Monteynard Dam and Château d'Ars circular

This hike takes you on a short detour into the Trieves region, where you will visit two remarkable sites: the Monteynard dam and the Château d'Ars. All this under the watchful eye of La Peyrouse and with a breathtaking view of Lake Notre-Dame de Commiers.

Details

5743802
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.16 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 603 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 610 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 817 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 367 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the Avignonet Town Hall car park.

(S/E) From the Town Hall car park, take the tarmac road towards "Le Barrage" (due east). After about 100 metres, the road gives way to a wide, stony track and then, after a farmhouse, to a path that descends to a junction with a road. At Croix de Molignière, follow the road to the right for about 50 metres.

(1) Turn left, following the yellowPR® markings along a wide stony path. Continue until you reach a wide bend to the right.

(2) In this bend, on the left, there is a yellowPR® sign on a post with a small wooden gate. Turn completely left and take the path that descends towards the dam (still heading east). Continue until you reach the tarmac road (D110C).

(3) At Chaumette, turn left and follow the D110C.

(4) After about 250 metres, ignore a path on the left (this will be for later) and continue along the road for another 50 metres until you reach a fork. Turn right towards a chapel (sign). Pass the chapel and a picnic area and you will soon reach a three-way junction.

(5) Turn left towards the dam. Continue following the yellowPR® markings until you reach the viewpoint over the Monteynard-Avignonet Dam.

(6) Retrace your steps: turn right at the three-way junction, pass the chapel again, and come out onto the D110C. Follow it to the left for about 50 metres.

(4) At the intersection you passed on the way there, turn right onto a forest track. After about 250 metres, at a fork, take the left-hand path, heading west-northwest. Gradually, the track turns into a path and then a small, well-marked trail. Cross the Mitraire stream via a small wooden bridge, head north-north-west and you will come out onto a meadow.

(7) Then turn right (north) and walk along the meadow, using the power line in front of you as a landmark, until you find a stony path.

(8) Once on the path, turn right. Follow the path, looking for the yellowPR® markings, towards Château d'Ars. Pass under the high-voltage power lines, follow a few bends and you will reach Château d'Ars.

(9) Then follow the yellow PR® markings towards Mageline.

(10) At the T-junction, turn left and descend into the valley of the Ruisseau de la Font Vieille. Cross this stream via a bridge and climb back up. Continue to follow the yellow markings until you reach the hamlet of Mageline.

(11) Turn left (south-west) and follow a tarmac road for about 1.5 km. At Les Bétons, ignore the road that branches off to the right.

(12) After a sharp left turn in the road and before the high-voltage power lines, look for a path starting on the right. Take this forest path uphill. Leave the forest and return to the Town Hall car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 812 m - Avignonet Town Hall car park
  2. 1 : km 1.62 - alt. 764 m - Fork to the left
  3. 2 : km 1.89 - alt. 731 m - Yellow markings on posts
  4. 3 : km 2.58 - alt. 654 m - Chaumette
  5. 4 : km 2.83 - alt. 635 m - Crossroads leading to the dam
  6. 5 : km 3.27 - alt. 629 m - Three-way junction - Chapelle d'Avignonet
  7. 6 : km 3.73 - alt. 570 m - Barrage de Monteynard-Avignonet
  8. 7 : km 5.79 - alt. 665 m - Meadow
  9. 8 : km 6.12 - alt. 623 m - Fork in the stony path
  10. 9 : km 7.97 - alt. 480 m - Château d'Ars
  11. 10 : km 8.54 - alt. 416 m - Fork in the road - Viewpoint over the - Drac (rivière) - Drac Noir-Drac
  12. 11 : km 9.95 - alt. 580 m - Mageline
  13. 12 : km 11.44 - alt. 715 m - Path on the right
  14. S/E : km 12.16 - alt. 812 m - Marie d'Avignonet car park

Notes

90% of the route is marked in yellow by thePR®
On the way back from the dam, the path between points (4) and (8) is not marked.
At the meadow, point (7), the path becomes difficult to distinguish. You will need to use the power line running due north as a guide. Please note: in summer, this meadow may be occupied by cows, which means that the exit at point (8) may be closed.
The climb up the Ruisseau de la Font Vieille valley towards Mageline is short but very steep.
There is no water source.

Worth a visit

Monteynard Dam.
Château d'Ars.

