Circular around the Vivier Pond starting from Saint-Ondras

This route alternates between paths and small roads, winding along the ridges and offering views of the Bourbre valley, the Dauphiné, and the Chartreuse and Vercors mountains.

Details

1767978
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.31 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 236 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 231 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 626 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 438 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car parks near the schools and the church in the centre of Saint-Ondras.

(S/E) Join the road to the centre, cross and take the descent on the right that leads to the mill. At the bend after 200 metres, turn left onto the road that goes uphill and is signposted Moulin de Laperousse.

(1) Go to the mill, located in a small park open to all.
Take the road uphill on the right until you reach the first path on the left, which offers a view of the Bourbre valley, Chelieu and Le Passage. At the first fork, stay on the right-hand path and continue until you reach the Chemin des Bois road.

(2) After taking the time to enjoy the view of the valley, go up the road on the left. Continue on the second path on the left, which turns into a road as it passes through the hamlet of La Jalinière. Stay on this road until you reach a junction with theGR® 65.

(3) Take the Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle path on the right. Enjoy the superb view of the valley and join the Route du Mont in a curve. Follow the climb to the crossroads at Croix du Brocard.

(4) Turn left onto Route de la Combe, leaving theGR® 65 on your right. Take the road, paying attention to traffic. Turn towards Monferrat, Route de L'Étang, keeping to the right.

(5) Turn onto the path on the right, which climbs after crossing the Pisse-Vieille stream.
Turn left at the end of the path, pass through the hamlet of Pommeret and take a section of road that ends in a path. Follow this path to reach the edge of the private Vivier pond.

(6) At the next intersection, turn left to join the road leading to the lake. Turn right until you reach the crossroads at the hamlet of Trois Chênes. Take care on the main road.
Cross at the three-way junction and take Route Chalamand on the left. At the end of the climb, take the road on the left to the water reservoir.
Note: Take a few minutes to step away from the road at the water reservoir and enjoy the views of the Chartreuse, Belledonne and Vercors mountains.

(7) Continue along Route du Monin. After a right-hand bend, go down the road and take a 90° left turn to reach the hamlet of Les Monins.

(8) Before reaching the centre at the intersection of the roads, take the path on the left. Continue on the right until you reach the next road junction at the hamlet of Le Bessay.

(9) Turn right onto Route du Haut Juvenin. Descend to the intersection of La Croix and Château du Fort.

(10) Take the descent on the left. At the first intersection, turn right onto Route du Juvenin. At the next intersection, rejoin theGR® 65, Chemin de Saint-Jacques. Take it on the left to descend into the valley. Follow the path to the bottom of the valley and climb up the other side to reach the hamlet of Vieux Saint-Ondras.

(11) Walk up Rue du Vieux Saint-Ondras for a few metres, on your left, until you reach the cross. Cross the road carefully and take Chemin du Barriot. Follow the path, which curves to the right and then to the left, until you reach the intersection of three roads. You will see the church of Saint-Ondras straight ahead.
Turn left onto Route du Centre, which after a left turn will take you back to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 455 m - Car parks located near the church and school complex
  2. 1 : km 0.36 - alt. 439 m - Laperousse Mill
  3. 2 : km 0.81 - alt. 473 m - On the left, Chemin des Bois
  4. 3 : km 1.9 - alt. 535 m - Junction with GR65, Way of St James
  5. 4 : km 3.32 - alt. 594 m - Turn left at the Croix du Brocard
  6. 5 : km 4.12 - alt. 596 m - On the right, the path goes uphill
  7. 6 : km 5.29 - alt. 615 m - On the left, at the Étang du Vivier intersection
  8. 7 : km 6.53 - alt. 612 m - Water reservoir, view of the mountains
  9. 8 : km 7.57 - alt. 569 m - Turn left at the hamlet of Les Monins
  10. 9 : km 8.7 - alt. 562 m - Hameau du Bessay
  11. 10 : km 9.68 - alt. 517 m - Fort Juvenin Castle
  12. 11 : km 11.1 - alt. 469 m - Croix Vieux Saint Ondras
  13. S/E : km 12.31 - alt. 455 m - Car parks located near the church and school complex

Notes

Good shoes and walking sticks in wet weather.

