Route des Combes in Saint-Just

A varied walk. First, you walk across the plain, along a stream on the edge of a poplar forest. Then you walk through the valleys, on the hillside with some views of the Pilat and Lyonnais mountains.

Details

6860090
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.40 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 233 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 224 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 363 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 218 m

Description of the walk

(S/E) Start from the central car park, near the primary school and the pharmacy. Walk up Rue du 8 Mai 1945 towards the hill, with your back to the plain. At the first crossroads, turn left, against the one-way system, onto Rue du Bicentenaire (signposted). Follow this road until you reach the Maison Pour Tous community centre and Moudru Park. Go around the MPT on the left.

(1) You will see the sign for "Parc Moudru - alt. 255m". Turn left towards the plain. When you reach a stop sign, cross the road carefully and turn right, then take the first left into Impasse du Pan Perdu. When this road turns left, continue straight ahead on a dirt track.

(2) Before reaching the stream, climb up a sort of embankment on the right. You will see the Sévenne on your left and the Danone factory fences on your right (the view of the whole area gives you an idea of the "farm-fresh" nature of the products...).

(3) You will come to a crossroads. There is a small stone bridge on your left. Continue straight ahead on a straight, stony path (Chemin du Moulin). It continues to run alongside the Sévenne.

(4) Leave the wide path, which turns to the right, leaving the stream behind. Leave the yellow markings and take a more discreet path opposite. It turns sharply to the left at a hunting platform, then returns along the Sévenne on the right. After quite a long time, it turns right, then very quickly left. Ignore a path coming from the left to reach a crossroads.

(5) You will see a sign for "Le Marais alt. 219m" and a bench. Turn left to cross the plain again towards the hill to the north.

Yellow markings

Cross the D36 again and take Chemin de Grévillières opposite.
Soon, the tarmac gives way to a grassy path that climbs gently towards the hill.

(6) You will arrive at a small paved area. You will see the sign for "La Lombardière - alt. 270m". Continue climbing opposite on the grassy path towards "Les Cures". Continue until your path makes a sharp left turn and leads to a small asphalt road. Turn left onto this road. When it leads to a house on the left, continue straight ahead on a dirt track (you will still see the yellow markings confirming you are on the right track). You will come to a small road, which you should take on the left.

(7) A little further on, take a path on the right that descends between two low walls enclosing houses (one of which is numbered 799). Ignore a path on the left. Walk up a very long valley. Towards the middle of the valley, at a fork, take the right-hand branch.

(8) After a while, you will come out onto a small road. On the left, there is a very inviting concrete bench. On the right, a sign indicates that you are in the Luzinay ACCA territory. Opposite, you have a view of the Mions and Chaponnay plain. Turn left. A little further on, take the first path on the right. It will descend steeply (but as usual... you will have to climb back up what you have descended later...). You will come to a path and take it on the right. After a sharp left turn, you will come to a small road, which you take on the left.

(9) At a T-junction, you will see a sign for "Les Cures - alt. 265m". Turn right towards "Les Combes". Stay on this small road, ignoring any turnings on the right or left.

(10) You will come to another small road. You will see a sign for "Les Combes - alt. 291m". Turn right. When you reach a fork, turn right (you will see a post box on a post). The tarmac gives way to a grassy path. Ignore another grassy path on the left.

(11) You will come to a track leading to a water tower covered in antennas. Turn left onto it. You will come to a small tarmac road. Turn left, then very quickly turn right. Go down a small road (not very pleasant) until you reach the bottom of the valley.

End of the markings

(12) Before a bridge, take the path on the right. You will now leave the yellow markings. Very quickly, leave the path and take the trail on the left that follows what is supposed to be a stream. You will come out onto a small road at a bend. Turn left. Go downhill until you reach the main road.

(13) Cross the main road immediately and turn right. Take great care as traffic travels quite fast and the verges are narrow. Stay on the left-hand side of the road in relation to the traffic. If you are in a group, walk in single file. It is 500 m before you reach the village of Saint-Just. After the sign indicating this, ignore a path that descends to the left. At the crossroads, turn left to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 246 m - Central car park in St-Just-Chaleyssin
  2. 1 : km 0.37 - alt. 252 m - Sign: Parc Moudru, altitude 255 m
  3. 2 : km 1.19 - alt. 232 m - Arrival at the - Sévenne (rivière)
  4. 3 : km 1.64 - alt. 230 m - Small stone bridge on the left
  5. 4 : km 2.46 - alt. 225 m - End of yellow markings
  6. 5 : km 3.88 - alt. 219 m - Sign Le Marais alt. 219m
  7. 6 : km 4.93 - alt. 246 m - Sign La Lombardière alt. 270 m
  8. 7 : km 5.51 - alt. 312 m - Path on the right between two houses
  9. 8 : km 7.05 - alt. 346 m - Concrete bench on the left
  10. 9 : km 8.31 - alt. 261 m - Sign Les Cures alt. 265m
  11. 10 : km 9.12 - alt. 282 m - Sign Les Combes altitude 291m
  12. 11 : km 10.58 - alt. 363 m - Water tower path
  13. 12 : km 11.87 - alt. 262 m - Path on the right before the bridge
  14. 13 : km 12.71 - alt. 251 m - D36a
  15. S/E : km 13.4 - alt. 247 m - Central car park

Notes

The walk starts in Saint-Just-Chaleyssin, a small village in the north-west of the Isère department.

