La Dreyre hut via the small pass of Plan Collet

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I agree with the previous comments, i.e. it is better to follow the markings than the GPX track.
At km 7, the path had been washed away. All that remains is an unstable scree slope. We laboriously crossed it, roughly following the contour line, which was a mistake, as the path was about 20 metres higher up. I have reported this on Suricate and do not recommend this trail in its current state.

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Date of your route : Nov 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, the climb up to the small pass of Plan Collet is long, but perfectly signposted.
On the eve of December, not a flake of snow or slush in sight; south-facing. A very pleasant picnic at the Belle Roche hut, on a brand-new table; the shepherd’s hut is open and very welcoming, having been refurbished very recently by the shepherd and the Valbonnais town hall.
A very wild hike, with beautiful views of the Devoluy, the Bure Plateau, plenty of snow and the Obiou, across the entire Vercors range, the Grand Veymont and Mont Aiguille, and the Ecrins mountains, the Tabor and, of course, at the foot of the Coiro and the summit of La Cavale.
Be careful: before reaching point 6, there is a scree slope, and you must not cross it straight away; you must climb up. We crossed too early and had a very hard time in the forest and valley; fortunately, we found a hunters’ track.
So we didn’t see the Dreyre hut; we’ll go back there starting from Pechal.

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Date of your route : May 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Please note the route description carefully: follow the red and white markings and do not rely on the GPX file, which is completely incorrect. The hike is approximately 12 km long with 1,000 m of elevation gain (based on the average readings from our GPS devices)
However, there is a magnificent view from the balcony. The Cabane de Cote Belle or Belle Cote (depending on the guidebooks) is now closed, but there is a table and some new benches. Plan to stop for lunch here, as the Cabane de la Dreyre is of no interest.
The descent to Valbonnais is very pleasant and not at all strenuous

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Date of your route : Sep 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Good evening!
Completed today:
I think there’s a slight correction to be made to the route during the ascent. I don’t know why, but the IGN has placed a 90° bend on the GR50 at 1,650 metres from the start – a bend and steep climb that don’t actually exist – and then turns left towards the pass.
The path followed today is clearly marked in red and white, but it continues well below the author’s route after this bend, climbing up into the green area shown beneath the pass, above L’Espinasse, and reaching almost the elevation marked at 1,300 metres, finally arriving at the pass.
I have the GPX file from my watch available for the author. Incidentally, the watch shows 13.5 km and 1,200 m of elevation gain in just under 8 hours. The truth probably lies somewhere between our two sets of measurements.
We also crossed the Peyre stream further down, near the head of the Aiguille.

A difficult hike; the rating is spot on. But the view must be absolutely stunning from the ridges: hence the high rating!
Today there was mist at mid-altitude, snow (up to 30 cm in places) on the path from Montagne de la Peyre to the 1229-metre mark in the Combe de la Peyre, and broken branches—even tree trunks—on the descent route.
Wait a few days for the snow to melt and set off with a folding saw!!!
We hadn’t taken one, which was a shame. On the other hand, we had the crampons to put under our soles, which came in very handy!

It’s worth adding that the locals in Valbonnais are friendly and more than happy to share advice and stories about hiking. It was brilliant!

Thanks to visorandonneur for this suggestion

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It should have been made clear not to rely on the sign for the Dreyre hut, as it actually leads to abandoned paths. Sorry, Mr NONOLEROBOT!

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What’s the point of going to the trouble of writing a guide if you’re just going to ignore it? On the map, you can see that the route climbs up to Plan Collet. It seemed obvious to me that you have to reach that point (altitude 1,356 m) on the map.

After that, if you turn off before then and take abandoned paths, that’s a choice.

But does that really give Mr ZANCUDO the right to write that the description and the route on the map are unreliable, and that the route is disappointing? I wonder.

But such is life.

Happy hiking to you all.

Nonolerobot.

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Date of your route : Aug 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

After a pleasant climb through the woods, we headed towards the Dreyre hut, 700 metres before the Col de Plan Collet. What followed was a rather unpleasant stretch – should we have carried on to the small pass instead of turning off here? We didn’t see a single hut; all we encountered were brambles and nettles!

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Date of your route : Sep 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk, very interesting, with beautiful forests; a nice spot for a picnic at the Belle Roche hut; we went a bit astray at the start by following the GR, but it didn’t matter – we got back on the right track near Bourchany;

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Date of your route : Aug 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I did this walk again with a group, going in the opposite direction to the description (anti-clockwise)
Perhaps it’s more comfortable, but just as interesting.
Nonolerobot.

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