Worth a visit

(1) Saint-Ondras Mill, renovated by the village residents and inaugurated in 2015, dates back to 1850 and used to supply the village.
(6) Étang du Vivier.
(10) Château du Fort, located in the commune of Charancieu, has been converted into guest rooms.

 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

4.1 / 5
Based on 22 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Denis Mascré
Denis Mascré

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, very bucolic hike. The Moulin Laperousse mill is worth seeing.
However, half of the route is on tarmac, which seems excessive to me. The walk took 3 hours and 10 minutes, including a picnic at point 7 to admire the mountains.

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AlainBO
AlainBO

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike on a July morning. The route is easy to follow with the GPS app. Lots of well-maintained paths. Small roads with little traffic. The route follows a short section of the GR 65 (Compostela) trail. At the start, a visit to the Laperousse mill is well worth it.

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blanc michel
blanc michel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

hike done on Thursday, 25 May 2024. Very beautiful hike with good climbs, beautiful scenery and a magnificent lake. Worth doing again with friends, but you need an IGN map for the route.

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valy38
valy38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike done with snow around and frozen ground, be careful if it thaws or rains as some sections will be slippery.
We completed the entire hike in 2 hours and 35 minutes, but we decided to do it at a brisk walking pace. There were no difficulties on this hike, with many sections in the winter sun and magnificent 360° views

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magrando
magrando

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route took 3 hours to complete. The only slight downside for me was that there was too much tarmac, but otherwise there were beautiful views and a very nice visit to the restored mill.

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P39508J
P39508J

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Some difficulties in finding your way at the start of the route

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allogoed@yahoo.fr
allogoed@yahoo.fr

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route with 70% footpaths and 30% very hilly roads offering beautiful views. The route took 3 hours, including a picnic. Thanks to the volunteers who were there, we were able to visit the mill

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pierre bonnardon
pierre bonnardon

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route with several panoramic views of Le Buget and La Chartreuse. The picnic near the Vivier pond was superb. The very rural route is relatively easy. The only downside was that we got lost after passing the reservoir (between points 6 and 7).

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o.billaud@sfr.fr
o.billaud@sfr.fr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, beautiful view of the Chartreuse mountains after point 8. We extended it to visit Valencogne and Notre Dame des Vignes (magnificent cross) and after point 7 we went through the Bois des Femmes, which took us to point 8. We went from 12 km to 15 km😜👍. A very beautiful day ☀️😎.

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jaioublié
jaioublié

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An interesting hike with magnificent views. Unfortunately for me, the weather was a bit overcast. I will do it again when the weather is nice

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pierre belieres
pierre belieres

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike with stunning panoramic views.
The mill at the start is very nice, with a few minor difficulties in finding the trail afterwards, but otherwise the rest of the route is well marked.

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PATGOM59
PATGOM59

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very difficult to follow the route with the descriptive text; direction names are not indicated correctly: example POINT No. 8... take the path on the left! Misleading indication of a hamlet name in Le Bessay when the path is mentioned: direction Montfrelet! when in doubt, we didn't take it, so we got lost. Same problem at POINT 5: turn onto the path on the right!!!? Not seen and not indicated: as a result, we went straight ahead and missed the Etang circular! Too bad, it was the most interesting part of the hike...finally, we met someone who was also lost on this route; exhausted, she was being driven back by a resident of Saint Ondras! So, here are my comments, which I hope you will find useful.
Best regards

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Julienev
Julienev

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

An interesting route for beginners who want to get back into walking. Not too many escape routes, and beautiful views of the mountain ranges.
Takes 2 hours and 10 minutes.

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casillas
casillas

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

A short, easy family walk with nothing of interest apart from the Vivier pond, a paradise for fishermen. The rest is too much small roads, it's true, with no traffic

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NOETMI38
NOETMI38

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
a bit too much tarmac for not enough trails... but very pleasant overall!

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