Saint-Régis and Étang des Barthes circular loop

In the village of Freycenet-la-Tour, there are a few parking spaces available near the church.

(S/E) From the car park (war memorial, information board on the church), look for the red and white^GR®® markings at the edge of the road below. Go down this street, turn left and then turn right. At the "Freycenet-la-Tour" sign, turn right, pass in front of the inn and follow the signs for "Parking à 100 m" (which may be an alternative car park).

At the fork in the road, turn left, then immediately left again, along the small car park, following the^GR®® and^PR®® Yellow markings. When the street turns left, continue straight ahead along the path (^GR®® and Yellow markings). You will see an information sign about "fin gras" and then, just after that, an intersection with the road on the left.

(1) Follow the markings and the path on the right, which goes around the sports field. A sign also indicates the direction of the Oratoire Saint-Régis. Soon, leave this oratory, which stands above a fountain, on your right and continue.

(2) Intersection with an unnamed signpost. Follow the signs to the right towards^PR®® Étang des Barthes. Ignore a path on the left. At a fork in the road, follow the yellow signs to the right.

(3) Return to the tarmac road as you enter the village of Freycenet, at a sort of earthen esplanade. Look out for a children's playground on the right. Cross it to reach, behind some bushes, a statue of the Virgin Mary erected on a belvedere overlooking the village (information panel/orientation table).

Return to the esplanade and continue along the street on the right. At the T-junction, turn left for a few metres, then follow the path on the right towards^PR®® Étang des Barthes. At the T-junction, follow the yellow markings on the right. Further on, ignore a path on the right.

(4) At a reservoir, at the four-way crossroads, follow the yellow markings straight ahead, along a grassy path (raspberries along the edge of the path).

(5) Crossroads of roads and gravel paths. Continue straight ahead towards^PR®® Étang des Barthes, arrive at a car park, turn left to pass to the right of a fountain and a kiosk. Then follow this long gravel path that crosses the wind farm.
At the foot of a wind turbine, there is an information board/quiz about the wind farm. Shortly afterwards, ignore the path on the right and continue straight ahead towards^{the PR®®} de la Forêt des Barthes (strawberries along the edge of the path).

(6) At a wind turbine on the left (sign saying "Comment elles tournent ?" [How do they turn?]), turn right towards^{the PR®®} de la Forêt des Barthes (more strawberries along the path). You will come to a road.

(7) First turn right then left to follow the^PR®® de la Forêt des Barthes (^GR®® and^GRP®® yellow and white markings also present), which follows a grassy path. This soon turns right and continues along a balcony overlooking the Ruisseau de la Mine valley. After a small viewpoint, the path turns right and joins a road.

(8) Cross and continue straight ahead, diagonally to the left, towards^{the PR®®} de la Forêt des Barthes (^GR®®). At the fork shortly afterwards, ignore the sign for "Retour parking" on the left. Further on, follow the path as it curves to the left, note the information panel "Les grenouilleurs" (The Frog Hunters), then join a raised terrace on stilts above the pond.

(9) Climb the steps to reach the viewpoint (information panels). Descend and then stroll along the footbridges on stilts. Leaving the footbridges, turn left to find the information panel "Étang des Barthes". With your back to this sign, take the path that branches off to the left, through the undergrowth, marked^GR®® (do not follow the^PR®® sign for the Forêt des Barthes, which takes you back to the car park you passed on the way there).

At the T-junction, pass the "Magie des plantes" sign and turn right, following the yellow markings (towards Retour parking). You will arrive at a small road near another car park.

(10) Follow the yellow markings to the left. At the junction with a wider road, first turn left then right to follow the^PR®® Étang des Barthes. This small road turns into a gravel path after a stone house.

(11) Four-way crossroads. (Off the route, you can visit a shepherd's hut, or chibotte, on the right). Follow the yellow markings straight ahead (raspberries along the edge of the path). You will come to a road after passing a farm in Reyrac.

(12) Cross over and follow the street opposite, which descends to the left. At the next crossroads, pass a "croix de ferveur" (prayer cross) and its information panel on your left, and continue straight ahead towards^PR®® Étang des Barthes, passing a large shed on your left. At a fork, follow the yellow markings to the right.

(13) At the bottom of the long descent, turn right towards^PR®® Étang des Barthes (strawberries along the edge of the path). Continue along this wide gravel path, ignoring two turnings on the left, passing between two basins of the water treatment plant, then ignoring a path on the left and then one on the right, just before reaching the tarmac road at the entrance to Freycenet. Follow this street, marked with yellow signs, to reach the main street of the village. Then first turn right then left to reach the church (S/E).

Demanding hikers, beware: you will not like the many wide paths on this route.
Route suitable for Nordic walking. You will just need to put your poles away on the narrow path between (7) and (8).

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Photo album here

Lots of information panels along the route. Discover the beautiful Étang des Barthes lake (9). Discover the wind farm.