With a surface of 5,400 hectares, the Salses-Leucate lake is the second biggest lagoon in the Occitanie Region
Linked to the sea by 3 artificial channels, with an average depth of 2 metres, the lake is little or not affected by filling phenomena or water suffocation common in other lakes.
A protected natural area Natura 2000
Site of invaluable biological richness, the lagoon and the wet areas offer favorable conditions
to a myriad of plant and animal species, birds in particular, they are part of feeding areas, migratory stops and reproduction sites.
Due to its particular geographical position between land and sea, alternating from a warm environment and a salty environment, the Natura 2000 areas from the lagoon complex of Salses-Leucate offer a mosaic of natural inhabitats.
The interpretation trail of the parc des dosses natural site
Contrasting site between land and sea, the dosses offer a mosaic of inhabitats, a fauna and flora representative of wet but also dry climates. In addition, there is the remarkable view of the Corbières range and the Canigou Mountain !
The Department has an interpretation trail with interactive panels enabling to discover the history of the lagoon, the landscape, the animal and plant species of the dosses site, and still much more…
This fun trail is 2 km long (roughly 45 minutes), open all year and free, is accessible to all in autonomy and serves, in the summer, as a place for special events or school projects, guided discovery and awareness walks.
The site is also ideal for bike-riding or for fishing.
The pine tree forest, the Barcarès green lung
The Lido pine tree forest nestled between the marine lake and the Mediterranean sea is an invitation for young and old, to oxygenate to the full. Ideal place for a sporting activity, it remains nonetheless a protected site.
Property of the Conservatoire du Littoral since 1980, this pine tree forest is a protected heritage site because it is home to a great ecological richness. It is made of 3 well-distinct landscaping entities. Planted by human about 60 years ago, it is populated with maritime pine trees and pine cone trees.
The dune areas
Facing the Lido pine tree forest, go on the discovery of this specific and fragile site that are the dunes, shaped by the wind over the years
On the edge of the sea, on the white dune, a specific and very resistant vegetation grows in this area regularly flooded by salty water.
This very fragile yet very rich area is subject to an indispensable protection (wooden fence) to preserve species such as euphorbia peplis (nationally protected) and other species indispensable for the sand retention (on our heavily eroded beaches) like dune grass and marram grass.
On top of the dunes, the grey dune is also of great ecological interest, we will find in this area typical plant species such as catalonia carnation, sea grape and lavandula stoechas, and many more still.
An unknown universe, surprising and fascinating, that must nowadays be preserved.