There is a large car park in the centre of the village, close to various shops.

Almost the entire walk is marked in yellow (with the exception of one section in the plain and another at the end of the walk).

Half of the route is on dirt tracks and half on small tarmac roads. Please note that at the end of the walk, there is a 500 m (10 min) stretch along a departmental road. On this section, you must follow the safety rules: walk on the left-hand side of the road, facing the traffic, and, if you are in a group, walk in single file.

Worth a visit

The Saint-Just plain with its numerous poplar woods, along a stream: the Sévenne.
Once on the hillside, there are some views to the west over the Pilat and Lyonnais mountains.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
3.9 / 5
philmomi
philmomi

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

A hike whose main attraction is a beautiful view of the Alps on a small section of the route. The rest of the route is less interesting, with relatively long stretches of tarmac road, paths that run alongside a food factory, then parallel to a secondary road, and the end of the route on the secondary road that leads back to the starting point. In short, a hike that is worth a detour... (a real )

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BV61
BV61

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The start of the hike to point 3 is the least interesting, then there are varied paths and pleasant trails
in the woods. The descent is a little slippery due to the rain, but with walking sticks it's fine. There's a bit of road at the end. At point 13, keep to the left, as the verges are narrow and you need to watch out for traffic.

At point 6, take the small road to the right, not the left.
At point 8, the sign is no longer there.

Easy hike to follow with the description and the app
Thank you.

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CADEL
CADEL

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

At signpost no. 6: the small asphalt road. Take it on the right, not on the left.
At signpost no. 10: the post box no longer exists. Just follow the yellow markings.

Otherwise, it's a lovely walk. Not too much tarmac.

Thank you.

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TineDo
TineDo
• Edited:

We just forgot to mention in our previous review that we did not see 'the post box on a post' at point 10.

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TineDo
TineDo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A peaceful hike EXCEPT for the VERY SLIPPERY descents when the ground is wet after rain; the soil is clayey, so very slippery, especially with dead leaves on top.
At the start, a fairly long walk on flat ground, windy that day. Then very pleasant trails and paths on the edge of the forest.
We were lucky enough to see five deer on the path up the Combe (between 7 and 8).
At point 8, there is a bench which is a nice place to stop for a picnic halfway along the route. (It's a shame that a pile of rubble spoils the place!!). Beautiful view of Pilat, the Monts du Lyonnais and the Alps.
Be careful not to make a mistake (which we did) at point 4: we continued to follow the "wide path that turns to the right" and therefore arrived at point 5 - the Le Marais sign and the bench where it says to turn left - from the right, which meant that we had to turn right to cut across the D36. (We realised our mistake later when we looked more closely at the route, so nostra culpa!).
Very clear and precise description.
We didn't see anyone on this public holiday, so there was no traffic on the departmental road at the end of the route either.

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Gerard.REYNAUD
Gerard.REYNAUD

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nothing extraordinary, but a pleasant and varied route, no difficulties, accessible to all!

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Tim
Tim

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The hills of the Viennese Balmes are not necessarily the first place that comes to mind for a walk.
I don't know if it's the best part of the region, but I was pleasantly surprised without it being anything spectacular.
The first 3-4 kilometres, between the industrial zone and the forest at the bottom of Saint Juste, aren't the most interesting, and I was even sceptical.

From La Lombardiere and the climb up to Luzinay, you discover a more pleasant landscape and trails. Pilat is visible in the distance before you enter forest trails that seem to me to be very little used. From this section onwards, you can enjoy the silence and calm. The valleys also give the impression of being more cut off from the rest.

The last 5 kilometres offer superb views of Lyon, the Monts D'Or, the Monts du Lyonnais... You feel far away from all the hustle and bustle. I didn't get to see the Alps as the weather was grey in the east.

The conclusion on the heights of Saint Just offers a pleasant view of the Dauphiné hills and the church of Saint Just.

A pleasant surprise, as I wasn't expecting much.

Please note: this is a relatively urbanised area with quite a few houses (some of which are very nice, by the way) and therefore... quite a few dogs.

But you'll be alone (I didn't meet a single person).

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PASCANNIE
PASCANNIE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, lovely walk, very well signposted and good, very precise explanations. Great variety of paths and places visited. Highly recommended!

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Hello,
I have looked at my copy again and cannot find the disputed section. Could you please provide more details? Thank you in advance.
Yannick

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terrafirma
terrafirma

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Well-described and well-marked route: one error detected at the end of the route, where it says to turn right instead of left. After a rather uninspiring first section with somewhat damaged natural surroundings, the route passes through pleasant, wooded areas.

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masdelaraz38
masdelaraz38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did the route backwards, which was a conscious choice and didn't cause us any problems. The directions and changes of direction are clear and precise. We were able to admire the Lyon plain and even saw the famous pencil. A few climbs didn't discourage us. There are two concrete benches along the route, ideal for those who want to have a family picnic. Given the rain that had fallen earlier in the week, some sections were quite muddy, but nothing prohibitive. A very nice walk on this public holiday, thanks to the author.

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gilbert.agnes@orange.fr
gilbert.agnes@orange.fr

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

lovely paths and quiet little roads

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