This reservoir dates back to the 18th century. Today it is no longer used for irrigation and no longer drives mills. You can fish and of course swim here.

The lake is dammed up by a dam wall about 20 meters high. It is fed by several intermittent streams.

There are fish in the water and swimming is allowed. However, the water is clouded by the lime mud on the bottom of the lake. The shores are less steep in the north-west, which is also where you normally get to the lake. The beach and the embankment consists of jagged fragments of limestone, and water shoes or old sports shoes are better for going into the water.

The lake is beautiful, a trip is worthwhile even in the off-season. Maybe that's even better if you're looking for some peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, the lake is also a victim of its popularity. It can get very crowded here on weekends. In this case, and also towards the end of the summer season, the cleanliness of the banks is not always guaranteed. According to the regulation, dogs are not allowed to bathe, but unfortunately not many people comply with this ban.

The bar in the northwest of the lake is open in summer and on warm weekends. It is run by an association that also organizes events here around the lake on good weather.

Some picnic tables are also installed. There are no dust bins, you absolutely have to take your rubbish back with you!

Site history

The idea of building a reservoir here came from the clergyman Marcel Morand. The dam was built between 1764 and 1766 to irrigate the town's orchards and vegetable gardens with water. At the same time, the water wheels of four mills could also be operated.

Access by public transport

Public transport does not take you directly to the lake, but there is the regular bus line L from Carpentras to Caromb. It runs around five times a day, more information at Trans'Cove (only french). The nearest stop is called Camping and shown on the map on this page.

The quickest way to walk from the campsite to the lake is around 20 minutes over 1.5 km and an altitude difference of 80 metres. Continue north on the D13 road. Since there can be some traffic here, you can walk on the left side next to the wine grapes. After a bridge we go cross the road and come over a parking lot. We go up the road in the direction of the lake, we ignore the first forest road that branches off to the right. This is followed by another more open place with a small orchard on the right. Pass the fruit trees on the right and this is how we get into the ditch under the dam wall. So we get to the top of the wall and the west side of the lake. Of course you can also climb up the street.

This route is marked in purple on the map on this page. There is also an alternative descent, this one is orange. The entire loop is 3.5km long.

Access by car

The lake is north of Caromb. This town is slightly off the main D938 axis between Carpentras and Vaison-la-Romaine. Coming from the South and Carpentras, pass the first access roads to Caromb and wait for a left turn with the sign Lac du Paty on the right. 300 meters further we turn left to the lake.

Coming from the north, take the first access to the village (D13) and after 300 meters turn left.

Parking site

You have to stay in the parking lot below or you can drive up the winding road to the lake. In the first case, you can take the path indicated above, marked in orange on the map.