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Park in the free municipal car park near the Vénerque Eaux Vives water sports centre.
(You can also reach this location by train, on the Toulouse - La Tour de Carol line, getting off at Vénerque - Le Vernet station, 1.2 km from the car park.)
(S/E) Take the footbridge over the Hyse. Head towards the tennis courts, then go up the tarmac road and turn right.
(1) Take the Sentier de l'Europe path on the left, which will quickly take you to the top of the hill.
Go to the panoramic table and enjoy the view of the fortified church of Vénerque, the Ariège plain and, if they are there, the Pyrenees. Continue along the edge of the cliff, then take the grassy path on the right.
This path will take you to a paved road. Turn left.
(2) Turn left onto the path, which is paved at the start. Do not turn right onto the marked trail, but continue straight ahead on the path (communal path, known as Chemin de Crouzille) that follows the ridge.
After the last house, this path, now grassy, will take you to the cliff overlooking the Ariège valley and the ramps of Vénerque and Clermont. 360° view of the plain, the village of Clermont on its cliff and the last hillsides of the Lauragais.
When you reach the edge of the cliff, follow the well-marked path that branches off to the right and follows the edge of the cliff down to the plain.
(3) Continue straight ahead on the stony path towards the river. In summer, this path can be muddy in places due to the irrigation of the surrounding crops.
(4) At the river, turn right. The path is now marked all the way to the village of Clermont.
After the cultivated fields, the path crosses the Clermont communal woodland and passes close to waterfalls and several small beaches. In summer, the area takes on the air of a seaside resort. Except at the waterfalls, where swimming is prohibited, you may be tempted to take a dip in the cool water. Be extremely careful, as there are regular drownings, some of them fatal.
(5) Leave the ramier, cross the bridge over the Ruisseau de Notre Dame and climb up to the village via the marked botanical trail. The climb is short but quite steep. If the ground is very wet, you can reach the village via the tarmac road.
The trail leads to the magnificent fortified gate (in fact, it follows the location of the old barbican that protected the fortified gate).
(6) Turn left towards the panoramic orientation table and go around the village.
(7) When you reach the car park, take the path on the left, which is quite poorly marked at first, and which passes behind the abandoned house.
Please note: as clearly indicated on the sign posted there by the town hall, do not attempt to enter the abandoned site under any circumstances and stay within the boundaries of the cultivated field where you will be safe (if a tractor passes, you can pass too). This is a steep cliff and the edge, which is difficult to locate (risk of falling and a 20-metre drop), could collapse at any moment.
Follow the line of electricity poles, keeping them on your left. Atthe third pole, find the communal path below the embankment that connected the village of Clermont to the Fraysses district, which has been roughly cleared of brush.
Follow this path to the plain.
(8) Turn right and cross the Fraysses district, which was the old port on the Ariège. You will find a yellow-marked path which, from the centre of the hamlet, will take you to the Ariège.
Go through the gate and walk towards the river.
Before reaching the river, turn right and follow the bank to the bridge, where you will need to climb the embankment (path visible on the right) to cross to the other side of the river (you can continue straight ahead instead of turning at the barrier and take the main road, but it's less fun).
(9) On the other side of the bridge, either go down the steep embankment on the right (but mountain bikers do this) or continue on the main road and turn left, following the marked path that crosses the nature reserve (choice of route).
When you reach the tarmac road, do not turn right but go through the barrier and head towards Le Moulin. Continue along the path beside the Ariège river.
(10) Continue straight ahead along the riverbank and ignore the markings. Return to the tarmac road and walk alongside the market gardeners' greenhouses on Chemin du Moulin.
Turn left onto Rue de l'Ail and continue straight ahead to the church of Le Vernet, crossing a very open neighbourhood where the classification as a flood zone has blocked urbanisation.
Turn left onto Rue de l'Église (D19) and continue along Rue du Pont Vieux. Head towards the municipal halls and follow Avenue du 8 Mai 1945, which crosses the green area along the riverbank.
(11) Go to the bridge, cross the river, turn left at the restaurant "La Plage" and return to the car park where you started (S/E).
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