Rocheray Water Sports: paddle, kayak and pedalo on Lake Joux

The watersports base on Lake Joux

Lake Joux can be admired from the shore, but it is best experienced from the water. Set up at Rocheray, next to the Lake Joux campsite, the Rocheray Water Sports base makes paddleboards, kayaks and pedalos available and offers many supervised activities. You can settle for an hourly rental to follow the shore, or opt for an accompanied outing that gives a real framework to discovering the lake. The most exotic option is the paddling weekend, with a night at the campsite and barbecues included. On site, the centre also sells crêpes, snacks, ice creams and drinks, which solves the question of the afternoon snack.

What your children will discover

They discover the water in a different way: standing on a board, sitting in a kayak or pedalling in pairs on a pedalo. Lake Joux, the largest body of water in Switzerland at this altitude, lends itself well to this apprenticeship, with a sheltered south-western shore and landscapes of Jura ridges all around. The youngest often start with the pedalo, reassuring and requiring no technique; the older ones quickly switch to the paddleboard, where you fall as much as you advance, which is part of the programme.

What you do there and the atmosphere on site

You choose your craft, listen to the instructions and set off. The accompanied one-hour outing suits a first family attempt well; the longer formats head towards other shores of the lake. The atmosphere is that of a valley watersports base: sporty but relaxed, with the coming and going of campers and families spending the day at the neighbouring beach. You come back soaked, dry off on the Rocheray lawn and leave with an ice cream.

Before you go

• Recommended age: from around 6 years old depending on the craft, younger children accompanied on a pedalo
• Duration: from an hour's rental to a full weekend
• Price: charged, rates to be requested directly from the base
• Booking: recommended on fine weekends
• Pushchair accessibility: access to the lakeside from Rocheray Beach
• Transport: train to Le Sentier then local access, or by car through the Vallée de Joux
• Best season: summer, the opening period of the base

Tips from parents

• The pedalo is the best format for a first outing with young children: no learning required, and everyone takes part.
• Bring complete changes of clothes, paddleboarding is rarely a dry activity.
• Bring a rash vest or a light wetsuit: the water of Lake Joux is cool, even in high summer.
• Ask about the wind conditions before setting off, the lake is known for its gusts.
• The day follows on naturally from Rocheray Beach, right next door: bring towels and barbecue supplies.

Useful information

• Address: Le Rocheray, 1347 Le Sentier, next to the Lake Joux campsite
• Official website: https://www.myvalleedejoux.ch/
• Opening hours: summer season, times and rates to be confirmed with the base
• Access (transport): train to Le Sentier then local access; Rocheray landing stage nearby

Why we recommend it

Because it turns a beach day into a genuinely active outing, with no equipment to buy and no prior skill required. Between the hourly rental, the accompanied outing and the paddling weekend, there is a formula for every family, and the setting of Lake Joux, at a thousand metres of altitude, is like no other body of water in French-speaking Switzerland.

In a nutshell

Paddleboards, kayaks and pedalos to rent on the shore of Lake Joux, with supervised outings from one hour to a full weekend, next to the Rocheray campsite.