Lac de Saint-Cassien is a 430-hectare reservoir on the border of the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes, between Montauroux and Tanneron. You can swim from lifeguarded beaches in summer and hire pedal boats and electric boats; petrol engines are banned, and the western shore is a bird reserve. It is the region's great freshwater swim.
Saint-Cassien was created in 1966 by damming the Biançon, to supply the coast with water and control flooding. Sixty years on, you no longer see the dam. You see a lake with arms stretching between hills covered in mimosa and oak, green water that turns blue at midday, and shores long enough for everyone to find their own.
The ban on petrol engines changes everything. No speedboats, no jet skis, no roar: pedal boats, canoes, paddleboards and a few silent electric boats. The lake is calm, and it stays calm on an August Sunday.
The lake has several access points, and the choice of shore decides the day.
The Montauroux shore, to the north-east near the Pré-Claou bridge, has the equipped beaches, the pedal-boat hire and the lakeside cafés. This is the family shore and the busiest. Its beaches are lifeguarded in July and August.
The Tanneron shore, to the south, steeper and more wooded, offers shaded coves reached by small paths down from the road. Fewer facilities, fewer people, deeper water sooner.
The western shore, towards Fondurane, is largely protected: the Fondurane biological reserve is a wetland where swimming is not allowed but where you can watch herons, grebes and cormorants from a path and a hide. An hour of flat walking in the shade, which makes a fine end to the day.
Pedal boats are hired by the hour on the Montauroux shore. To go further, electric boats let you work up the arms of the lake to coves you cannot reach on foot, while canoes and paddleboards suit the flat water of the morning. Fishing is possible with a licence; the lake has a reputation for carp.
The lakeside cafés on the Montauroux shore serve grills and salads on terraces above the water, unfussy and reasonably priced. There is also plenty of room to picnic in the shade of the pines, which is what most regulars do.
This guide is part of the address book of a private estate in Puget-sur-Argens, 20 minutes away, available for weddings and family stays. It is not open to visitors.
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