Country:
District:
Park, in principle, in the cooperative winery car park, except during special events and, in season, the Monday market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
(S/E) Follow the D104 towards Joyeuse for about 300 metres.
(1) Just before the bridge, turn right towards Vernon. Pass through the hamlet of Le Pont.
(2) Less than 50 metres after the last house, a path (signposted Vernon) climbs to the right towards the hill. A slightly steep drovers' road leads to a wider path. Keep left, then left again after 50 metres, then continue straight ahead on the wide access path which leads to the tarmac road connecting the hamlets.
(3) Continue straight ahead along a narrower path that joins the Route de Balbiac.
(4) Turn left and keep left at the three-way junction towards Mercoire and La Crotte. At Croix de Bonneton, you will get your first view of the village of Balbiac. At La Crotte, on the left, you will get a glimpse of the Beaume valley upstream from Joyeuse. A sign for "fontaine" (fountain) indicates the short round trip.
(5) At the exit of La Crotte, at the crossroads, take the hill opposite. The concrete path continues along a trail to a short tarmac access road where, after a hundred metres (keeping to the right), you will find the hiking signpost with the arrow pointing to "Les Hautes Salelles".
(6) Follow this path, which branches off to the right. Continue in the same direction until you reach the tarmac road to Les Hautes Salelles (at km 4.4, ignore the signpost at the right-angle bend to the left, which refers to the Vernon route, and continue straight ahead despite the yellow/white cross). Follow the Hautes Salelles road on the right for about 80 metres and take the path that climbs up to the left at a right angle. Enter the pine forest and you will come to a T-junction with a new signpost.
(7) Turn right, ignoring the signs for "Vernon" and following the signs for Rosières via the east. Walk through a beautiful pine forest, which has been clear-cut a little further on. Depending on the time of year, young trees are beginning to appear. Construction machinery has disrupted the paths somewhat and the markings are a little harder to see, but it is roughly straight ahead and practically level on this very wide path to a large esplanade and a large crossroads.
(8) Turn sharply right, heading almost due south and downhill. At the Vignal crossroads, keep left to reach the road.
(9) Take the road on the left, then left again at the next crossroads. After the fire defence cistern, take the path on the right which leads to a second spring - a reservoir worth admiring. Continue in this direction to reach the hamlet of Estourel, where the path is clearly marked to the left of a house. Then turn right and finish going around the hamlet, keeping to the left on a wide farm track with vineyards on the right and pine forest on the left on a steep slope above the Blajoux stream, which you will follow for a while. Through the pine forest, on the other side, you will see Les Blancards, an old renovated monastery. After a steep descent through the pine forest, you will arrive near the stream.
(10) Cross the first ford and stay very close to the stream bed. There are three more fords to cross (see below, under "Practical information"). You will arrive at a house (Tonisandrieu) that was abandoned for a long time but is now inhabited and undergoing renovation, with crops growing nearby.
(11) Go up the wide sloping path to the left of the house and to the right of the poultry enclosure, and join the wide access road to the left to reach the Saut du Loup campsite, which you will cross. Go down the road leading to the campsite, stay opposite at the crossroads, turn right at the three-way junction, continue straight ahead and up the hill at the next crossroads, then turn left at the top of the hill. You will come to another crossroads.
(12) Take the drovers' road opposite (path surrounded by two low walls). The path descends to the Martinette stream, which you cross. There is another fountain/wash house on the right as you climb, in an unlikely spot that makes you think about how people used to live. You come out onto a wide path, which you follow to the right. At the road, return to the vineyards and turn left towards the south. After about a hundred metres, a short detour will give you a better view of Balbiac and its surroundings. Continue along the road and cross La Fènerie.
(13) After the hamlet, do not turn left but continue down the path almost straight ahead. On the left, you will see a recent olive tree plantation. Cross the bridge over the La Planche stream. The path becomes a street. Continue straight ahead until you reach the D 104, which you should cross carefully to reach the car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Easy 
