Marols loop in Montarcher

Marols and Montarcher are two villages in the south of the Forez region, classified as "Villages and Towns of Character" by the Loire Departmental Council. Both have well-preserved medieval architecture, particularly their fortified churches. Montarcher is a small village perched on a promontory and offers a magnificent panoramic view from Mont Blanc to Mont Mézenc. The hike is mainly through forest and partly follows the "Chemin des Brigands" (Brigands' Trail).

Details

1263360
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.41 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 446 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 442 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,175 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 826 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Access: the village of Marols, on the D5 between Saint-Jean-Soleymieux and Luriecq, is located north of the large village of Saint-Bonnet-le-Château.
The car park is on the edge of the D5, west of the village.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the old village.
Head towards the cemetery. Before reaching it, take the road on the right to the hamlet of Ronchevoux. Go through the hamlet and you will come to a crossroads.

(1) Turn left and continue along the road.

(2) You will reach a T-junction. Turn right for 50 m, then take a path on the left and follow it through the forest until you reach a track.

(3) Cross a track and continue straight ahead. When you reach a small road, turn left and enter the hamlet of La Citre.

(4) In the hamlet, turn right, then left. Reach another fork and follow the path up to the right. Ignore a path on the left and continue north-west.

(5) At the Clos crossroads, leave the Brigands route and turn right onto the track towards Pralon.

(6) At the Pralon crossroads, turn left onto the forest track towards La Genette. Ignore the adjacent paths.

(7) At the La Genette crossroads, take the left-hand track to follow the 14D route to Saint-Jean-Soleymieux. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead.

(8) At the Fontanelle crossroads, go straight ahead and follow the Brigands route,GR®®3.

(9) At the next crossroads, leave theGR®®3which leads to La Chapelle-en-Lafaye and continue left on theGR®®3variant towards Montarcher for 2.5 km.
Reach the D14-1 near Montarcher. Turn right, walk along the cemetery and head for the car park at the entrance to the village.

(10) Turn right and cross the car park to take the path around the ramparts.
Walk along the old cemetery and go through the gate that leads to the esplanade in front of the church and the promontory above it.
Go around the church and take the stairs on the left that lead to the promontory, where the keep once stood, now destroyed.
Retrace your steps. At the bottom of the steps, take the lane on the left which will take you back to the entrance to the village at the car park.
After the "Clos Perché" inn, take the path on the right, signposted "Circuit des Croix". Go down the path marked "Interdit aux Tout Terrains" (no off-road vehicles). At the first crossroads, continue straight ahead.
At the fork, follow the path on the left that climbs up to the D14-1, which you cross to take a wide track. Follow the track up to a flat area in a clearing, where the paths fork.

(11) Leave the main track and take the path on the right, marked with a bandit sign with a banner.
This trail descends eastwards and then south-eastwards to a forest road.

(12) At the forest road, you will see a sign for "Le Pied du Bon Dieu". Turn right and continue for 75 m until you reach "Pied du Bon Dieu", a curious giant's footprint on a rock. Retrace your steps and follow the small road to the right for 500 m.

(13) At a large dead tree stump, turn right onto a path and follow it to the hamlet of Chossy.
Cross the hamlet and follow the small road north-east for about 300 m.

(14) At the wayside cross, take the path on the right until you reach the next crossroads.

(15) At the Chemin de Maisonny crossroads, turn left until you reach a house.

