Circuit de randonnée : Les rives du petit lac de Pannecière

Closure of the road over the Pannecière dam!
From 12 May 2025 until 13 October 2025, the road crossing the Pannecière dam will be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists. This closure is necessary to allow the complete renewal of the roadway over the dam. A diversion road will be in place for the duration of the works (+ 2km).

This walk, close to the largest of the Morvan lakes, will enable you to discover a rich heritage and beautiful views over the Morvan countryside. With a surface area of 520 ha and holding back 80 million cubic metres of water, it is the largest of the Morvan lakes. The monumental dam (340 m long and 50 m high), of the "multiple arches and buttresses" type, was built with a compensation basin between 1938 and 1950. It was initially used to regulate the waters of the Seine, via the Yonne, its main tributary, then to generate electricity from a power station at the foot of the dam, to supply drinking water and for leisure activities, tourism and fishing.
The surface area and depth of the Pannecière-Chaumard reservoir mean that it never freezes in its entirety. During harsh winters, the lake provides refuge for many species of waterfowl, including great crested grebes, great cormorants, grey herons, egrets and mallards, as well as pintails, scaups, mergansers, etc. Downstream of the lake, a compensation basin known as "le petit lac" feeds the Nivernais canal via the Yonne channel. At the foot of the Pannecière dam, a large scale model is available to introduce visitors to the different uses of water. The first model (1:36 scale) was built before the dam itself was built, to show local residents how it worked and to simulate a flood with the spillway. Having fallen into disrepair, it was restored in 2013.