Campsites in the Côte-d'Or:from the Morvan to the Burgundy Canal

In short: Côte-d’Or has around 45 campsites, from small 2-star family sites to large 4-star parks with pools and entertainment. The department offers four main camping zones with very different atmospheres: the Morvan and its lakes, the Canal de Bourgogne valley, rolling Auxois and the Châtillonnais plateau. Here is how to find your way, area by area, and what each type of stay involves in practice.

Camping accounts for a significant share of tourist accommodation in Côte-d’Or, with around 45 listed establishments according to departmental tourist offices. That places the department in the average for rural Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, but hides greater diversity than the figure suggests: between a 2-star site beside a swimming lake and a 4-star park with heated pool, spa and restaurant, the gap in facilities is comparable to that between a chambre d’hôtes and a 5-star hotel. Star rating, awarded by Atout France after inspection, is the first reliable guide: 1 and 2 stars for basic facilities, 3 stars for standard comfort with individual sanitary blocks and a small shop, 4 stars for full services (pool, entertainment, catering, air-conditioned mobile-home rental).

Morvan campsites: lakes, forests and dark skies

Medium-mountain country suited to the outdoors

The Parc naturel régional du Morvan covers western Côte-d’Or, in the cantons of Saulieu, Précy-sous-Thil and part of Semur-en-Auxois. The landscape is gentle but marked medium mountain, with altitudes between 300 and 800 metres, dominated by deciduous and conifer forest. Campsites cluster around two large artificial lakes: Lac de Pont (80 hectares, commune of Saint-Seine-l’Abbaye) and Lac de Chamboux (about 75 hectares, commune of Saint-Martin-de-la-Mer). The third body of water, Lac de Saint-Agnan (about 140 hectares), also offers some outdoor accommodation but its camping capacity remains more limited.

These lakes were created by the territorial authorities to develop green tourism and regulate flooding on the Arroux and Ternin. Water quality for swimming varies by year according to ARS Bourgogne-Franche-Comté readings, but supervised beaches in July–August remain operational each season, with regular cyanobacteria checks. Lakeside campsites mostly offer direct beach access and sometimes pedal-boat, canoe and paddle hire in season.

Specific Morvan advantages for campers

Two advantages distinguish Morvan camping from the rest of the department. The first is cooler summers: altitude and tree cover lower maximum temperatures by 4–7°C compared with the Dijon plain during heatwaves, a difference that matters in July–August. The second is access to the International Dark Sky Reserve, labelled in May 2025: campsites in the core zone (communes on the north-west edge of the park) offer Milky Way viewing with the naked eye and no light pollution, provided all lighting is switched off after 10 p.m.

In return, the Morvan also has the shortest opening season: mid-April to late September for most sites, with peak demand in July–August and the May bank holidays. Out of season, some establishments close completely while others keep reduced activity for anglers and walkers, especially around Lac de Pont. Year-round facilities are rare, and shops in small Morvan villages do not cover all provisioning needs: a vehicle is essential for major shopping or medical care.

Camping along the Canal de Bourgogne: the river stage

The Canal de Bourgogne, 242 kilometres from Migennes (Yonne) to La Vouivre (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté), crosses Côte-d’Or for around 110 kilometres, from Pont-de-Pany to La Vouivre, via Dijon and the Ouche valley. Built between 1775 and 1832 to link the Seine and Saône, it has 189 locks along its length, around a hundred in Côte-d’Or, and crosses the watershed at Pouilly-en-Auxois, 378 metres above sea level, through a 3.3-kilometre tunnel.

Outdoor sites along the canal offer a very different experience from the Morvan: flat ground, pitches often lined up beside the water, and the feel of a travel stage rather than a fixed holiday. River tourism brings passing custom: thousands of pleasure boats use the canal each year, stopping one or two nights before moving on, which gives waterside campsites high turnover and constant activity in season.

The camping points are near the ports and nautical halts, such as Pouilly-en-Auxois, Pont-d’Ouche or Fleurey-sur-Ouche, as well as along the canal’s pounds. Facilities are generally more basic than in large Morvan parks, but pitches are spacious, shade is often plentiful, and background noise is lock water rather than road traffic.

Canal access is also an asset for cyclists and walkers: the towpath, tarmacked for almost the entire Côte-d’Or section, is part of EuroVelo 6 (Véloroute des Fleuves, linking the Loire to the Danube) and the Voie Bleue, an 800-kilometre cycle route between Paris and Lyon. Waterside campsites welcome a steadily growing cycle-tourist clientele, with preferential rates for bike travellers and dedicated facilities (bike store, repair kit, left-luggage).

