Around Hillion

A protected site, the Bay of Saint-Brieuc can be explored via a coastal path, theGR®34, which offers opportunities to observe a wide variety of birds and discover the Gouessant Valley (very steep-sided) and a large number of beautiful cuts in the loess and silt from the Quaternary period. The route can only be done on foot.

Hiking is not recommended from May to September! See practical information.

Details

5885
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 23.59 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 234 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 229 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 70 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 4 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The departure point is in the car park of the Hillion village hall, Route de Lermot.

(S/E) At the exit of the car park, take the road on the right towards Lermot. At the second crossroads, turn right towards La Pierre Blanche.

(1) At the corner of a small house, turn right onto a stone path. Take the small road on the left for 100 m and continue on the dirt track. Further on, take the road on the right. You will see the beach and a campsite.

(2) Opposite the campsite, take the path on the left and follow the coastline. Follow this path along the coastline, following the red and whiteGR® markings.

(3) Pass Pointe des Guettes and continue towards Pointe du Grouin.

(4) Pass Anse d'Yffiniac and admire the seascape.

(5) Pass Grève de Saint-Guimont and continue to an intersection. Continue along the coastal path to reach the end of the cove.

(6) Take the road on the left, pass the crossroads and take the dirt track on the left, which then turns right.

(7) Take the road on the right (D80) for 30 m, then turn left, then take the first road on the right. Pass the ADAPIE centre and continue along this dirt road.

(8) Turn left, follow the road to the left and then the road to the right for 100 m.

(9) Continue to the right towards Fortville (bar opposite).

(10) Drive through the village. At the second crossroads, turn right and continue for 50 m, then turn left.

(11) In the village of Casseu, take the road on the left for 30 m, then turn right. Follow the yellow and/or blue signs, taking care as there are many changes in direction.

(12) Take the road on the right and head towards Ville-Fini. In the bend, turn left onto the dirt track and descend towards the Étang du Pont Neuf.

(13) Take the road on the left, cross the D34 and continue along the stone path on the right.

(14) Follow the Gouessant river and its estuary, then the Anse de la Plage de la Grandville.

(15). Return to the campsite.

(2) Turn left and follow the same route back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 24 m - Hillion village hall
  2. 1 : km 0.58 - alt. 30 m - La Pierre Blanche
  3. 2 : km 1.8 - alt. 20 m - Crossroads of the loop
  4. 3 : km 3.71 - alt. 31 m - Pointe des Guettes
  5. 4 : km 4.87 - alt. 30 m - Pointe du Grouin
  6. 5 : km 6.04 - alt. 8 m - Saint-Guimont beach
  7. 6 : km 11.06 - alt. 8 m - Road on the left
  8. 7 : km 12.24 - alt. 28 m - D80
  9. 8 : km 13.06 - alt. 36 m - Turn left at the fork
  10. 9 : km 13.78 - alt. 47 m - Turn right at the fork
  11. 10 : km 14.37 - alt. 56 m - Fortville
  12. 11 : km 15.65 - alt. 51 m - Casseu
  13. 12 : km 16.6 - alt. 65 m - Road on the right
  14. 13 : km 16.88 - alt. 47 m - Étang du Pont Neuf - Gouessant (fleuve)
  15. 14 : km 17.85 - alt. 44 m - Le Gouessant
  16. 15 : km 20.02 - alt. 23 m - Grandville Beach
  17. S/E : km 23.59 - alt. 25 m - Hillion village hall

Notes

From May to September, thousands of tonnes of green algae invade the beaches of the Breton coast. As they rot, they release a highly toxic gas that makes the air difficult to breathe. Avoid this area at this time of year.

There is only one bar, about 16 km from the start.

Worth a visit

See the mussel beds in the bay, the cliff faces, the Falaise de l'Hostellerie, the Gouessant Valley and the Pointe des Guettes.

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 27 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
pbenefice
pbenefice

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, we didn't do exactly this tour, we were "content" with the yellow signposted route: "autout d'Hillion" of 17.8kms in about 5 hours.
A very varied route with superb views,

Machine-translated

Tico-tico
Tico-tico

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The coastal and valley sections of this walk were a pleasant surprise. The rest is of less interest.
We started at Bon Abri beach. The path overlooks the beach and takes you through an area of orchids and a large pond with an observatory. Once we reached the Gouessant estuary, we entered a beautiful, steep valley, with some changes in altitude, but it was still very accessible.
The return journey inland is more straightforward and we have shortened some of the sections.
Thank you for this fairly easy 5-hour walk, which offers an unexpected variety of landscapes.

Machine-translated

Breizh35
Breizh35
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,
/23 km, 16 of which are on a customs trail. It's a tough walk, and you need to be well shod too!
It was done on a Thursday, so it wasn't too busy, but at weekends between points 1 and 5 it must be tighter.
I gave it 3* for interest because from point 6 onwards it becomes monotonous.
/!\ between points 11 & 12, as indicated, it's very easy to make a mistake
on the other hand, it's a bloody good walk, I recommend it.
Thank you

Machine-translated

jmdoutey
jmdoutey

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

the sea part is sublime, the inland part less interesting, but allows you to "recover", as there are fewer gradients.....
completed in 6 hours

Machine-translated

CON POSTELLE
CON POSTELLE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk along the salt marshes of Hillion, at low tide the scenery is magnificent and the many birds on the sand make a beautiful natural setting.

Machine-translated

Manu d'Aix
Manu d'Aix
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I did this walk at the beginning of the afternoon. Magnificent scenery, varied trail. A real treat.

Machine-translated

v1si0rand0
v1si0rand0

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I really appreciated the accuracy of the route!

Machine-translated

mcoycault
mcoycault

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We only did a small part of the tour because of the cold, but I'll be going back with friends.

Machine-translated

mlc54
mlc54

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

It's a Sunday, so it's very busy in the morning with runners and in the afternoon with walkers.
On the other hand, it was great between 12 and 2 pm.
Magnificent at low tide !!!!

Machine-translated

famillecaro
famillecaro

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was a wonderful walk; we did it at low tide and the drawings on the mud were magnificent!

Machine-translated

gyptis
gyptis

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

parish specific to Brittany, wild, easy walking

Machine-translated

Hillion
Hillion

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Visorando lets you suggest walks.
It's then up to us to adapt or modify the route by looking on the IGN or Géoportail maps.
The walk to Hillion is superb. I shortened the GR34 section and took all the dirt tracks.
I'm very happy with the result

Machine-translated

Nanou979
Nanou979

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I didn't follow the entire route; I went back and forth along the coast so as not to come back inland and enjoy the seascape.

Machine-translated

henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Reliability of the route on the map: very disappointing

Were there any problems with the route? If so, what can be done about it?

Did you follow the route with a GPS or GPS application?
Is there any deviation from the route?

A+

Machine-translated

robjf
robjf

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful walk with views over the bay of Saint Brieux
Rich flora and fauna

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.