La Chapelle-de-Surieu Circular

Parking is available at the entrance to the village in the well-equipped car park under solar panels.

(S/E) Take Route de Roussillon to the town hall, then turn right towards Place du Soldat and the war memorial. Continue along Route de Bellegarde, which crosses the River Sanne. After the last house, a dirt track branches off to the left.

(1) Head up towards Chassignol. As you approach the houses, the track becomes tarmac. After these houses, the road crosses the Chemin de Champuis; take this on the left. It is a small, flat tarmac road.

(2) Further on, take the unpaved track that descends to the left. Pass a small reservoir and continue downhill. You will soon reach the River Sanne, which you must cross via a simple concrete ford with no bridge. Head back up onto the Route du Pré Gelé, which you follow to the left until the next junction.

(3) Turn right onto the Chemin du Pin. The tarmac road climbs up to the Ferme du Pin, then turns into a dirt track on the right. Continue climbing until you reach a small tarmac road, the Chemin du Gouray. A little further on, on a metal post, a sign (a bicycle and a yellow marker) indicates a barely visible path to the left. Follow this very grassy path uphill. The landscape opens out over the surrounding hills.

(4) When you reach La Gerbaudière farm, take the wide dirt track on the right. You are now at the highest point of the walk, with sweeping views all around you. Follow the main track, which turns left, to a water tower. On the Chemin des Brosses, turn left.

(5) Take the path marked ‘Jaune’ and ‘Saint-Jacques’ (scallop shell) on the right. The dirt track crosses fields and then reaches a tarmac road; cross this and follow the path opposite. At the first junction, take the dirt track on the left. The terrain is perfectly flat, with views of the Monts du Pilat to the right and the Vercors massif to the left.

(6) At the Rigoudy farm, take the tarmac road to the left. A little further on, you’ll come to a path called the Chemin des Brosses, which descends to the right alongside a long hedge of conifers.

(7) Follow this dirt track down until you reach a small tarmac road. Continue down this road, which bends to the right and turns into a dirt track.

(8) At a place called La Balme, follow a small tarmac road which turns right, descends and then climbs back up towards the Route de Saint-Alban. On your right you will see the cemetery and the chapel.

(9) Turn left towards the village. Continue downhill, pass the school and you’ll come to the town hall. Turn right to return to the car park (S/E).