Domaine des Planesses

The owners were so welcoming and friendly, and the yurts were comfortable and looked after well. It’s a peaceful campsite with a lovely lake for swimming or canoeing.

Really great.

Such a lovely spot.

I stayed in the little cabin on the island, which you reach by pulling a manual ferry across about 20 meters of water. It’s a tiny island with trees, a few meters of land all around, a picnic table, a dry toilet (!) and a woodshed attached to the cabin. The cabin is round, like a sphere, with a skylight. There’s electricity but no running water, so you have to get water from the main building about 300 meters away. That building also has the bar, showers and toilets, cooking facilities, and a fridge. There’s no fridge on the island, which I missed a little, though the cabin was usually wonderfully peaceful apart from the engine noise. The wood stove heats the cabin more than enough. My host had lit it before I arrived, so it was lovely and warm despite the cool weather. Sitting by the crackling fire and watching the glow through the glass was heavenly. The stove has a cooking compartment that gets up to 300°C. I made gratin in it twice, and pizza should work too. You can also bring a gas stove or portable electric hotplate, with your own cooking gear, and cook on the island. The one downside inside was the low table with benches and stools, which wasn’t very comfortable for tall people over a long stretch. The outdoor table was unusable because the weather was so bad. The beds are reached by steps. The campsite sits on a hill at the foot of the Vosges Mountains, among large forests and meadows with just a few houses nearby. It also has several yurts and a lake with an island and wooden cabin. The idyllic surroundings are interrupted on certain days by noise from the motocross track. There are canoes and a rowboat you can use for free, though the oars on the rowboat don’t fit perfectly. Guests can also fish in the lake for free during their stay, on a no-kill basis.