Around Mondragon

A short family walk through heath, vineyards and woodland.
Not particularly difficult, but not suitable for pushchairs.

Details

234215
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.88 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 158 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 152 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 135 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 52 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Access: South of the village, between the football stadium and the village hall, go around the roundabout and take the D152. Continue for 250 m and you will find a large car park on the left, which is the starting point for the hike.

(S/E) Turn left from the car park into the undergrowth, following the D152. At the end, in the hairpin bend, you will find Chemin Fond.

(1) Take this path opposite and follow it until you reach the D152 (be careful, this is a busy road).

(2) Continue straight ahead until you reach No. 1252.

(3) Continue uphill to the right, towards "Les Grès Nord" and "Les Logis de la Colline", walk past the two houses and then the vineyard. Enter the undergrowth via the single track until you reach the track, then turn right.

(4) Follow this track for 100 m until you reach a three-way junction and take the track on the right. Walk through the valley and you will reach a viewpoint (overlooking the southern part of the valley and the fortress of Mornas). At the bottom of the descent, there is a large sandstone rock in front of you.
Continue along the main track to the left until you reach the Chemin des Combes crossroads.

(5) Turn right until you reach the Chemin de la Montagne junction, which is paved for about 1 km.
Turn left again and continue for 50 m.

(6) Turn right onto a sandy path through the woods for about 600 m to rejoin theGRP®® du Massif d'Uchaux.

(7) Turn left onto a tarmac road for about 200 m and continue along the dirt track. Pass Kenzo's Ranch, then La Richarde farm.

(8) Take the track on the left along the vineyards, then continue on the tarmac road until you reach the crossroads at the end of Chemin des Lançons.

(9) Turn left and follow the departmental road (D152) with caution until you rejoin the route you have already taken.

(3) Continue straight ahead and, taking the opposite route to the outward journey, return to the car park on the edge of the D152 (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 54 m - Car park
  2. 1 : km 0.22 - alt. 65 m - Chemin Fond
  3. 2 : km 0.49 - alt. 91 m - Junction D152
  4. 3 : km 0.63 - alt. 99 m - No. 1252
  5. 4 : km 0.86 - alt. 122 m - Track junction
  6. 5 : km 2.94 - alt. 77 m - On the right
  7. 6 : km 3.44 - alt. 59 m - Chemin de la Montagne
  8. 7 : km 3.91 - alt. 55 m - GRP
  9. 8 : km 6.22 - alt. 115 m - Crossroads towards GR4
  10. 9 : km 8.28 - alt. 105 m - End of the Chemin des Lançons
  11. S/E : km 9.88 - alt. 54 m - Car park

Notes

Beware of slippery rocks on descents.
During the hunting season (September-February), please respect the signs indicating frequent hunting areas along this route.
This route is also accessible to mountain bikes (with helmets) and horses (with bridles).
No water sources along the route.
There are many places where you can stop for a picnic on the grass.

Worth a visit

- Cheese tasting and purchase at the Verdoulet farm, provided you make a short detour between La Richarde farm and the (8).
- Horse riding at Kenzo Ranch before the La Richarde estate.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
ALEX84100
ALEX84100

Hello Denis26,
Thank you for your message and the modification.
Best regards
Alex84100

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you, ALEX84100, for your comments. I have just modified the hike accordingly, and indeed, this does extend the walk on tarmac.

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ALEX84100
ALEX84100

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasant hike, but the description of the return route is not feasible: following the directions or GPS, you have to enter private property and the route ends up in vineyards and fields... You have to turn back, leave the private property and return to the starting point via tarmac roads, which really spoils the end of this hike.

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PCEZAC
PCEZAC

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

After point 8, it was impossible to find the single track despite the app, but fortunately, thanks to it, it was possible to find the path again by going around it.

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marredesmarais
marredesmarais

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
A pleasant hike with a very Provençal feel: scents, landscapes, the song of cicadas... The stretch on tarmac road is a bit too long and just before the end, after some confusion due to agricultural work, you have to follow a path off the GPS track to get out of the vineyards.

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briget
briget

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Easy hike with beautiful views. The only downside is at point 8, where the trail to point 9
no longer exists. We tried in several directions, but couldn't find it . We had to take the tarmac road to finish the hike.
;

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Shizenart
Shizenart

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, accurate description, but one path was privatised at the end, so you have to take the road instead.

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jean2669
jean2669
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very good route, beautiful scenery, well marked, until 4 km before the end of the circular, where we couldn't find the wooden house and the path on the left wasn't marked, so we returned by road.

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Arnaud C.
Arnaud C.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant walk.
A few details:
(A) When leaving the car park, turn left and follow the D152 through a wooded area that has been converted into a picnic area. At the first bend in the D152, cross the road and find the path.
....
At the end, (7) we didn't find a wooden house, but rather buildings, and the path is private and has been significantly altered by agricultural work (creation of a vineyard with levelling of the hill), which meant we got confused...

Apart from the end, good description.

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bernardSalon
bernardSalon

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful hike with varied landscapes. The description was based on existing GR and GRP trail markings. Please note that between 8 and 9, the path no longer exists, so we had to take the D152. I therefore recommend continuing on the GR, but on the road!
Thank you for this hike.

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Luc P
Luc P

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant hike in the hills of Vaucluse between Mondragon and Mornas, with no particular difficulties.

However, there is a problem related to earthworks for agricultural use in the area between markers 8 and 9.
The planned route is no longer usable (it has disappeared in some places).
I therefore recommend continuing on the GR4 from marker 8 to reach marker 9.

(I can see now that other hikers have had the same problem).

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DEERFIELD
DEERFIELD

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello

There's a slight problem with the directions at the end to get to D152... It seems easier to me to follow the GR4.

Kind regards, R²

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Nadette84
Nadette84

A beautiful hike, but like partner84, I couldn't find the trail at the end of the vineyard between points 8 and 9. I searched with my GPS in hand and ended up in some very dense undergrowth. So I turned back and, retracing my steps, found a path on the left that took me back to the CD152. It wasn't much fun walking 1 km on a road with traffic, which is a shame because the hike is really nice.

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bebop
bebop

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very easy hike, can even be done while jogging. Varied route with no difficulty.
Time taken: 2 hours 15 minutes.

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partner84
partner84

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant walk with beautiful views of the Rhône Valley, Mondragon and the citadel of Mornas. No particular difficulties. Between points 8 and 9, at elevation 138, we lost the path and descended back onto the CD 152 well before the crossroads.

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