Circular walk around Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte

Park your car in one of the many designated car parks.

(Start/Finish) Set off from the village roundabout (D106), Place du 4 avril 1929, heading north along the Route du Vercors for about 100 metres.
Pass a hotel on your left and, just after it, turn left towards the west in the direction of the Pas de la Corne (20 mins, 1.1 km). A hiking sign reads “La Grande Fontaine – alt: 1,155 m”.

(1) At the fork in the road, turn left onto the narrower path, continuing westwards. A sign on a post attached to a tree reads: “Pas de la Corne: 10 mins”.

(2) Descend part of the way through the “Goulet des Moulins – alt: 1,100 m”. At the junction, turn right towards the north onto the narrower path signposted “Sous la falaise – 10 mins” and “Le Pas du Curé – 25 mins”.
This is the only tricky section; please be careful and watch out for any falling small stones.
At the end of this section, you’ll reach a Fork in the road. Take the almost flat path heading south-east. Ignore the path that descends steeply towards the Pas du Curé.

(3) At the fork in the road, turn left towards “le Mémorial”; the path heads due east. There is an EDF high-voltage power line here. Cross the courtyard of the Rony farm to reach the tarmac of the Route de Rochetière. Turn left (north) onto this road and follow it for 30 metres. Then turn immediately right onto the farm track heading east (towards “le Mémorial”).

(4) At the junction of the following paths, take a slight right then left for 30 metres to rejoin the Chemin des Clapières, which continues due east towards the Route des Charvets, which is also tarmac-surfaced. Turn right, heading south, and follow the Route des Charvets down to the memorial.

(5) Cross the D106 with care to join the Route des Michallons (signposted).

(6) At the Fork in the road, turn left onto the Chemin de Pousse Bou, which continues southwards alongside the forest, crossing the^GR®®9. Opposite, take the wide path that climbs up into the forest; this path heads south-west (sign: “Les Michallons Alt: 1023m, Saint Nizier: 50 mins 2.7km”). Cross a clearing with a view of the 3 Pucelles.

(7) At the fork in the road, turn right. The climb continues towards Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte. When you reach the bend in the Route du Vercors (D106), take a somewhat hidden path, “le Sentier de la Vie”, which climbs and is bordered by a wire fence on the right, still heading towards Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte.
The path leads out onto “La Voie du Tram”; take this road to the right, heading north, for about a hundred metres.

(8) At the fork in the road, take the path on the left which climbs, heading south, and leads out just below the old Olympic ski jump. Turn right again, heading north, to take the Chemin du Belvédère.

(9) Follow this path westwards and you will naturally come out at the roundabout and the finish car park (S/E).

Warning: The section beneath the cliff is a bit tricky, quite narrow in places, and you may need to use your hands to climb down the rocks for one or two metres. Furthermore, stones may fall from the underside of the cliff, so do not stop there.
For this reason, wear suitable footwear to get past this section.
The rest of the walk is straightforward. Remember to bring water.
There are no known water sources, but the walk is short.

The village of Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte
The memorial: take the time to read the information boards.
The Olympic ski jump: there isn’t much left from that era, but you can imagine the anxiety of the young skier launching himself down this run above Grenoble in 1968!

I’d prefer to take you part of the way up ‘the Sentier de la Vie’, which is better maintained, but this isn’t compulsory.