Lac d'Hossegor, Marine lake in Soorts-Hossegor, France
Lac d'Hossegor is a coastal lake in the commune of Soorts-Hossegor, in southwest France, connected to the Atlantic Ocean through a channel. Because of this connection, the water is salty and the level rises and falls with the tides, giving the lake a character closer to a bay than a typical freshwater body.
In the 1920s, the first villas were built along the shores and the area began drawing visitors seeking the coast during summer. Decades later, when surfing spread along the Atlantic coast, Hossegor became one of the main hubs for the sport in France.
Fishing from the shore is a common sight here, and local families spend afternoons along the water's edge throughout the warmer months. The lake sits at the center of daily life in Soorts-Hossegor in a way that few natural spaces do in French coastal towns.
Several supervised swimming areas are set up along the shores in summer, and footpaths run all the way around the water for walking or cycling. Equipment rentals for sailing and water sports are available at a few spots near the lake.
Despite looking like a calm inland body of water, the lake is fully salt water because of its direct link to the ocean. At low tide, large sections of mudflat are exposed along the edges, drawing wading birds that are rarely seen on typical Atlantic beaches nearby.
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