Circular route from Yzeron via Courzieu, St-Bonnet le Froid and St-Laurent-de-Vaux

Park in the car park near Yzeron Town Hall, just below the D25 road leading to Thurins.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the D25 road and turn right onto it for 20 metres. In front of the town hall, look out for a sign on the right.

(1) At the “Yzeron-Village” sign, continue straight on towards La Rivière. Walk past the central square and, opposite the Auberge Chez Mono, take the road leading down to the right. At the junction, 50 m further on, follow the Chemin du Châtel to the left. At the bottom, cross the D489 road

(2) At the “La Rivière” sign, head towards Crêt de la Madone by turning left onto the D489. Immediately afterwards, climb up Chemin du Vayen on the right. At the top, turn right and join the D113. Follow it to the right for 100 m, then leave it to climb a path going in the opposite direction, to the left of the road. From 2025, take the log steps on the right, follow the clearly marked yellow signposts to reach the large statue of the Madonna and the junction just beyond. Note: this section is not yet mapped.

(3) At the “Crêt de la Madone” sign, head straight on towards Pimongon along the marked path. After 100 m, at the junction, ignore the path to the left, continue straight on and, after a descent, reach a crossroads (elevation 816).

(4) At the “Pimongon” sign, continue towards La Chapelle Saint-Clair along the ascending road straight ahead. Ignore the side streets and reach a crossroads (elevation 833).

(5) At the “La Chapelle Saint-Clair” sign, take the second path on the left towards La Petite Vernay. After about 250 m, ignore the forest track leading down to the left. Continue straight ahead across open ground, then into the Grand Bietto woods, and cross a wide track diagonally. Continue straight down the slope to reach a crossroads.

(6) At the sign for "La Petite Vernay", head towards Le Biternay via the second path on the left, which begins its descent alongside a house and then into the woods. Ignore a path on the left; immediately afterwards, cross a stream and reach a road at a bend, then follow it straight ahead. At the top of the hamlet, there is a fork in the road.

(7) At the sign for “Le Biternay”, continuing through the woods, take the path on the right down towards Courzieu. Ignore the side paths and come out onto the Route du Gonin. Take this road to the right, go round a wide bend to the right and enter the hamlet of La Roue. After the first house on the right, leave the road as it bends to the right and go down the lane on the left leading to two houses. Follow a muddy path between greenhouses and come out onto Rue de la Chevalière. Follow it straight ahead and then, immediately afterwards, turn right onto Route de la Verrière to reach a junction (elevation 387).

(8) At the “Courzieu” sign, head up Route du Vélair to the right towards Lafont. Cross the bridge; at the junction, continue straight ahead. At the fork, keep to the right; immediately afterwards, climb the steep slope to the right, then turn onto the first street on the left onto Chemin de la Croix Rousse. Pass a small transformer station and turn right onto a muddy sunken track lined with hedges. Follow it uphill to reach a road leading to the hamlet of La Ville. Head up this road to the left, then continue along a track. Join a street at the bottom of the hamlet of Lafont and, following this, reach a junction in the centre (elevation 554).

(9) At the “Lafont” sign, continue towards Longecombe along the road on the right and, 20 m further on, take the road on the left, the Chemin de Montguignoud. At the top, at the junction, turn left and, 500 m further on, you’ll reach the Route de Lafont. Follow it straight ahead and, at the crossroads, take the Route de Malval down to the left. Ignore the Route de Longecombe on the left and, 50 m further on, leave the road for a path straight ahead which leads to a crossroads.

(10) At the “Longecombe” sign, take the road on the right towards Verchères, marked GR®89. Stay on this road, ignoring the two streets on the right, and head for a crossroads in the hamlet.

(11) At the “Les Verchères” sign, follow the signs for Parc Animalier along the first street on the right, going downhill against the flow of traffic. Ignore the side paths and follow the dirt track that continues into a small valley. Cross the stream and climb up a muddy path to reach the Route du Parc. Take this road to the left and, after a bend, reach the junction at the entrance to the Courzieu Wildlife Park.

(12) At the “Parc Animalier” sign, leave the entrance road to your left and take the uphill bend to the right towards Font Froide. At the junction at the end of the road, turn onto the stony path to the left marked GR®89. Head up through the forest, ignoring the side paths and always taking the one straight ahead to reach a junction.

(13) At the “Font Froide” sign, stay on the GR® to the right towards Saint-Bonnet le Froid. After 200 m, take the hairpin bend to the right, ignoring the dead-end path opposite. Take the next path on the left and head back up to the D113 road. Turn left onto it and, at the end of the building, turn right onto Chemin de Saint-Bonnet to reach a fork (elevation 756).

(14) At the "Saint-Bonnet le Froid" sign, leave the GR® to the left and keep to the right towards La Berlandine to reach a junction.

(15) At the sign for "La Berlandine", take the path leading down to the left towards Cunieux. Cross the D50 road with care and head down the slope. As the slope levels out, take a path on the left and, at the junction just after, turn onto the one on the left. Further down, it continues as a road, the Chemin des Hauts de Cunieux. Ignore the dead ends on the right and, at the junction at the bottom, turn right to reach a fork (elevation 496) 30 metres further on.