(16) Take the path on the right, signposted "Sentier du Zorolais", which leads to the village of Marols.
On the right, a path leads to the village's Madonna statue with an orientation table. Then return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 826 m - Parking on the edge of the D5 road
  2. 1 : km 0.94 - alt. 872 m - Ronchevoux
  3. 2 : km 1.18 - alt. 884 m - T-junction
  4. 3 : km 1.98 - alt. 967 m - Trail junction
  5. 4 : km 2.91 - alt. 1,042 m - La Citre
  6. 5 : km 3.98 - alt. 1,141 m - Le Clos crossroads
  7. 6 : km 4.56 - alt. 1,109 m - Pralon crossroads
  8. 7 : km 5.41 - alt. 1,120 m - La Genette crossroads
  9. 8 : km 7.06 - alt. 1,164 m - La Fontanelle crossroads
  10. 9 : km 7.98 - alt. 1,130 m - GR3 and GR3 variant
  11. 10 : km 8.93 - alt. 1,143 m - Montarcher car park
  12. 11 : km 10.93 - alt. 1,167 m - Fork, take the right-hand path
  13. 12 : km 11.79 - alt. 1,124 m - Fork in the road. Return to the Pied du Bon Dieu
  14. 13 : km 12.35 - alt. 1,101 m - Old truncated tree
  15. 14 : km 13.72 - alt. 983 m - Calvary
  16. 15 : km 14.45 - alt. 901 m - Chemin de Maisonny (Alt. 900m)
  17. 16 : km 14.92 - alt. 861 m - Direct Marols
  18. S/E : km 15.41 - alt. 826 m - Parking on the edge of the D5 road

Notes

The route follows the Brigands' Trail, marked by a bandit with an eye patch, then the 14D trail to Saint-Jean-Soleymieux.
Water points in the village of Montarcher.
In Montarcher, on the patrol path after the car park, picnic tables are available in the shade.

Worth a visit

In Montarcher, you can visit the old fortified church, the oratory on the rampart walk below the church esplanade, and enjoy the 360° panorama from the promontory.
In Marols, visit the historic centre, its church and the many workshops exhibiting the work of local artists.

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

4.5 / 5
Based on 26 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Patrick1704
Patrick1704

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed during the week, so not very crowded.
Beautiful hike.

Machine-translated

User 27865863

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with beautiful sights at the start and finish.

Machine-translated

thinon
thinon

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We're going to do it again with our friends because the track is great, we had a blast on it

Machine-translated

pilou457
pilou457

yes, you need to make a slight detour of about fifty metres and then retrace your steps, heading to the right

Machine-translated

Gigimi
Gigimi

Thank you very much!!! We really had a close call...

Machine-translated

gali69
gali69

At point 12, signposted "Le Pied du Bon Dieu" (God's Footprint), turn right and follow the forest road for 75 metres. The curious giant footprint is on a rock at the edge of the woods on your left.

Machine-translated

Gigimi
Gigimi
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk... very little tarmac... just forest trails and paths.
One small regret... we couldn't find the "Devil's footprint". Was there a lack of explanation... or did we just not understand?
Overall, very satisfactory

Machine-translated

Lefatou
Lefatou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike with magnificent views

Machine-translated

vissenty
vissenty

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike above the Forez plain

Machine-translated

Choudis
Choudis

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb, very easy hike, done with two children aged 8 and 11. They loved the wild raspberries and blueberries they found along the way!

Machine-translated

Lionel_42500
Lionel_42500

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk in the woods!
Rather easy

Machine-translated

Traviata
Traviata

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I managed to find my way around the hike thanks to my GPS, but the information wasn't very accurate.
I skipped the route from points 4 to 7: I didn't have enough time.

I hadn't been out for three weeks, so it was good to get some exercise. But I didn't find the route particularly enjoyable. Maros and Montarcher are worth a look, though.

Machine-translated

BRUNO48
BRUNO48

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

https://www.visorando.com/images/smileys...

Machine-translated

LinaMO
LinaMO

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant walk with beautiful panoramic views. The path was still snowy and icy but passable. Best done in spring or summer as there are some lovely shaded sections. We chose to start from La Chapelle en La Faye and walk to Montarcher, where we found the path without any difficulty. Thank you for suggesting this route on Visorando.

Machine-translated

Calanquaise
Calanquaise

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent, shaded and cool hike, even though it was 34°C in Lyon!
The work on the GR trail is now complete...
Between points 7 and 8, the Brigands trail is now a wide 6-metre track where cars can drive (it's so much better to be able to picnic next to your car!). Pathetic!
Otherwise, everyone loved this hike, with its wild and bucolic passages! A real treat!
Thanks to Gali69 for sharing this hike!

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.