Lauzes route in Saint-Mélany

On this route, you will discover works of art, but also the use of slate in the construction of houses, paths and bridges. Don't hesitate to make a longer stop at Dompnac.
On the way back, after Merle, crossing the Sueille stream can sometimes be tricky, especially after heavy rain, and you may get wet.

Details

481130
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.67 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 596 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 596 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 756 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 373 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Cross the village of Saint-Mélany. Before Le Villard, park in the car park on the left in the bend.

(S/E) Head towards Le Villard and, at the crossroads, take the tarmac road down to the right. Follow the white-yellow markings. At the end of the road, continue along the path that passes above the houses (stone walls and slate roofs)

(1) At the "l'Eyrolle" mast, turn left towards Dompnac and Saint-Régis via theGR® de Pays "Le Cévenol" trail, marked in yellow and red.
Pass through the hamlet of Eyrolles, cross the access road above to take the Sentier des Lauzes with its works of art.

600 metres after crossing the road, a series of carved stone slabs set into the low wall on the right invite you to follow them. You will need to return to their starting point to continue along the marked trail, which descends towards the stream on the right as you return (on the left if you have not descended).
There are other works of art to discover along the way. Continue towards Buissière, following the markings.
After Buissière, the trail becomes a path; leave it at the first hairpin bend and take a path on the right towards Le Vernet.

(2) At the "Le Vernet" mast, turn left towards Dompnac. At the road above the Adreyt, turn left and then take the path on the right. Follow the GRP® markings. Join a wide path near Le Travers and follow it to the right. At the fork, turn left and keep left at the next junction. 50 metres further on, turn right onto the path.

(3) At the Grimal cross, continue right on the forest road to the Saint-Régis Chapel. 100 metres after the chapel, take the tarmac road on the left.

(4) At the "La Croix des Lèbres" mast, take the white-yellow marked path down to the left towards Dompnac. Beautiful paved slanting street path, sometimes with a balcony view.

(5) At the "Le Théron" mast, head straight ahead towards Dompnac. In Dompnac, take the tarmac road that passes in front of the school and church. Continue downhill towards the bridge over the Sueille stream.
400m after the bridge, leave the road and take the path ascending to the right, following the markings. The path continues between the houses of Lachamp de Merle (lodge) and then descends towards Merle. Take the road on the right and cross the hamlet.

(6) After the last house, follow the white-yellow marked trail that descends to the left under the road.
Cross a first stream 30 metres before the Ruisseau de Sueille.

(7) This is a ford that can be tricky after heavy rain. The trail continues downstream on the left bank.
Follow the markings. This trail climbs steeply before descending gently to the hamlet of La Coste.
Follow the tarmac road to the D420.

(8) Continue left uphill towards the village of Saint-Mélany, cross it and continue to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 465 m - Car park Info-Rando sign. Near the - Drobie (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.93 - alt. 437 m - "L'Eyrolle" hiking mast
  3. 2 : km 2.84 - alt. 467 m - "Le Vernet" hiking mast
  4. 3 : km 4.39 - alt. 736 m - Croix de Grimal
  5. 4 : km 6 - alt. 699 m - "La Croix des Lèbres" hiking signpost
  6. 5 : km 7.7 - alt. 551 m - "Le Théron" hiking mast
  7. 6 : km 10.07 - alt. 537 m - Merle hamlet
  8. 7 : km 11.09 - alt. 389 m - Fording the Sueille river
  9. 8 : km 13.66 - alt. 420 m - RD420
  10. S/E : km 14.67 - alt. 466 m - Car park Hiking information sign

Notes

Check with the Saint-Mélany town hall for the water level of the Sueille.
There are no water sources outside the villages.

(2) Note: the path may be impassable; continue for 20 m towards Beaumont, then take the forest road uphill to the left at the crossroads. It joins the Adreyt, then continue along the yellow-red marked path on the right.

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Gigi et riri
Gigi et riri

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with charming hamlets and a beautiful view towards the chapel. The valley along the stream is magnificent. The only downside is that wild boars have destroyed a large section of the path.

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Laurent Gissinger
Laurent Gissinger

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Exceptional hike
Be sure to take care not to lose your way

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Kwiss07
Kwiss07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Early autumn colours, flowering heather, sunshine: brilliant!
No particular difficulty, hike completed in 4½ hours without walking particularly fast

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Rodger0è
Rodger0è

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, tour completed with 23 hikers. Magnificent hike, beautiful chestnut woods, pretty little hamlets in the mountains. Life must have been really hard when these houses were still inhabited! Today, only a few second homes remain.
Truly a magnificent hike.
Many thanks to the author.
Roger

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Jacques B6.
Jacques B6.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Perfect weather at the beginning of September
Don't hesitate to spend some time admiring the artists' works, which are always complemented by interpretive panels
I recommend taking a quick 15-minute detour to the lichen viewpoint
I would classify this hike as rather difficult given its length and elevation gain

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denisvallee
denisvallee

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Perfect.

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Ely74
Ely74
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. It's a shame there aren't any small signs at junctions where there are several possible routes. For example, at point 6, we turned left, following the white and yellow markings. But we should have taken the far left, which we didn't see. We had to turn back when we realised our mistake. Back at the junction, a local resident gave us directions.
However, at the ford, we had to take off our shoes, so we took the opportunity to swim in water at around 15°C. This place is magnificent and gave us the energy we needed to finish the route. We came across an asp viper at the snake wall. She went her way and we went ours. The return to the road was a bit long.
We made a detour at point 2 to visit the Sully Villard apiary, passing by Le Charnier.

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Nath Catry
Nath Catry

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting route because it is varied and pleasant. A very nice river crossing; swimming would have been enjoyable, but with temperatures 10°C higher
We really enjoyed this hike, which was not too difficult even though the elevation gain is relatively significant, but well distributed over the 14 km, so it was possible to recover between each effort
A must-do to discover the region!

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abeauville
abeauville

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk, varied and interesting. Many of the sculptures on display are of high quality. Don't miss the "belvedere des lichens" (lichen viewpoint) between (3) and (4) (marked by a sign): a superb spot for lunch if you set off in the morning.

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jpvls
jpvls

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

You'll never get bored in this unspoilt natural setting, and the slate route is a great
introduction to this part of the deep and authentic Ardèche.

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Ingrid14
Ingrid14
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in 5 hours with our two teenagers aged 13 and 14 (I should point out that we are not regular hikers)
a lovely walk with beautiful scenery
however, be aware that there is a steep climb over rocks at the start

The interactive map on Visorando was very useful, especially when we took the wrong path

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Sudo
Sudo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this route clockwise, which seems more pleasant than the other way round (done by hikers we met), starting from Dompnac. Starting from Saint Melany, you can pick up a description from a municipal notice board under glass, which helps you to identify certain "artistic works" more easily.
A pretty valley with water everywhere at the end of May. A few steep sections but very passable. As mentioned in another comment, the signposting to a lodge (Le Merle) is a little sparse. Having the GPX track helps a lot!

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Jacou
Jacou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, fairly easy hike.
Just one section near a private house that is difficult to find.

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saint victor
saint victor

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, varied hike with swimming spots between points 7 and 8. It's just a shame that you end up on tarmac from point 8 onwards.
Thank you for this beautiful route

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randowate
randowate

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

a very pleasant walk along a variety of paths (woodland, balcony trails). The paths are generally quite rocky, so good footwear is required.
however, there is some doubt about the length of the route, which must exceed the advertised 14.67 km. In fact, we arrived at point 3, located 4.39 km from the start, after two hours, having taken a 10-minute break!

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