Around La Voulte-sur-Rhône

La Voulte-sur-Rhône, a town of around 5,000 inhabitants located in Ardèche on the banks of the Rhône, gateway to the Eyrieux valley, has listed historical remains, including the castle, the Chapelle des Princes, the Fontaine Giroud, and the foundry site with four blast furnaces.
Architectural assets include the first prestressed concrete railway viaduct built in France. The suspension bridge spanning the Rhône connects to Livron.
Here you are at the crossroads of two greenways, the Via Rhôna and the Dolce Via.

Details

27452544
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.53 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 323 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 317 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 405 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 94 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the Voulte Tourist Office.

(S/E) Cross the car park and take the pedestrian crossing. On the pavement opposite, turn right. At the corner of the chocolate shop, turn left into the small street and, at the end of it, turn left. Then take the main street and continue to a three-way junction. Turn right onto Rue Dauphine, which is a stairway. A few metres further on, turn right onto Rue Gamon, which is also a stairway. Follow this street until you reach the large square. The castle is on the right.

(1) Go around the church on the right, take the Montée du Lacas, then thesecond street on the left, Rue du Bouchon, which runs between the two cemeteries. Continue until you reach a Y-junction at the Bouchon mast.

(2) Keep right on Rue du Bouchon, enter the forest and cross the Ruisseau de Bouchon stream. Then pass Montméot and reach the entrance to La Blache.

(3) Turn left onto the service road. At a bend, you will see a telecommunications antenna. Turn left and follow the power line. You will reach theGR®®42crossroads at the Chambaud mast.

(4) Turn right onto the GR®®. Pass the lodge and you will find a crossroads at the highest point of the circular.
.
(5) Leave theGR®® and take the path downhill on the left. Follow it to the high-voltage pylon.

(6) Pass under this pylon and continue along a small path with rock fill. Be careful here as the descent is tricky for several hundred metres. Join a wider path. Turn right, follow the fence of the Boissine site and then come out onto the D365.

(7) Turn left and continue along this road until you reach the old bridge at the entrance to La Voulte.

(8) Turn right and descend towards the town. At the stop sign, turn left onto Rue Fombarlet, then Rue Rampon to return to the Tourist Office car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 95 m - Tourist Office car park. Near - Rhône (le)
  2. 1 : km 0.31 - alt. 125 m - Grand Place
  3. 2 : km 0.99 - alt. 154 m - Earplugs
  4. 3 : km 1.97 - alt. 160 m - La Blache
  5. 4 : km 4.53 - alt. 375 m - Chambaud
  6. 5 : km 4.96 - alt. 401 m - The lodge
  7. 6 : km 6.13 - alt. 270 m - The pylon
  8. 7 : km 6.78 - alt. 187 m - La Boissine - Col des Viaux (195 m)
  9. 8 : km 7.99 - alt. 112 m - The old bridge
  10. S/E : km 8.53 - alt. 95 m - Tourist Office car park

Notes

This route is not recommended in rainy weather as the descent at (6) can be very dangerous.
Wear sturdy shoes.
Walking stick.
Whistle.
High-visibility vest (during hunting season).

Worth a visit

(S/E) Visit the town and its maze of narrow streets. An association offers dramatised tours at certain times of the year. Information available from the Tourist Office.
La Voulte-sur-Rhône is located on the Via Rhôna route.
La Voulte-sur-Rhône is the gateway to the Dolce Via cycle route.
Please note that the car park (tourist office) is closed on certain days of the week depending on events organised by the municipality.
Open-air market on Friday mornings.
Flea market on the4th Sunday of each month.
The chocolate shop you passed at the beginning is worth a visit.
There is a paid parking area for motorhomes at the entrance to the town on the Livron road.

 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

3.9 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
3.9 / 5
Phiphi 26
Phiphi 26

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike in perfect weather conditions
Be careful on the Pylône section, which is very technical but can be done if you are careful
Otherwise, the rest is pleasant and not too difficult
I did it in 1 hour 46 minutes

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micvisorando
micvisorando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The descent to the pylon is safer if you do it sitting down, because if you fall, you will be very isolated and rescue will be difficult. Be careful!
A beautiful hike to discover La Voulte

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Marcopaulo
Marcopaulo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike: explore old La Voulte, a climb with superb views of the Rhône and the mountain ranges. The passage under the pylon is indeed tricky (steep and uneven) but the path is well marked on the app. It's springtime and the flora is abundant and magnificent.

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Nasta18
Nasta18

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

About 2.5 km on the road (not very busy), which is the only downside, but you know that when you look at the route. The forest section is nice, with pretty views of the mountains in the distance. I think it's best to avoid hot days because there's no shade and it was already pretty warm during the 5 km climb at 22°C.
Thank you for the suggested route.

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befre
befre

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Variation: after 3 at the antenna junction, instead of following the route, you can take the path that climbs straight up towards 4.

Problem: at 6, the path is no longer visible. As indicated, you must descend straight down the slope, under the pylon, perpendicular to the power line, walk through the undergrowth, which is no longer cut, for about 50 metres to find the path clearly marked by the water flow, a "sporty" and fun descent.

This route is not very long but it is magnificent. Don't forget to visit the old town of La Voulte.

PS: Friday is market day. Park near the church below the cemetery.

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Bob Art
Bob Art

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello, we did this walk yesterday afternoon. It was nice, but nothing special. There wasn't much of interest apart from perhaps the view you get on a clear day over the southern Vercors, the 3 Becs and the Saou forest once you reach the highest point of the hike. However, as we hadn't downloaded the GPS track, we followed the route description. The problem is that almost none of the place names mentioned are actually indicated by signs along the route, as is often the case in Ardèche, so it's difficult to find your way without getting lost.

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momoe2673
momoe2673

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk, with pleasant views of the Rhône and the mountain ranges in the distance.
Quite typical old streets.
A few minor uncertainties regarding the route.

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gerelise
gerelise

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We had to do the hike twice to find the path.
parish specific to Brittany: very poorly signposted if you're not from the area
The names of the neighbourhoods are not marked on site.
You have to get to the GR 42 crossroads to find any signs.
After the lodge, we looked for a crossroads but couldn't find one. You have to turn left onto the first dirt track.
The rest is easy. It's worth visiting the old town of La Voulte on the way back.

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