Circular walk at La Montade

If you are coming by car from Château-Gombert via the very long Chemin de la Grave, you can easily park on the left after passing Boulevard Gambetta, which you will leave on your right.

(S/E) Your hike starts from the green barrier on the left, at the intersection of Chemin de la Grave and Boulevard Anatole France. You reach the Plan de Cuques Communal Forest via a wide track that climbs steadily until it reaches a Y-junction at a place called La Bordille.

(1) Take the track on the right and continue climbing. At a bend, ignore a path leading off to the right, continue for about 250 metres and you will reach a three-way junction.

(2) Leave the path on the left that leads to a house with a tiled roof and continue on the right. Go straight ahead at the next intersection and you will come to another fork with a track coming in from the left.

(3) Continue straight ahead: a little further on, enjoy a beautiful view of the Étoile massif. You will reach the Quatre Chemins intersection, which is paved for about 50 metres and marked by a white and red marker marked GR®173 with a circular underground reservoir.

(4) Take the track on the right that goes downhill. At the bottom of the valley, in a hairpin bend, you will come across a concrete parallelepiped with a metal trapdoor, probably a water collection point for the Cauvières springs. Continue until you come to another track on the left that joins yours. Go straight ahead to reach the Caban forest house, where you will find concrete tables and benches.

(5) Take the track to the south, bordered on the left by wooden telephone poles. Ignore a track branching off to the right and continue to a 50-metre tarmac intersection.

(6) Head straight ahead, passing the underground cistern 128 on your right and, a few metres further on, a green cylindrical cistern with the number 632. Continue down the track until you reach an intersection.

(7) Continue straight ahead, staying on the same track lined with wooden telephone poles, ignoring all other tracks or paths, until you reach a green barrier where you will come to a paved road and the first houses.

(8) Follow the tarmac road (Avenue de Mimet) downhill until you reach the junction with Boulevard Victor Hugo and Boulevard Anatole France.

(9) Turn right onto the latter and continue to the end to return to the car park (S/E).

Concrete tables and benches at the Caban Forest House (5).

Beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and Marseille.