Vercors: Circular Central trail, via the GR®91 and Bacha de l'Ours

This hike combines two Visorandonneurs routes and part ofthe GR®91. Starting with the central trail and ending with Bacha de l'Ours, it seems easier. You can discover the splendidGR®91from south to north over a short distance to gauge your ability to go further.

Details

127730
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 17.27 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 569 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 569 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,655 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,285 m

Photos

Description of the walk

You arrive by car from Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors via the Pré-Rateau forest road. After the hollowed-out tree trunk serving as drinking trough, park as best you can. Respect nature but leave room for others to pass.

(S/E) At elevation 1308 on the map, just after the Hollowed-out Tree Trunk Forest Hut, 30 metres after the hairpin bend, you will find a path leading uphill marked "sentier central" "Gresse en Vercors 5h00".
Follow the path uphill and look for the yellow-green markings through the woods and a small clearing. There is no ambiguity in this first part.

(1) You will come out onto the forest road again. Turn left and climb for 300 metres, passing two bends, one sharp right-hand bend and then a wide left-hand bend, until you reach an even wider esplanade. On your right, you will see the entrance to the path marked by the sign "sentier central" "Gresse en Vercors".

(2) Leave the forest road (signposted "Le Grand Larve 1420m") and turn right onto the trail, following the yellow-green markings of the central trail towards Gresse en Vercors (5 or 7 hours' walk!!). Don't worry, you won't be going that far!

(3) After about 800 m, you will come to a T-junction with two paths: turn right, the green-yellow markings are slightly hidden under a tree. You may feel like you are going backwards, but this is not the case.

(4) After 1,500 metres, you will arrive at the Tiolache clearing, where there is another fork: turn right. The markings are not very visible because they are on a lone tree 30 metres ahead of you (if you turn left, you will reach a dead end at Tiolache). Continue along the path, which is easy to follow, under the trees and past some unusual-looking stone hills (never seen anything like them anywhere else).

(5) After 5.5 km from the starting point, you will cross theGR®91at Clapes de Cognaux (1588 m) with signposts in all directions and white-red markings, of course. Turn left to return, towards Corrençon (5 hours 20 minutes and 17.3 km - the direction is indicated on the back of the sign).

Climb up a hill (La Tête de Cognaux), walk over the worn stones and follow the sparse red and white paint markings and stone cairns placed every 10 metres.
Check your position periodically with the map, as the path sometimes disappears and does not appear to be marked, and the stones are well worn by walkers. You need to be careful. There are signposts at strategic points.

(6) At the entrance to the Erges Canyon, you will find yourself in a new, very enclosed landscape. Once you have passed the canyon, the landscape opens up and you will arrive at a plain (the Pot du Play) with a wide forest path on the left: the Bacha de l'Ours (Bacha can be translated as trough, drinking trough, pond, etc.).

(7) Leave theGR®91at "Pot du Play" by turning left onto the Bacha de l'Ours forest path and follow the signs for "Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors".

(8) At the end of the path on the other side, at a place called "Chargeoir du Grand Creux" (1350m), you will come to a new, even wider forest path. Turn left.
After 500m, the road ends and becomes a well-marked trail, then turns back into a forest road passing near pretty clearings. Follow this road for about 2.5km to find the sign for the central road at the start.

(2) Take a wide right turn, then a hairpin left turn, going downhill.

(1) 300 m after this landmark, turn right onto the path marked for the return to Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors. You will finally arrive at the forest road where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,316 m - Parking at the hollowed-out tree trunk serving as drinking trough
  2. 1 : km 0.98 - alt. 1,394 m - Forest road
  3. 2 : km 1.31 - alt. 1,414 m - Crossroads of the circular
  4. 3 : km 1.77 - alt. 1,410 m - Fourche
  5. 4 : km 3.17 - alt. 1,452 m - Tiolache clearing
  6. 5 : km 5.01 - alt. 1,590 m - GR91 trail junction
  7. 6 : km 7.86 - alt. 1,619 m - Entrance to the Erges Canyon
  8. 7 : km 10.69 - alt. 1,386 m - Entrance to Bacha de l'Ours
  9. 8 : km 11.78 - alt. 1,285 m - Exit from Bacha de l'Ours
  10. S/E : km 17.27 - alt. 1,316 m - Parking at the hollowed-out tree trunk serving as drinking trough

Notes

No water source, no shelter: the beginning of self-sufficiency?
The central trail is rarely marked and can sometimes be difficult to find. There are two forks where you need to be careful.
TheGR®91: you go from stone cairn to stone cairn without any red and white markings. Follow the wear on the stones and check your position on the map from time to time.
Walking sticks seem appropriate on theGR®91.
Hiking boots are essential.
Download the route in advance, as there is no mobile phone coverage on this part of the Vercors plateau.

