Lac St Croix Camping Car Park Aire

[barryd]

Has anyone been? Lac St Croix was always one of our favourites, also handy for the Verdon Gorges. The old Aire in the village I gather has gone and its just the CCP one now at the top of the road. I keep looking at it on their site and according to the website its always half empty while all the others are often full this time of year.

Some of the comments are not very favourable of it whilst some are very good. I think they stopped motorhomes parking along the lake during the day and its also a long way down to the lake so I am wondering if its not very popular for that reason and not because its not up to scratch. We will be there in a week or so. Just asking out of curiosity if anyone has been.

 

[suavecarve]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gGWARVrj78hBDjC96 which is a free no facility aire
and https://maps.app.goo.gl/8DhuTT6LqBpG69Nx8 for daytime parking, not overnighting.

Havent been to the CCP since it changed over but I know the first one will be cheaper !

 

[Toxkid]

We were there in mid June at the CCP. As per reviews on the website, a lot of the EHU points were not working, just the bottom car park on the left as you look towards the lake. Also the track down to them was a bit rough and rutted but we managed ok, both points were brought to the attention of CCP, and got the usual, we will look into it. Apart from that, it took us about 10 mins to walk into the village, with some nice eateries and lakeside walk. Great stop off to continue around the Verdon Gorge, can recommend the Crêtes route, though that was busy out of season.

 

[barryd]

We were there in mid June at the CCP. As per reviews on the website, a lot of the EHU points were not working, just the bottom car park on the left as you look towards the lake. Also the track down to them was a bit rough and rutted but we managed ok, both points were brought to the attention of CCP, and got the usual, we will look into it. Apart from that, it took us about 10 mins to walk into the village, with some nice eateries and lakeside walk. Great stop off to continue around the Verdon Gorge, can recommend the Crêtes route, though that was busy out of season.

Thanks. I have read that the EHU can be dodgy. Not bothered about that, we don't need it. I am more interested it how it compares to the old location down in the village. If you got a side on spot on the old aire it was lovely with a good view but the rest was a mash up. We have the scooter so the extra distance wont be an issue but ill miss it not being in the village next to the boules court, bars and eateries. I wonder why they moved it. We used to spend a lot of money there.

 

[Toxkid]

Sorry, cannot comment on the location of the old aire site, but if you park at the front of the CCP site you do have an elevated view if the lake. It is only a short walk, downhill into the village, but uphill back, which is a little bit harder after some liquid refreshment.

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[barryd]

Sorry, cannot comment on the location of the old aire site, but if you park at the front of the CCP site you do have an elevated view if the lake. It is only a short walk, downhill into the village, but uphill back, which is a little bit harder after some liquid refreshment.

Thanks. Going up and down is not an issue as we have the scooter. I know the area really well. Im just amazed that if you believe the Camping Car park site there are so many places still left. 38 free out of 56 right now. https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_G...ute-provence/sainte-croix-du-verdon-castellas

Either there are less pitches than they make out or its just not popular. With vans now banned down the bottom for day parking and it being more of a hike maybe thats why. I did like the old aire though as you could easily walk into the village for a few drinks and something to eat. There are so few options there though really. There is a quiet site a bit further up the hill and along the back road to Moustiers. If the Aire is rubbish I might try there.

 

[suavecarve]

Thanks. Going up and down is not an issue as we have the scooter. I know the area really well. Im just amazed that if you believe the Camping Car park site there are so many places still left. 38 free out of 56 right now. https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_G...ute-provence/sainte-croix-du-verdon-castellas

Either there are less pitches than they make out or its just not popular. With vans now banned down the bottom for day parking and it being more of a hike maybe thats why. I did like the old aire though as you could easily walk into the village for a few drinks and something to eat. There are so few options there though really. There is a quiet site a bit further up the hill and along the back road to Moustiers. If the Aire is rubbish I might try there.

If you have a scooter then the best place to stay is the lavender farm. Its a France Passion site. Worth buying FP for one night in there in my view. You park in a gated truffle orchard.

La Maison du Lavandin · Rte de Riez, 04500 Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, France

★★★★★ · Farm shop

maps.app.goo.gl

NB if you are off to the gorges and les cretes, Take an extra litre of fuel or you may just run out of petrol 200 yards from the lavender farm !

 

[barryd]

If you have a scooter then the best place to stay is the lavender farm. Its a France Passion site. Worth buying FP for one night in there in my view. You park in a gated truffle orchard.

La Maison du Lavandin · Rte de Riez, 04500 Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, France

★★★★★ · Farm shop

maps.app.goo.gl

NB if you are off to the gorges and les cretes, Take an extra litre of fuel or you may just run out of petrol 200 yards from the lavender farm !

