Lac de Cap-de-Long: One of the Highest Paved Roads in the French Pyrenees
France, europe
13.5 km
2,161 m
hard
Year-round
# Lac de Cap-de-Long: A Alpine Adventure
Ready for one seriously epic mountain drive? Lac de Cap-de-Long sits pretty at 2,161m (7,089ft) in France's Hautes-Pyrénées, making it one of the loftiest paved roads in the entire French Pyrenees—yep, it actually beats the legendary Col du Tourmalet!
Nestled in the Occitania region of southwestern France, this stunning reservoir is just south of Lac d'Aubert. The road curves dramatically around the northern edge of the Crête des Alharisses, treating you to absolutely jaw-dropping mountain vistas the whole way.
The best part? The entire route to France's largest Pyrenean reservoir is paved. Sure, it gets a bit squeezed in places, but totally doable. The D929—locals call it the Route des Lacs—climbs as a dead-end road, snaking toward the dam through a spectacular finale of hairpin turns that'll get your adrenaline pumping.
Starting from the village of Aragnouet, you're looking at a 13.5 km (8.38 miles) push uphill that gains 1,029 meters of elevation. The average gradient hangs around 7.62%, but some sections crank up to a spicy 11.8%. Once you reach the top, you'll find a sprawling parking area (fair warning: it gets packed during peak season), a café for well-deserved refreshments, and tons of hiking trails branching out through the alpine landscape.
Where is it?
Lac de Cap-de-Long: One of the Highest Paved Roads in the French Pyrenees is located in France (europe). Coordinates: 46.2188, 2.8115
Road Details
- Country
- France
- Continent
- europe
- Length
- 13.5 km
- Max Elevation
- 2,161 m
- Difficulty
- hard
- Coordinates
- 46.2188, 2.8115
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