Lago Misérin and Santuario della Madonna delle Nevi – loop from Dondena

Exit at Pont-Saint-Martin from the E25 motorway coming from Turin, shortly after the Forte di Bard, 7km after Pont-Saint-Martin on the SS26 in the direction of N (45.6118269N, 7.7446508E), at Hône, turn towards Champorcher which you reach after another 15km of state road; shortly after the town centre, follow the steep road on the right towards Dondénaz which after 5km (45.6292461N, 7.6051475E) becomes a dirt road (but still easily passable) until its end 7km later at an altitude of 2100m above sea level; there you can park in three large dedicated spaces or on the edge of the driveway. Now on foot, after passing the small cluster of huts, follow the signpost 7 on the left, paying attention about 30' from the start (1.5km) to take the well-marked deviation on the right that climbs up the slopes of Mount Dondena with a fair slope until reaching an altitude of 2450m above sea level, from here on large, almost flat meadows, after passing under an imposing, crackling power line, you easily reach the splendid basin of Lake Misérin. https://d2exd72xrrp1s7.cloudfront.net/www/sa/sauntlc8tttmwfs4h96azz4d534okokl-p497268541-full/1916705a21e?width=3072&height=2304&crop=false&q=70 The clockwise circumnavigation of the reservoir is easy and leads us to the refuge of the same name and the majestic Church of Notre Dame de la Neige. https://d2exd72xrrp1s7.cloudfront.net/www/18/18y1ucsyqucu61cs5b717imktb534okt2f-p497268566-full/1916705b8c3?width=3072&height=2304&crop=false&q=70 A quick look at the very close Lago Nero, https://d2exd72xrrp1s7.cloudfront.net/www/1g/1gh38irhv2e20c475o4u1dw5y534okvx9-p497268587-full/1916705c71d?width=3072&height=2304&crop=false&q=70 a quick shower and we return satisfied to the starting point along the easy dirt road. USEFUL LINKS: https://www.miserinespritlibre.it/ DIFFICULTY: E (Hiking) https://www.alpitrekking.it/regolamento-e-tariffe/scala-difficolta/ NOTES: water only at the Refuge.