Thanks. Not seen that one. Will take a look when we get there. I think there is a station at Mousitiers. We will have more than enough to get round from there.

 

[suavecarve]

Thanks. Not seen that one. Will take a look when we get there. I think there is a station at Mousitiers. We will have more than enough to get round from there.

Its a top 5 stopover for us. Went off with a full tank, (110 suzuki) but i tried doing the cretes the wrong way so had to return to do them the right way then came back the other side. Luckily it is a light motorbike !

 

[barryd]

Its a top 5 stopover for us. Went off with a full tank, (110 suzuki) but i tried doing the cretes the wrong way so had to return to do them the right way then came back the other side. Luckily it is a light motorbike !

This might bring back some memories for you

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[HarryML7]

Stayed there in June ( 1 night only) , like others have said - rutted, 50% of EHU not working, Borne in a disgusting state, grey water drain badly designed so water runs of hardstanding to form a smelly pool as not everyone seems to practice their aim.

 

[DBK]

The app says "due to on going work" the EHU points are not available. Sounds like they are working on them. This probably explains why it isn't full.

 

[barryd]

Oh that don't sound great. I do wonder though if its been priced accordingly. Currently €13.82 which I thought was cheap for such a premier spot. Im not bothered about EHU, don't need it but its going to be a toss up between there and the little site down the back road or the France Passion site which I may go and enquire about. Im not joining though, will never use it again.

I wonder why they binned off the other Aire. It was always full and in a great location. Been looking around the lake and I don't think there is anything new thats cropped up since we were last there in 2017.

 

[barryd]

We arrived half an hour ago. I was expecting the worst but its nowhere near as bad as I expected. The road at the moment up above seems quiet but then after a night at Lac de Serre Poncon sitting on the M25 would seem quiet. There are only about 12 vans here so tons of space at the moment. The wasps are still living around the service point but they didn't bother me (Cant remember where I Read about them). The track down to the lower level is indeed horrendous but I got down ok, Getting back up however.

Nobody is hooked up so I assume the EHU is now completely off (will check with a tester later) but we don't need it. I suspect it will get busier but unless you have secondary transport like we have or are super fit I can see why its not popular. Well that and the EHU. Suits me to be honest.

Will check out the campsite though up the hill later. Might be better but if not we will be ok here for a few days.

 

[Pocket Rocket]

barryd - thanks for all the updates, really useful.

Quick query - what scooter do you have? We are looking for one that would have enough power to get up some of the small alpine roads - but would need to take 2 of us (combined weight 140)

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[barryd]

barryd - thanks for all the updates, really useful.

Quick query - what scooter do you have? We are looking for one that would have enough power to get up some of the small alpine roads - but would need to take 2 of us (combined weight 140)

Honda Vision 110. We are on our second one. Got this one new in 2022 and its not far off 18000 miles already.

The previous 2012 Vision that had slightly less grunt than this one went over the Col Du Tourmalet, Col du Tentes (7200ft) above Gavarnie and the Cirque de Troumouse all in one day two up and I was a lot fatter then than I am now. If you mean 140kg thats probably still just less than we are two up now. I like it as its wet weight is just 100kg. Most of the 125s are a fair bit more. The Honda SH125 Mode though I think is just 117kg.

They will cruise along nicely at 50-60 mph on the flat but they will slow down on the big hills considerably. Towards the top of Mont Ventoux and Tourmalet we were down to about 18 mph on the old bike. The newer one has a bit more torque and better geared though. For the small Alpine roads we do, the twisty winding narrow ones they are absolutely perfect. Way better and more nimble than a big bike.

 

[suavecarve]

barryd - thanks for all the updates, really useful.

Quick query - what scooter do you have? We are looking for one that would have enough power to get up some of the small alpine roads - but would need to take 2 of us (combined weight 140)

The Suzuki Address is the Honda Vision equivalent. Both will be as good as each other

 

[Pocket Rocket]

Thank you both

 

[barryd]

Still loads of space on here. I take it there are no restrictions on how long you can stay on these CPP Aires, does anyone know? I think we stayed a week on the old Aire last time. The road is really quiet and you can't hear it much anyway. The only thing that Marred it slightly was a couple coming back to the Aire on foot about four vans along laughing and yacking on a mobile phone at around 1am although I slept through most of it. I suspect most people will stay one night and clear off.

 

[DBK]

Still loads of space on here. I take it there are no restrictions on how long you can stay on these CPP Aires, does anyone know? I think we stayed a week on the old Aire last time. The road is really quiet and you can't hear it much anyway. The only thing that Marred it slightly was a couple coming back to the Aire on foot about four vans along laughing and yacking on a mobile phone at around 1am although I slept through most of it. I suspect most people will stay one night and clear off.