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

4.5 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
geai47
geai47
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 2 February 2025. No other hikers on this route (on this winter's day), which offers beautiful views of the Vercors, the Monteynard dam, the landslide on the Petit Train de La Mure railway line, with a very interesting stop at the Château d'Ars...
The passage marked with a yellow dot on the Visorando map is very useful: the bridge over the Mitraire stream has been destroyed, but you can cross a few metres downstream, although caution is required due to unstable and slippery ground. This is located before point 7.

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Randoanim
Randoanim

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

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

A fantastic hike with beautiful views.

The downside is that you have to take a path marked with a cross, which was dangerous because a bridge was broken and therefore inaccessible.

In addition, during the hike, we had to cross an electric cable in an area where cows roam freely. This is not permitted as it is dangerous.

The end of the hike is difficult to do in dry weather because it is difficult with wet ground.

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3617672
3617672

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike with magnificent views

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renatore
renatore

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, enjoyable walk with beautiful scenery and the Château d'Ars in the middle of nature – amazing. I recommend this walk, a great day out.

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mechouil
mechouil

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

we went on a family hike on a sunny day with three children, one of whom I carried on my back in a specialised backpack.
everything went well until we reached the dam, but on the way back up from the dam, the bridge is broken and therefore impassable with children.
what's more, 50 metres further on there is an electric fence, so you have to crouch down or climb over it twice.

otherwise, the view of the dam is very nice, as is the waterfall at the 10th kilometre. After that, you have to climb a fairly steep hill to the end of the hike.

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Stefdu38
Stefdu38
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great walk, with lovely views of the dam.
The route is easy to follow with GPS.
We did it in 3 hours, walking at a good pace.

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etiennelucien
etiennelucien

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

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casillas
casillas
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. The path is wide and easy to walk on, but there are a few very muddy sections. Be careful after point 4, as the wooden footbridge has collapsed and is impassable due to ice. However, hunters have marked a path a few steps below with orange markings on the trees.Follow these carefully, but be aware that you will need to scramble a little and it is slippery to get back on the path that leads to the meadow. After the castle at the edge of the dam, the footbridge is not in good condition, so be careful when crossing it. At the start, the climb is full of water for about twenty metres. After this muddy section, the climb is long and very steep, with a significant elevation gain

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COMETE38
COMETE38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with beautiful views of the dam and lake. The small wooden bridge has indeed completely collapsed, so we crossed about 20 metres further to the right where it was less steep, and everything went very well. The only difficulty, in my opinion, is the steep climb at the end of the hike over a short distance, but the route is very beautiful.

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MALE
MALE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello
I did this route in the opposite direction and had no problem following the GPX track.
two comments: the small bridge over the Mitraire is in poor condition (it needs to be rebuilt) and crossing it is a bit more adventurous.
Be careful on the climb up to the Molignière cross, as the yellow marker for leaving the RG D110C is not very visible.
A lovely walk, thank you.

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jean-louisetedirh38
jean-louisetedirh38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route, best done in the direction indicated, ending the hike in a more "natural" area after the electricity pylons and the dam. PLEASE NOTE: the small wooden bridge over the Mitraire stream in 4) no longer exists, or rather, it has collapsed into the stream. We were able to cross, but it is a bit difficult as you have to climb down into the stream, which was very muddy, and use what remains of the bridge to climb back up the other side. This is therefore a dangerous area.
The final climb is fine, with a few steep sections that don't last long.
Thank you for this hiking idea

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Bénédicte N.
Bénédicte N.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's a lovely walk, but I don't understand why you start at the top (small car park by the town hall), walk downhill for the first half of the route and then have to walk back up again for the second half. There's a large car park near the dam (at a place called La Chapelle) and it's much nicer to finish with a downhill walk. Follow the path in the direction indicated, skipping the town hall, which is of absolutely no interest.
It's true that the climbs are a bit tough, but the scenery is magnificent.

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François Marcel
François Marcel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A steep but short slope discourages quite a few people. It's a shame because it's a beautiful route.

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TaX38
TaX38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, often shaded and varied. We chose to do it in the opposite direction to have a slow but long climb. We stayed on the main paths rather than taking shortcuts across fields.

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miss38
miss38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike where you can see the lake for almost three-quarters of the route.
I loved it, even though it's not very balanced, as there are a lot of descents over the first 9 km and you end up with the biggest elevation gain (over 300 m) over the last 3 km, after crossing the stream behind Ars Castle.

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