Lac des Bouillouses, an absolute must for road lovers
Lac des Bouillouses (also called Llac de la Bollosa) is a high mountain lake at an elevation of 2.016m (6,614ft) above the sea level, located in Pyrénées-Orientales, in France.
The curvy road to the lake is paved. It's called D60. In winter it is closed and in summers, there are restrictions between 7 and 19h. But the last part is always closed to motor vehicles. It’s the highest lake accessible lake (by road or cable car) in the Pyrenees. This area used to be overrun by traffic, but access is now restricted only to shuttle buses which depart from the road known as «les Bouillouses», or by cable car from Font-Romeu (direct) or from Les Angles (a 2 hour walk). Bouillouses Lake and dam were created to supply hydro-electric energy to Le Train Jaune. As for any mountain outing, arrive early to get the best light and to explore the area at a leisurely pace and before any possible afternoon storms (frequent in summer).
Starting from Mont-Louis, the ascent is 12.8 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 418 meters. The average percentage is 4,18 %. The road is pretty steep, with sections up to 9.2%.