(16) At the “Cunieux” sign, leave the Route de la Prouty to the left and take the Chemin de Cunieux to the right towards Le Barthélemy, then head back down a path. Take this path to the left and rejoin the Route de la Prouty at a junction in a bend.

(17) At the “Le Barthélemy” sign, follow signs for Croix de Garde along the road ascending to the right. At the fork in the hamlet of La Prouty, continue along the dirt track to the right which joins the Route du Barthélemy (elevation 514 m). Follow it up to the right for 200 m, then turn left onto an ascending track going in the opposite direction (elevation 550 m). At around 620 m, leave the path straight ahead and take the one on the right up the slope. You will come to an old Roman road that is almost level (alt. 660 m). Take this to the left until you reach a junction (alt. 652 m).

(18) At the “Croix de Garde” sign, turn left towards La Milonnière, then, 100 m further on, turn right onto a wide, steep, stony path to reach a crossroads (elevation 609 m).

(19) At the “La Milonnière” sign, head towards the Col de la Fausse via the road on the left. At the next junction, continue straight on along a track that leads to a fork.

(20) At the “Col de la Fausse” sign, head down to the right towards Combe Fusil. Cross a forest track and arrive at a fork.

(21) At the "Combe Fusil" sign, head left towards Clavigny, following the side of an isolated house then the edge of a wood before crossing it and reaching a junction. Continue along the wide path to the right, which leads into a road passing through the hamlet of Clavigny. At the end of the road, join the Route d’Yzeron D489.

(22) At the “Clavigny” sign, head towards Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux Le Bourg. Cross the D489 with care and follow it down to the left. On your right, pass two houses, ignore the first path and turn onto the second. Cross the fields and, before reaching a wood, come to a fork. Ignore the path on the right that runs alongside it and take the left-hand path into the wood. After two stony bends, take a road on the right until you reach a sign.

(23) At the unmarked signpost, keep heading towards Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux straight ahead. After the bridge over the Yzeron, leave the road and climb a stony path to the left. At the top, turn left onto the Route de la Pommeraie. Cross the bridge and climb the steps to the right against a wall. Cross the car park to reach the road opposite.

(24) At the sign for "Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux Le Bourg", head up the road to the right towards Pierre Folle. Ignore the dead-end on the right and, as you approach a hairpin bend, you’ll reach the junction with a path on the left.

(25) At the sign for "Pierre Folle", take the road opposite towards La Plantée, go past the hairpin bend and, at the top of the climb, you’ll reach a crossroads

(26) At the “La Plantée” sign, head straight on towards Le Bois du Faix via the steep climb marked by a dead-end road sign and, further on, reach a fork.

(27) At the “Le Bois du Faix” sign, turn left towards the Dolmen. Leave the path continuing straight ahead and keep to the one on the left. Stay on the wide path, ignoring the side tracks.

(28) At the sign for “Le Dolmen alt 590 m”, take advantage of its proximity to visit it via a return trip along a path on the right-hand side. Continue straight ahead towards the Châteauvieux Chapel, still ignoring the side paths. At the entrance to the village, continue along the street opposite, ignoring the crossroads on the left, and head for the 11th-century Châteauvieux Chapel, a fine example of Romanesque architecture with its small square featuring three lime trees planted under Sully.

(29) At the sign for “la Chapelle de Châteauvieux”, follow the sign for “Châteauvieux” along the road to the left. Pass a junction (elevation 675) and continue straight ahead to a crossroads.
(30) At the sign for “Châteauvieux”, turn right towards Les Rochers de Py Froid. After about 1 km along a sunken lane, you’ll reach a crossroads (elevation 772)

(31) At the “Les Rochers de Py Froid” sign, ignore the first path on the right towards the Py Froid Reservoir; take the second path towards La Modérat, which follows a contour line. After 400 m, cross a track and 250 m further on you will come to a junction.

(32) At the sign for "La Modérat", heading towards the Py Froid Reservoir, stay on the stony path straight ahead, which gradually descends towards a junction (elevation 750 m).

(33) At the sign for “Le Réservoir de Py Froid”, continue towards Le Progrès. The road ahead ends at the D25 after 200 m (elevation 730 m).

(34) At the sign for “Le Progrès”, leave the marked trail and follow the D25 to the right towards the village. Ignore the side streets, pass in front of the Carmelite Monastery of Yzeron and find the car park on the right (S/E)

Route markers
The route is signposted along its entire length except at the transition from point (34) to (E)

At the ‘Le Dolmen’ sign (28), take a short detour of about fifty metres to the right to have a look at the dolmen.

In Châteauvieux (29), a Romanesque votive chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was built in the 11th century. In a very good state of preservation, it features a simple nave with three bays and pillars with internal buttresses. The slightly offset chancel has a square apse. To the right of the entrance, you can see a double-basin holy water font made of white stone. Three old lime trees, over 400 years old, stand guard at the entrance. A Byzantine cross marks the corner of the cemetery.