The Cousteilles and Serre Stream route starting from Prades-d’Aubrac

de fr

This walk follows paths leading to a few cow pastures. The starting village, Prades-d’Aubrac, takes its name from the Occitan word ‘prados’, meaning meadow. The path leading to the Prades mill still bears the marks in the stone left by the wheels of carts.

Details

n°3075871
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 2.24 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 331 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 331 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,923 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,618 ft
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

The Puech de Barry seen from the path

Description of the walk

Park in the square opposite the church at Prades-d’Aubrac.

(S/E) As you leave the square, turn right to head back up the D19 towards the village exit. After the hairpin bend, you’ll come to a Y-junction marked by a cross.

(1) Turn left onto the small road towards Les Cousteilles. You’ll arrive at the hamlet.

(2) Turn left to follow the road to the junction at the Ferme du Serre.

(3) Continue along the road, leaving the Ferme du Serre on your right, and carry on along the path opposite which leads down towards the stream.
About 100 m further on, veer left to head down towards the Serre stream. Cross the stream: be careful, as the crossing can be difficult after heavy rain. After the stream, follow the path back up to the road and turn left. You’ll reach a Y-shaped junction, also marked by a stone cross.

(4) Take the road on the right, walk alongside the cemetery, and continue along the road to reach the car park at Prades Church (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,851 ft - Car park opposite the church at Prades-d’Aubrac
  2. 1 : mi 0.29 - alt. 2,923 ft - Crossroads towards Cousteilles
  3. 2 : mi 0.67 - alt. 2,759 ft - Les Cousteilles
  4. 3 : mi 1.03 - alt. 2,749 ft - Serre Farm junction
  5. 4 : mi 1.81 - alt. 2,746 ft - Crossroads with stone cross
  6. S/E : mi 2.24 - alt. 2,851 ft - Car park opposite the church at Prades-d’Aubrac

Notes

(4) Alternative route: take the road on the left, which joins the outward route at the hairpin bend on the D19; turn right to reach the car park (S/E).

Worth a visit

The 16th-century Church of Saint-Laurent in Prades-d’Aubrac.

Reviews and comments

3.4 / 5
Based on 3 reviews
Reliability of the description
3.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
3 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
User 5772222

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short, easy circular loop.
However, between points 3 and 4, do not turn left through the meadows. Simply carry on straight ahead, passing a beautiful house on the right, and you’ll come to a path that leads to the stream.

Machine-translated

adouche
adouche

There is no need to climb over barbed wire fences for this hike; simply take the path on the left at the end of the mill road, which leads directly down to the Serre stream.

Machine-translated

CLA30
CLA30

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The route includes many tarmac roads. It should be noted that after point 3, the description is "turn left to descend towards the Serre stream", it seems necessary to add: open a passage in the barbed wire and cross a field with no tracks on the ground, descending towards the stream, which you will need to cross. You will need to open a second passage in the barbed wire to find the path on the other bank.

Machine-translated

Nikytal
Nikytal

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

Hello
We went for a walk after lunch in Prades d’Aubrac, where there’s a very nice restaurant.
It was perfect as a post-lunch stroll and shorter than the 5-hour PR walk around Prades (which looks stunning).
The only downside is that it’s very difficult to find the spot where you can head down to the stream… we ended up walking across a pasture, climbing over barbed-wire fences twice.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Walking Cerf route in the Lot and Boraldes Valley

Visorando Member
Circuit du Cerf dans la Vallée du Lot et des Boraldes
↔9.72 mi ↗+2,096 ft ↘-2,100 ft ◔6h 20 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Castelnau-de-Mandailles (Aveyron)
This circular, which is very varied in every respect, is a wonderful way to discover the limestone plateaus, chestnut groves and pastures of the Lot valley. It offers views and passages through remarkable villages and hamlets.

Walking The Grandes Solitudes circular starting from Les Mazes.

Visorando Member
La boucle des Grandes Solitudes au départ des Mazes
↔10.96 mi ↗+1,847 ft ↘-1,857 ft ◔6h 40 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Aurelle-Verlac (Aveyron)
Grandes Solitudes is in fact a continuation of the PR®6 "Solitudes" route in the Chamina guidebook, but with an extension. The lower part of Solitude in the Chamina guidebook is impassable. The route starts from Les Mazes heading north, then gradually follows the drovers' road and soon, with your head increasingly in the sky, you will gain 300 metres in altitude and enjoy sumptuous panoramic views. The return journey follows the Mardonenque boralde (small river).

Walking Mardonenque Stream circular loop

Visorando Member
Boucle du Ruisseau de Mardonenque
↔7.39 mi ↗+2,152 ft ↘-2,152 ft ◔5h 15 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Aurelle-Verlac (Aveyron)
The commune of Aurelle-Verlac is a vast, south-facing, sloping plateau covering 55 square kilometres, overlooking the Lot valley. To explore it, here is a circular route starting from Verlac which passes through Les Mazes, Naves, Le Cros, Les Recostes and finally Les Fessouyres.

Walking Le Mandialou from Verlac

Visorando Member
Le Mandialou au départ de Verlac
↔5.80 mi ↗+787 ft ↘-768 ft ◔3h 20 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Aurelle-Verlac (Aveyron)
Aurelle is a sanctuary of rural life. It has a 13th-century chapel, a communal bread oven, a few houses, a garden and a mill. This village offers threePR®1,PR®2andPR®3hikes. This description applies toPR®2.

Walking The Bois des Hourciéres by Aurelle

Visorando Member
Le Bois des Hourciéres par Aurelle
↔10.05 mi ↗+1,926 ft ↘-1,896 ft ◔6h 20 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Aurelle-Verlac (Aveyron)
In Verlac, three circular routes (PR®1,PR®2andPR®3) all pass through Aurelle and follow the same path up to that point. These three hikes will dazzle you in spring with the extremely rich flora of the Aubrac meadows and in autumn with the combination of brown, yellow and orange colours of its forests.

Walking The Escoudats woods

Visorando Member
Le bois des Escoudats
↔4.83 mi ↗+719 ft ↘-709 ft ◔2h 50 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Aurelle-Verlac (Aveyron)
In Verlac, three circularPR®1,PR®2andPR®3loops all pass through Aurelle and follow the same route up to that point. These three hikes will dazzle you in spring with the extremely rich flora of the Aubrac meadows and in autumn with the combinations of brown, yellow and orange in its forests.

Walking The Roman road in Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac

Visorando Member
La voie romaine à Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac
↔5.16 mi ↗+1,063 ft ↘-1,073 ft ◔3h 20 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac (Aveyron)
A very pleasant hike, starting in the shade of hazelnut and ash trees. Then, on the Roman road, you will encounter the beautiful Aubrac cows (in season) with superb views of the Lot valley. Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac is a stop on the Way of St James and its bridge is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the title "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France".

Walking Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac – Nasbinals

Visorando Member
Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac - Nasbinals
↔10.19 mi ↗+1,962 ft ↘-732 ft ◔6h 25 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac (Aveyron)
This fourth stage follows theGR® 65 Way of St James in reverse; it is one of the most beautiful stages of the route, listed in its entirety as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a steady, shaded climb, the path crosses the Aubrac plateaus, passing through the exceptional site of Aubrac.

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.