Charavines circuit via the Croix des Cochettes

It was a pleasant walk, mostly through the woods, looking for chestnuts in season. However, the return journey involved a fairly long stretch of tarmac road.

Details

389387
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.91 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 350 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 357 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 720 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 494 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Colletière car park on the edge of Lake Paladru.

(S/E) At the car park exit, turn right onto Route de Louisias and begin a steep climb to reach the crossroads of a wide track.

(1) Turn left onto this very stony track. At the next crossroads, stay on the left-hand track. Cross the Bois des Sarres. Walk along a clearing for a short while before reaching the asphalt crossroads at Petit-Bilieu.

(2) Turn right uphill onto the good path that leads to Grand Bois and then to Bilieu stadium.

(3) Begin a steep climb through the Bois des Bruyères woods and reach the large crossroads at Croix des Cochettes.

(4) Continue straight ahead on the wide path downhill to Les Habits, reaching the crossroads with the path leading to the hamlet of Bozon. Turn right and rejoin the tarmac road, following it to the right to reach the hamlet of Clermont.

(5) Follow the yellow markings (note that they are very faint) and the road signs. At the first crossroads, head towards Louisias. Pass in front of the beautiful farm of the same name and continue on to the initial crossroads.

(1) Descend via the same route to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 507 m - Colletière car park. Near the - Fure (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.86 - alt. 552 m - Crossroads
  3. 2 : km 2.94 - alt. 549 m - Petit Bilieu - Lac de Paladru
  4. 3 : km 3.75 - alt. 655 m - Bilieu Stadium
  5. 4 : km 4.19 - alt. 720 m - The Croix des Cochettes
  6. 5 : km 6.34 - alt. 566 m - Clermont
  7. S/E : km 8.91 - alt. 507 m - Colletière car park

Notes

A glance at the map reveals a few springs along the route, but we did not seek them out during our outing.
This group outing took place on a hunting day. Signs indicating this were clearly visible, warning everyone (hunters and hikers) to be vigilant. We met a hunter with whom we exchanged pleasantries.

Worth a visit

Of course, a visit to Lake Paladru is a must.
There is also a water factory nearby that is unique in that it has two different colours, known as Chartreuse waters.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 6832583

One observation: the signage at the football stadium is confusing. The sign is placed on a central post at a fork in the road. We took the wrong path and after a long time with no way out, we had to turn back.

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User 6832583

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

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Tinou74150
Tinou74150

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Carry out in very hot weather. Follow the directions carefully as the signage is poor in the area.
Beautiful views of the lake.

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Hibiscussafi
Hibiscussafi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

pleasant, varied route, with a bit of road travel, however

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TENTO
TENTO

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

i completed the circuit, starting at 7 a.m. At that time of day, there were very few people around. Beautiful views of Lake Charavines

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P@trick
P@trick

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A family hike offering beautiful views of the lake.

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rambaud chantal
rambaud chantal

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did it in reverse so that we would have the paved section at the start and in the shade. This way, we had a beautiful view of the lake from the Croix des Cochettes.

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ma.ge.26.38
ma.ge.26.38

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Error when travelling to the start by car

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Luhu
Luhu

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, varied hike with wonderful views of Lake Paladru. The hike does not present any technical difficulties, and anyone concerned about the incline should simply allow a little more time for the walk. Unfortunately, there is only one bench on the hike (at Croix des Cochettes) that invites you to take a break.

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grangeruy
grangeruy

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

explanations about the routes were not very clear, lack of direction.

a shame, but luckily we had printed out the route.

otherwise, a lovely walk

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michele 01
michele 01

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

i followed the additional notes provided by clairem38, which were very useful. To avoid returning by road, I followed mountain bike trail no. 6 (in the opposite direction to the signposts), which I came across at the Croix des Cochettes and which took me back to Charavines via a slightly longer but much more pleasant route than the tarmac road.It took me 3 hours, not including stops.

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clairem38
clairem38

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant route, alternating between woods (welcome in this heat!), views of the lake and countryside. A few steep slopes, but no particular difficulties (well, a few aches and pains for this first walk of the season!!!). However, we were rather disappointed by the description, which was less clear than usual. When setting off from the car park (which is not called Colletière), it is best to have your phone or a GPS to find the road to Louisias, as you first have to go up the Arondières climb. I think this is worth adding. the same goes for "Turn left onto this very stony track": there is a track on the left, but it is grassy. The stony track is more in the centre and, more importantly, it is marked with a yellow cross... We stood there for a long time, puzzled by this fork in the road (and so you have to go through this barrier... but it would have been useful to have more precise information). The arrival at Petit Bilieu is also unclear. When you start the paved section, there is a first intersection, but it is not the right one (thank goodness for the phone's GPS!), so you have to take the second one. I've always been very happy with Visorando's descriptions, but this time I must admit we complained a lot, and luckily we had the map, but above all the GPS!

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valy38
valy38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely view of the lake and a mostly shaded path... We started from the Bois d'Amour, which meant we could dip our feet in the water on the way back, so we did the walk in the opposite direction.

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POTAUFEUX Thierry
POTAUFEUX Thierry

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Magnificent views of Lake Paladru. A hike that is anything but monotonous. We had a blast!
The Croix des Cochettes is only of interest as a landmark.

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J2C-69
J2C-69

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello, This was my first time using Visorando, and I found it to be a very interactive application.

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