Beauvoisin via the six passes and the Crête des Costes

Hike starting from the village of Beauvoisin, in the heart of Drôme Provençale, nestled in its magnificent mountain setting. The Baume Noire massif, the Linceuil and Taillade mountains, the Ventoux and the Baronnies will be your landmarks throughout your walk. You will cross no fewer than six passes to return to Beauvoisin. The breathtaking views over the long Costes ridge are sure to stay with you.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.74 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 426 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 433 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 959 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 563 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park behind the school bus shelter above the town hall, at the three-way junction between the Buis road and Chemin de la Grange.

(S/E) Turn right towards the cross on the road to Buis.

(1) Turn left onto Chemin de la Croix, then keep right onto Chemin de la Bastie. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and diagonally to the right.

(2) Turn left towards Col de la Posterle on the path marked in yellow.

(3) Leave the marked path and take the wider path on the right until you reach a forest road. Continue straight ahead uphill and join the GR®9 at Col de Milmandre.

(4) Turn left towards Col de Linceuil, following the GR®9.

(5) 50 m after the pass, turn left towards Col de la Posterle.

(6) Continue along the ridge where light green markings will confirm your position. Admire the magnificent landscapes on your right and left. Mont Ventoux will remain visible throughout the ridge. Reach the highest point at an altitude of 964 metres and begin the descent, following the light green dots on the rocks.

(7) Turn left, enter the undergrowth on a very pleasant path and continue to a crossroads of small paths and a dry stream at Col des Moulins.

(8) Cross the stream and, about ten metres further on, opposite, you will find the fairly wide forest path. Continue along this path.

(9) Before reaching Col de la Croix, take the hairpin bend to the right and keep left all along the path.

(10) Keep left again and continue to the forest road.

(11) Turn left and walk to the junction with another forest road at Coste Rayne.

(12) Turn left again towards Col de la Viare. Pass the pass and continue towards the village to reach the Buis road.

(13) Follow the road straight ahead to reach the bus shelter car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 579 m - School bus shelter car park
  2. 1 : km 0.2 - alt. 587 m - Cross
  3. 2 : km 0.72 - alt. 626 m - Turn left at a right angle
  4. 3 : km 1.45 - alt. 723 m - Forest road on the right
  5. 4 : km 2.73 - alt. 851 m - Col de Milmandre (854m)
  6. 5 : km 3.67 - alt. 884 m - Col de Linceuil (893m)
  7. 6 : km 4.2 - alt. 894 m - Col de la Posterle (897m)
  8. 7 : km 5.8 - alt. 893 m - Turn left towards the descent
  9. 8 : km 6.16 - alt. 850 m - Col des Moulins (825m)
  10. 9 : km 7.4 - alt. 776 m - Col de la Croix (781m)
  11. 10 : km 8.46 - alt. 736 m - Junction, on the left
  12. 11 : km 9.31 - alt. 662 m - Forest road on the left
  13. 12 : km 10.31 - alt. 689 m - Coste Rayne. Towards the - Col de la Viare (736m)
  14. 13 : km 12.09 - alt. 578 m - Buis road
  15. S/E : km 12.74 - alt. 579 m - School bus shelter car park

Notes

Do not take children under the age of 10 with you, as they must be closely supervised on the Crête des Costes. It is not dangerous, but vigilance is required.
Wear sturdy footwear for walking on the stone slabs. Walking sticks will be a great help.
IBP: 51
Keep an eye out for the light green markings along the entire Crêtes des Costes ridge, especially on the descent.

Worth a visit

The old Linceuil sheepfold, a former landmark for the Francs Tireurs Partisans, is a nice place to stop for a break.

The view is spectacular along the Costes ridge.

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 21 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
User 5808194

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This hike is rated as "moderate" in difficulty, but there is a section along the ridges that is a bit challenging.

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Jacky Anx
Jacky Anx

I'll correct it. You're right

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CatherineGasco
CatherineGasco

Yes, we finally found it. But 'turn right' – right of what? 'Go up the road towards Buis' would have been clearer.
Positive comment, of course!

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Jacky Anx
Jacky Anx

Thank you for your interesting feedback
Regarding point 1, if you came from the bus shelter car park and were on the tarmac road leading to Buis, simply turn left onto Chemin de la Croix. Let me know
Happy hiking!

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CatherineGasco
CatherineGasco

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A truly beautiful hike. We won't forget it anytime soon!
It's a shame that the explanations aren't always clear, particularly at point 1 (you need to know that you have to retrace your steps along the road to find the cross) and point 7 (I think we didn't dare go too far down the slope before turning left into what was described as "undergrowth" but was actually quite sparse, and a path that was "not that pleasant").
Thank you anyway!

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patbouc
patbouc

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with quite a few forest trails

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GjRobert
GjRobert

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An excellent short circuit that perfectly encapsulates the characteristics of hiking in Drôme Ardèche.
The ridges are safe for the average hiker and offer splendid views. However, it is best to stop and admire the landscape from the ridges, as the cliffs are very steep.
We had difficulty finding the junction at 7, which meant we had to walk 50 metres with a 100% gradient and unstable ground. Not great!
We highly recommend this hike.
Thank you.

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Jacky Anx
Jacky Anx

Thank you for your feedback. Enjoy your hike

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ChristianCacoune
ChristianCacoune

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 02/01/2025. Very beautiful route with magnificent scenery. The section on the ridge is a little more difficult to follow because the vegetation is dense, but with GPS it's fine. For those who are afraid of heights, it is possible to avoid getting close to the cliff.
The distance shown on my GPS is 13.5 km with 521 m of elevation gain and a time of 3 hours 20 minutes
A must-do

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krisV
krisV

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Splendid! Thank you for this route. A real treat! Definitely not suitable for young children. The descent is a little steep and we missed the entrance to the path after starting it because it is really not visible, as the box trees are very overgrown. You have to be very careful. Fortunately, the GPS guided us well

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ELANORE
ELANORE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A magnificent hike with stunning views all along the way.
There were a few tricky sections along the ridge for me, as I suffer from vertigo, but nothing insurmountable.
We did it without any problems with our dog , who was kept on a lead on the ridges for safety.

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Jacky Anx
Jacky Anx

Thank you for your kind feedback

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mbabi
mbabi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike undertaken in strong winds, making it more challenging than expected on the ridge. Perhaps best avoided in strong winds if you want to fully enjoy the scenery while walking Otherwise, a very beautiful hike.

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Jacky Anx
Jacky Anx

Thank you for your insightful feedback. Kind regards

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Pierre le grand
Pierre le grand

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb route. Thank you for taking us along these magnificent ridges.
With this route made up of several different trails, we didn't miss a thing.

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