Outings and excursions · Epuyén
Lake Epuyén: Puerto Bonito, motor-free kayaking and protected forest
Photos: watsilchum · CC BY-SA 3.0 / TitiNicola · CC BY-SA 4.0 / LuigiStudio · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
A glacial lake where motorboats are not allowed, with a municipal park on its south shore and a provincial forest reserve that is home to huemul deer and alerce trees.
Lake Epuyén fills a narrow valley running west to east, between coihue forests, near the village of Epuyén in north-western Chubut. It is of glacial origin, covers about 1,740 hectares and drains through the Epuyén River into Lake Puelo, so its waters end up in the Pacific, on the Chilean side. From the village, the gateway to the shore is Puerto Bonito, the municipal park on the south bank.
Lake Epuyén at a glance
Puerto Bonito
Puerto Bonito is the municipal park that gives access to the lake’s south bank. It is the place to walk along the shore and sit by the water. Apart from the eastern shore, which is the lowest and is private, most of the lakeshore belongs to provincial protected areas.
A lake without engines
Much of the basin lies within the Lake Epuyén Multiple-Use Forest Reserve, created in 1964, which covers about 32,000 hectares between the municipalities of El Hoyo and Epuyén. Motorboats are not allowed on the lake, so the water is left to kayaks, canoes and rowing boats. The reserve’s management plan describes it as an ultra-oligotrophic lake, meaning very poor in nutrients, and therefore highly sensitive to anything that gets into it.
Huemul, alerce and hazel
The reserve protects populations of huemul, the Andean deer declared a Natural Monument, on Cerro Pirque and in the mountains to the south. At Laguna Los Alerces grows a stand of alerce trees that is one of the most isolated populations of the species on the eastern side of the Andes. The lake’s western shore is home to the Chilean hazel, found elsewhere in Argentina only in neighbouring Lago Puelo National Park, and along the banks grow pitrales, thickets of pitra that shelter a wealth of wildlife.
Trails and viewpoints
The reserve has many day-use trails for hiking and riding, and anyone taking the medium or hard ones must register. Mountain bikes, quad bikes and motorcycles are not allowed in the Epuyén and Puerto Patriada sectors. For a wide view, Cerro El Coihue looks out over the whole Epuyén valley, and from there you can reach Laguna Chulta, also called Las Mercedes.
Tip: Bring water, comfortable clothes and protection from both sun and cold. Pets are not allowed in the reserve, fires are only permitted in the designated fire pits at campsites, and all your rubbish leaves with you. If you are paddling, stay ashore when a storm warning is out.
