Country:
District:
The starting point is in front of the church in Curis-au-Mont-d'Or. Park near the church or, if there is no space, in the square with the fountain at the bottom of the Montée de l'Église near the traffic lights on the D73.
(S/E) Start on the left of the church and go down the Montée du Tilleul. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue du Pontet and turn right at the next crossroads. Cross the D73 and go up Chemin du Gant, then turn right onto Rue de la Trolanderie. Then take the first street on the left (Route d'Albigny), then at the first intersection, continue straight ahead on Rue du Beyrion. At the end, follow Route du Bois des Cieux to the right.
(1) At the end of Route du Bois des Cieux, in front of the house on the edge of the forest, turn right onto the Double Point Jaune signpost for the Tour Intérieur. The path climbs gradually into the forest and leads to a paved road, which you follow to the right until you reach the Croix Vitaise.
(2) At the Croix Vitaise, take thesecond path on the left (the one with a barrier) towards Mont Thou. Continue along the ridge path, ignoring a path that descends to the right and then another to the left. The path opens onto a meadow.
(3) Keep left of the group of four oak trees on the path that follows the edge of the forest and climb up to the Mont Thou orientation table.
(4) Join the road and follow it downhill from Mont Thou. You will reach the junction with the D92.
(5) At the crossroads, take the small path opposite (due south), which is not very visible and starts on the right-hand side of the Saint-Cyr road a few metres after the signpost. This narrow path winds through a strip of forest alongside the Saint-Cyr road. After about 300 metres, just as you reach a meadow, take the path that descends to the right along the edge and joins the Chemin de Giverdy further down. Follow this path until you reach the signpost "Giverdy alt. 463m".
(6) Go up the steps on the right, walk along the boules court, then go up the steps on the right again, following the sign for "Sentier de la Pierre". Join the D73 and follow it for 100m on the left towards "Saint-Didier Centre" until you reach the first crossroads. Go up to the right onto Chemin des Presles, then immediately left onto Chemin du Sarto. After 200m, the path branches off to the right, runs alongside drystone walls and the Sarto drystone shelter, then joins the Chemin de Narcel at the "Sarto alt. 540m" signpost.
(7) Turn right towards Narcel and climb up to the Narcel tower, clearly visible on the left of the road. Just after the Narcel tower, take a narrow path that descends to the left and follow it until you reach a wider road, which you follow to the right to join the Route du Mont Verdun at an altitude of 545 metres.
(8) Follow the road to the crossroads and continue straight ahead towards Limonest. At the roundabout, continue for about 100 metres.
(9) Take the path that climbs to the right of the road and goes around the summit of Mont Verdun. Follow this path until you reach a small clearing after a fairly steep descent. At the exit of the clearing, join a more frequented path that you follow to the right until you reach a road. Continue on the road until you find a stone cross on the left.
(10) At the cross, leave the road and take the path on the left until you reach a road.
(11) Take the path to the quarry on the left and the trail on the left before the entrance to the quarry. Follow this trail until you reach a road, and follow it to the right for a few metres.
(12) At the crossroads, turn right towards Poleymieux. When you reach the Risler Tower, continue straight ahead, then turn left down Chemin de la Péronère until you reach the signpost "Chemin du Chêne alt. 433m".
(13) Then turn left onto the path signposted Riton. Cross the road and continue on this path, which passes several drystone shelters.
(14) At the end of the drystone shelter trail, follow the path downhill to the left, which turns into a small road and joins the D73. Follow this road to the left for a few metres.
(15) Then turn left onto Chemin des Carrières to reach Place de la Fontaine. Turn left onto Montée de l'Église to return to the starting point (S/E).
Be careful when descending along the Saint-Cyr road (after point 5 of the description and a little further on in the hike as well), the "narrow path that winds through a strip of forest" is littered with treacherous small stumps (the undergrowth was cut back to clear the path), which caused my companion to take a rather violent fall. 
Visorando member
Easy 