As a reminder, the regulations of the Hauts-Plateaux du Vercors nature reserve impose the following main prohibitions:
- Dogs are prohibited, even on a leash
- Flying is prohibited within 300 metres (i.e. drones and paragliders are prohibited)
- Fires are prohibited
- Deliberately disturbing wildlife is prohibited (be careful not to disturb marmots and ibex, among others!)
- Picking is prohibited
- Camping is prohibited, but bivouacking is permitted from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Littering is prohibited (including in the shelters, which are open to all!)
These strict regulations are necessary to protect the species and environments that inhabit this wild and unspoilt area!

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

Nearby, consider spending some time in Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors, where the people are charming and welcoming. Lodges are available.

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 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
ARDECHOU
ARDECHOU

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant hike for covering distance, but it lacks scenic views.

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oponcin
oponcin

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Discover the high plateaus of Vercors in pictures: https://youtu.be/XLY3ST_uIKY

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randonneurfou89
randonneurfou89

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I had already done it with the sun... This time, wind and light rain... So no photos.

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hmgps
hmgps
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you to the author for this very well-documented route, no need to change a thing!
We did it on foot during our mountain biking holiday in La Chapelle, as mountain biking is prohibited in the reserve.
Slightly disappointed by its appeal, mind you, it is a very beautiful walk, but done after the exceptional one between the Col de Rousset and Rousset sur les Hauts Plateaux:
the diversity of the flora is remarkable, but the route is almost entirely in the forest, which means we miss out on the views of the Vercors.
Arrival at Tiolache le Bas, picnic, but the clearing is obscured by tall trees and we couldn't find the fountain marked on the map.
The Grand Creux viewpoint would benefit from some tree clearing, as the view is limited.

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skyppyy38360
skyppyy38360

Hello everyone, as the author, I have taken Isard38's comments into account and modified the description accordingly.

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Isard38
Isard38

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
Thank you Skyppyy for this hike in the exceptional setting of the integral biological reserve, whose biodiversity amazed us. Pure joy! We brought a guidebook to try to identify the flowers and butterflies, and had to keep an eye on the time so we could get back before nightfall!

We found the description less clear and precise than others by the same author. Perhaps add a few details and indicate the titles of the signs that correspond to changes in direction?

At point 2: Signpost "Le Grand Larve (1420m)", direction Gresse en Vercors 5h10, Sentier Central,
At point 3: No sign but a T-junction, no difficulty. Turn right.
At point 4 (about 1 hour's walk from the start): arrival at the Tiolache clearing, 1st fork: turn right to go around the meadow to the west, 2nd fork 100 m further on, do not turn left (cairns) but right (almost invisible paint marks on a rock on the ground). Did not see the stone hills mentioned in the description.
At point 5 (about 2.5 hours' walk from the start): arrival at "Clapes de Cognaux (1588m)", the directions indicated on the front of the post are Gresse en Vercors, Pré Peyret, La Chau. Please note: the direction you are looking for, Corrençon, 5 hours 20 minutes, is on the back of the sign. At this point, you will realise that there is a junction here and that you need to follow a path that is difficult to see in the vegetation, except for the cairn at its entrance.
At point 7: Pot du Play intersection, which is easy to miss: there are no signs or markings, except for a tree marked "21" and surrounded by a red line. (About 200 metres before this intersection, there is a small path that leads into the woods towards the south-west: do not take it.)
At point 8: "Chargeoir du Grand Creux (1350m) ": Intersection not mentioned in the description or on the map to date. Follow the direction of La Coche, Le Grand Larve, straight ahead, do not turn right.
At point 9: "Le Grand Larve (1420)", head towards the hollowed-out tree trunk serving as drinking trough
At point 10: "Piste of the hollowed-out tree trunk serving as drinking trough (1394m)"
Enjoy your walk!

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

no network, so don't rely on the Visorando app.

But yes! Because it is possible to make a map background available offline.

Making a map background available offline

https://www.visorando.com/article-rendre-...

See you soon

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montgaroult
montgaroult

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

No network, so don't rely on the Visorando app...
It might be useful to mention this in the description of the hikes (this one and all the others where "there's no signal").

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brigmaya
brigmaya

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, certainly long but without any real difficulties. It's really worth it. On this hot Sunday, we enjoyed the many passages through the woods to find some coolness and meeting families accompanied by donkeys. The views of the surrounding mountains are superb and the vegetation is wild. There are also beautiful flowers all along the trail.

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grenouille
grenouille

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful route that I personally rated 4 out of 5. The passage through the Erges Canyon is magnificent at this time of year with its lush greenery and a long bed of flowers, each one more beautiful than the last. No particular difficulties to note (the route is a little long but easy). One small downside: there are few viewpoints along this hike and, if travelling by car, the road to the starting point is very narrow for 6 km. But it's definitely worth it!

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pjposset
pjposset

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This hike will remain the most beautiful of our stay in the Vercors! THANK YOU
Do it in the direction indicated, as the Erges canyon must be very tiring going uphill!
The discovery of the Tête de Cognaux rocks will remain etched in our memories for a long time.
The flora is really very varied, as are the landscapes.

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