Circular Petit Cornillon route via La Débite

A lovely hike with a big climb up the ridge of the valley. Return via the Vallon de Fontvieille (as it is known), where the lush vegetation makes you forget that you are in the Étoile massif.

Details

2096353
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.52 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 336 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 337 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 615 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 319 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Allauch (13190)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.379066° / E 5.482839°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3145ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Parking: Chemin de Mimet, slightly north of the "Provence Nemrod" shooting range.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, take the path that leaves between the two tracks and follow it to thefirst intersection. Leave the path that branches off to the left. Continue on the path heading north until you see the Jas de Mimet.

(1) Continue north on the narrowing path until you reach a Y-shaped fork with a cairn on the right.

(2) This is where the path leading to the top of the Vallon du Petit Cornillon begins. From this fork, the path is no longer marked on the map. A few green dots have stood the test of time and cairns guide us on our way. The path is still visible, however. Pay attention to the terrain and the route during this ascent to the top of the Crêtes.

(3) Once you reach the highest point of the ridges, begin the descent towards the electricity pylon that can be seen to the north. Descend a short but steep passage to reach the trail, using your hands at times, and follow the trail towards the pylon.

(4) A few dozen metres before the pylon, turn west. Follow the slightly stony path to reach a crossroads.

(5) Leave the path heading north and turn south into the Vallon de Fontvielle. Continue along a path that follows a stream down into the valley, still heading south. After about 300 metres, leave the path heading north-west and continue south to reach the "Vieille Fontaine" 150 metres further on.

(6) Climb a few dozen metres to the right to see the source of the "Vieille Fontaine", then continue downhill along the stream that leads to La Débite.

(7) From La Débite, follow the asphalt road to reach the car park. You can also take the small paths that run alongside this road and avoid the asphalt (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 331 m - Lou Limas car park
  2. 1 : km 0.89 - alt. 369 m - Jas de Mimet
  3. 2 : km 1.89 - alt. 388 m - Cairn at the start of the trail
  4. 3 : km 2.97 - alt. 615 m - High point of the ridges
  5. 4 : km 3.37 - alt. 549 m - Electric pylon
  6. 5 : km 3.98 - alt. 456 m - Fork in the road heading due south
  7. 6 : km 4.44 - alt. 406 m - Old Fountain
  8. 7 : km 6.28 - alt. 319 m - La Débite
  9. S/E : km 7.51 - alt. 331 m - Lou Limas car park

Notes

To climb the ridges, you will need to navigate a little by sight on this path, which is nevertheless marked by cairns and a few green dots that have stood the test of time.
This climb requires sure footing and the use of your hands on certain sections, which explains its difficult rating.
Be careful of slipping in the Fontvieille valley, which follows the course of the river.

Worth a visit

The climb up to the ridges offers panoramic views of Marseille and reveals some superb rock formations.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
patrick55
patrick55

Thank you for this feedback, which will be useful to visitors.

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Christian1
Christian1

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A route that is not too difficult for an average hiker, but not suitable for children. The trail markers are no longer green but blue, and there are enough of them that you won't lose your way! The route description is perfect, with just one addition: when you turn right to take the valley on the way back, look up towards the east and admire the rock known as the King's Tomb.

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medaral
medaral

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 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 beautiful hike in the wild Provençal countryside.

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Pluc
Pluc

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, mostly on narrow paths, sometimes quite wild, but easy to follow, whereas the marked routes of the Chaîne de l'Etoile mostly follow firebreaks.
In terms of difficulty, I would rate it as "moderate": there is only one very short and not particularly difficult section on the descent towards the pylon where you need to use your hands.

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XJaco
XJaco

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good trip. To be repeated another day when the opportunity arises...

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MAR13
MAR13

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful route offering breathtaking views. It is a little-used trail that makes a nice change from the usual routes. On the descent, starting from the spring and due to recent rains, we found a lot of water, which highlighted this usually dry trail. We really enjoyed it. Thank you.

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Netra
Netra ★

I no longer contribute because I was refused a hike because the route had not been drawn by hand.

Hello,

We do not refuse hikes because the route has not been drawn by hand! Most of the hikes offered provide a GPS track; hand-drawn routes are in the minority.

What we may refuse are GPS tracks that have not been reworked after uploading. Even if you are convinced that your equipment is the best for recording a track, there may be errors. The most common errors are clusters of points linked to stops (and continuous recording) and unexplained deviations (distances travelled for a toilet break, navigation errors, etc.). It is therefore always necessary to rework a GPS track. Unedited GPS tracks that we refuse are really difficult to read (on PDF or smartphone) and lead to inaccurate estimates of distances and elevation changes.

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patrick55
patrick55

Hello,
I apologise, but I don't understand everything.
1 The trace was made in the field and presented as is...
2 Disputes are dealt with face to face or in a forum... Indeed, there are some opinions that should not be here...
Kind regards
Patrick

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grandin
grandin ★

Well, I suggest we try the experiment again...

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FAUREMaurice
FAUREMaurice

Hello,

This is new!
I'm no longer contributing because I was refused a hike because the route hadn't been drawn by hand.
However, my GPX track was clear because it was a hike I often do.

Kind regards

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grandin
grandin ★

FAUREMaurice

We do not require that tracks be drawn by hand! Most of our contributors upload their GPS tracks directly. We only insist that authors check their tracks to avoid clusters of points that could obscure details.

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FAUREMaurice
FAUREMaurice

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful route, well shaded in its lower section (there and back) and wild in the steep section.
I don't think the "Difficult" rating is justified, even if some sections are tricky to negotiate (a small climb and rocky outcrops). The ascent is relatively short for an average hiker.
I regret that the GPX track, as is often the case with Visorando, which requires tracks to be recorded "by hand", is imprecise at the most delicate points. It is easy to lose the track, which is not obvious.
Many thanks anyway for this beautiful route.

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