Between the forests and vineyards above Mondragon and Mornas

Description

South of the village, between the football stadium and the community hall, go around the roundabout and take the D152. Continue on for 250m until you see a large car park on the left. This is the starting point of the hike.

(D/A) Turn left out of the car park through the undergrowth, following the D152. At the end (at the sharp bend), you need to find 'Chemin Fond'.

(1) Take this path straight opposite you and follow it until you meet the D152 again (be careful - this is a busy road).

(2) Follow the D152 for about 1km until you reach 'Chemin des Peyras'.

(3) Turn left onto this path in the direction of Maresque and continue on for about 600m.

(4) At the 'patte d'oie' (crow's foot junction), turn right until you meet you a dirt path opposite.

(5) Take the path waymarked in Yellow and Red in the direction of "la Roquette Est" for 50m. At the crow's foot junction, ignore the BU240 to your left and follow the steep path on your right. At the next crossroads of paths, take the one on the left which climbs steeply for 1km (with a view over the Rhone valley, the Diois mountains and the foothills of the Alps). You will reach the highest point on the edge of the forest and a large vineyard.

(6) Follow along the edge of the vines until you meet the road at Baumefort.

(7) Turn right and re-join the D152.

(8) Head to the left for 600m until you reach a crossroads with another road called 'Chemin des Fumades'.

(9) Turn right onto this road and continue on for 200m, then take the dirt path on the left going alongside the vines until you reach the edge of the woods.

(10) Continue on the path through the pine forest until you reach the quarry. You will reach a crossroads just before the Meunière Bridge.

(11) Turn right and follow the wide path up to the next large intersection.

(12) Head to the left in the direction of Richarde. Take the Massif d'Uchaux GRP, passing in front of the 'Ranch de Kenzo' and continue on the dirt path, which turns into a tarmacked path, for about 200m until you reach a relatively flat stone, (impossible to miss).

(13) Take the sandy path on the right. At the end of the path, take the tarmacked path on the left and then the first road on the right ('Chemin de la Montagne') up to the crossroads with 'Chemin des Combes'.

(14) Turn left and continue on to a crow's foot junction.

(15) Turn right onto a dirt path which becomes tarmacked a few metres further on.
Follow the path up to a crow's foot junction (a large sandstone rock faces you) and take the path on the right going uphill. Go through the valley until you reach a viewpoint (over the southern part of the Rhone Valley and the Mornas fortress). Look out for slippery stones. Follow the path which overlooks Mondragon and the Lou Castelas district.

(16) At the bottom of the path, which is concrete at the end, turn left and carry on until you re-join the D152 on a tarmacked section for about 100m. Leave the route and turn left to go back down towards the village. After about 300m on the well-used road you will come back to same crossroads from the outward leg (2).

Next take the 'Chemin Fond' between the green barriers - be careful as the first few steps have been washed away on this section of path (it then becomes tarmacked). Return to the D152 (1) which takes you back to the departure point (D/A).