If you haven't booked they say the maximum period you can stay is 3 days but I have no idea how they would enforce this. I would ignore this rule.

CAMPING-CAR PARK - Service areas for camping-car

CAMPING-CAR PARK is the 1st European network of rest areas and service areas for camping-car parking, in complete serenity, 24/7.

www.campingcarpark.com

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[barryd]

If you haven't booked they say the maximum period you can stay is 3 days but I have no idea how they would enforce this. I would ignore this rule.

CAMPING-CAR PARK - Service areas for camping-car

CAMPING-CAR PARK is the 1st European network of rest areas and service areas for camping-car parking, in complete serenity, 24/7.

www.campingcarpark.com

Thanks.

"Live check-in" refers to any stay made without a booking at an area. It consists, at a minimum, of entering and exiting the area, confirmed by barrier passage and detection by ground loop or by an authorized CCP operator. A Live check-in stay cannot exceed 3 days (some areas have a shorter limit, which is indicated on CCP's platforms for these areas). If applicable, the client must pay for a Booking.

"Booking" refers to any stay made with a reservation at an area. It can be booked up to 6 months in advance. The duration is a maximum of 21 days within a 30-day period (some areas have a different limit, which is specified on CCP's platforms for these areas). During the reservation period, the client can enter and exit the area and find a pitch upon return."

So I wonder what will happen then when we stay more than three days which we will of course. I presume others have stayed longer than that without booking. I guess we will find out soon enough.

 

[denisejoe]

Sounds like they might charge you for a booking if you stay more than 3 days from that quote.

 

[barryd]

Sounds like they might charge you for a booking if you stay more than 3 days from that quote.

Ah right. How much is a "booking"?

It would be a bit bizarre to charge someone more for staying longer I reckon.

 

[DBK]

Ah right. How much is a "booking"?

It would be a bit bizarre to charge someone more for staying longer I reckon.

There is no booking fee but you do have to pay in advance when you make booking, but the daily rate is the same as everyone else pays.

My interpretation of the wording in their rules is if you wanted to extend your stay beyond 3 days you are supposed to make a booking for the 4th day onwards. On the morning of the 4th day you then leave the aire, paying as you go out, then come back in again, assuming your booking has started by then as you can set the arrival time when you make a booking. The reason for leaving is there a risk you will be charged twice if you don't. For example, if your booking starts at 10:00 but you arrive at 09:00 what are you going to be charged for?

It's all as clear as mud to me and I guess only contacting CCP might furnish an answer.

 

[barryd]

There is no booking fee but you do have to pay in advance when you make booking, but the daily rate is the same as everyone else pays.

My interpretation of the wording in their rules is if you wanted to extend your stay beyond 3 days you are supposed to make a booking for the 4th day onwards. On the morning of the 4th day you then leave the aire, paying as you go out, then come back in again, assuming your booking has started by then as you can set the arrival time when you make a booking. The reason for leaving is there a risk you will be charged twice if you don't. For example, if your booking starts at 10:00 but you arrive at 09:00 what are you going to be charged for?

It's all as clear as mud to me and I guess only contacting CCP might furnish an answer.

Hmm. Confusing indeed. I thought though you can only make a booking if you have the privileges membership which I think costs 30 euros or something like that. Of course I haven't got one of those. One things for sure I am only moving the van once when we leave as the track up to the next level is horrendous. I wonder if after three nights they will send me an email or something? If not its just a case of topping up the Euros in my account for the appropriate number of nights before we leave and then hopefully checking out as normal.

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[barryd]

Well we never got arrested, no CCP sponsored swat teams or anything like that. Checked out fine this morning after six nights, no drama.

My final thoughts on the Aire and these are just my very "picky" opinions. Its ok but pick your spot carefully. We chose an end spot on the bottom row (with the view) thinking as there was loads of space and its never full nobody would be daft enough to park right next to us. We did ok on that front for three nights but the last three we didn't. I had to ask an Italian van to move as he parked so close he almost hit Michelles washing hanging off the window. I think the problem was they assumed the electric was working on the front row, it wasn't. If I came back I would still go to the lower level but would park in the second bit which was less popular at the front (bit of a view) but sideways on. There is plenty of space so not a problem.

If you have a big overhang thats very low I would avoid coming down the lower level at all though. I was fretting about getting back up the extremely rough and steep dirt track to the upper level this morning so didnt put the scooter on until up. It was ok though but only just. Trouble is its full of ruts so you cant go up slowly or you will get stuck.

5 out of 10.