The Auxois and Châtillonnais: country and stage campsites

The Auxois, between vineyard and bocage

The Auxois occupies the central part of the department, around Semur-en-Auxois, Montbard and Vitteaux. Its bocage landscape, dotted with limestone buttes crowned with woodland and perched villages, is less spectacular than the Morvan but more accessible from main roads. The area is crossed by the A6, making it a natural stage for travellers heading south or towards the Rhône valley.

Auxois campsites are for the most part municipal or small-scale: the municipal campsite of Semur-en-Auxois, set below the medieval town on the banks of the Armançon, the Montbard campsite, close to Parc Buffon, and that of Vitteaux. They draw a family clientele that comes to spend the whole of its holidays on site, without necessarily visiting the region.

Choice depends on your plan: a basic municipal site suffices for a one-night stage on the holiday route, while a week-long stay with visits to Auxois abbeys, châteaux and villages justifies a site with pool and catering. Distances from accommodation to sights average 15–30 minutes by car, so a vehicle is needed for families who want to explore.

The Châtillonnais plateau, motorhome territory

The Châtillonnais, in northern Côte-d’Or, is the least dense in traditional campsites but best equipped in motorhome and van areas. Geography explains this: the limestone plateau, oak and hornbeam forest, clearings and dry valleys attracts passing and itinerant tourism more than fixed stays. Population density is the lowest in the department (under 12 inhabitants per km²), and villages do not always offer enough services to justify a large family campsite.

The best-equipped motorhome areas are in Châtillon-sur-Seine, a few minutes from the town centre and the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, as well as at Recey-sur-Ource and Montigny-sur-Aube. The Châtillon-sur-Seine municipal campsite completes the offer with shaded pitch-only pitches.

Wild camping in state forest, subject to leave-no-trace bivouacking, is tolerated in the Châtillonnais provided municipal orders and hunting periods (September–February) or fire-risk periods (summer) are respected. ONF publishes an annual map of forest massifs open to bivouacking, online and in town halls.

Mobile homes and rental accommodation: choosing comfort

Mobile-home, chalet and bungalow rental is a growing share of rated campsite offer in Côte-d’Or. On the score of three- and four-star establishments in the department, most offer at least one rental range, with total capacity estimated at several hundred units according to FNHPA figures. These range from a standard 22 m² mobile home with two bedrooms, living area, kitchenette and terrace (4–6 berths) to a large 45 m² wooden chalet with three bedrooms, air conditioning, dishwasher, washing machine and covered terrace.

Weekly rates in high season (July–August) run from €450 for a two-room mobile home at a 3-star site to over €950 for a 4-star chalet with water park and kids’ club. On average, a week in a 3-star mobile home in Côte-d’Or costs around €600 depending on the season, a rate often below the national average for equivalent facilities, according to ADN Tourisme. Last-minute bookings in June and September can offer 10–30% discounts depending on occupancy.

The department’s 4-star campsites offer integrated hotel-style services: bed linen, end-of-stay cleaning, shop, bar, restaurant, e-bike hire, kids’ club and evening entertainment. That level of service brings them close to a holiday club while keeping the camping format, with pitch-only areas separate from rental zones.

Seasons and prices: when to book for your budget

The tourist season for campsites in Côte-d’Or falls into three clear periods. Low season (April, May, June and September) sees rates 20–40% below July–August, with pitch-only availability without booking at most sites, except May long weekends when demand can fill municipal campsites. High season (July and August) brings 85–95% occupancy at rated sites, peaking between 15 July and 15 August. Toussaint school holidays form a fourth micro-season mainly for sites with heated mobile homes open until late October, but only around ten establishments in the department.

Median 2025–2026 prices for a pitch-only site, two people, are: €15–20 low season, €20–25 mid-season, €25–35 high season. For a four-berth mobile home: €350–500 a week low season, €550–750 mid-season, €650–950 high season. Electricity (6–10 amps) is usually extra, €4–8 per day, and tourist tax adds €0.20–0.80 per person per night depending on the commune (2026 rates).

Practical advice for camping in Côte-d’Or: book before 15 May for pitch choice (shaded, near facilities, lake view) and early-booking rates offered by around fifteen sites. For bivouacking and itinerant camping, pitch-only availability remains good until late June, but July weekends are increasingly full, including at municipal sites, with the rise of motorhomes and converted vans.