Jura in Switzerland makes for a great alternative on a sunny day!
We recently went to the beautiful Lac de Joux, the biggest lake in the Jura mountains. The Lac de Joux is 9 kilometers long and is located at 1004m altitude. The lake is surrounded by nature, a real piece of paradise! A small footpath leads you along the lake, offering plenty of shade and space. Some areas have public grills and picknick tables. Of course, it will have to be a matter of timing and luck to have one available, but a lot of people just grill their lunch on open fire around the lake!
The lake is a known spot for ice-skating in cold winters when the lake freezes up, but in the summer you can of course swim in the lake, and the lake temperature can reach about 24 degrees. This was not yet the case when we went, but our son did take a swim.
The Lac de Joux is in the Canton Vaud in Switzerland, and it takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Geneva to get there. Before you reach the lake, you will pass scenic, curvy mountain roads, and villages with terraces and restaurants on the Col de Marchairuz.
We aimed towards the Parking ‘Pointe de Sable’ as that triangle shaped beach is half rocks and half sand, and we knew there would be picknick tables there. We parked at the small parking lot, and continued by foot, but in the end, we found a perfect place where a grill was available just before reaching the Point de sable beach.
The parking lot of Pointe de Sable is not very big, but we did find a spot easily. It probably will get a bit busier on warm summer days, but we imagine still less crowded than our close by Lac Léman beaches.
Insider tip: just before you arrive, on your right hand side at the fromagerie Les Landes, there is a 24H vending machine with Swiss delicacies like local cheese, fondue, and méringues with Gruyère double cream. Perfect to add to your picknick. Address: Rue du village 1, Solliat. The machine only takes cash, so make sure you have cash at hand!
Other tip: if you have sensitive feet, as most beaches are not only sand, bring your watershoes.
Another lake very close to Lac de Joux is Lac Brenet. We haven’t tested that one yet, but we may do that over summer as well.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in our article on Summer Holidays in Switzerland:
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