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To reach the starting point, go to the centre of Carqueiranne, walk up Place de la République, turn left at the top, and just before the bakery, turn right into the Rebufat car park.
The car park has a large number of spaces and is rarely full. If you are in a motorhome, the unpaved area at the back is much more convenient for parking.
(S/E) Exit the car park, turn right and walk down Place de la République. Cross Avenue Jean Jaurès and take the alley opposite, which leads to a car park and then a large square in front of a group of two- to three-storey buildings.
(1) Turn right with your back to the old Carqueiranne station, which houses the municipal police station. Go around the buildings and continue to the end of Impasse du Macaron, which runs alongside the Hyères-Toulon road. At the end of this cul-de-sac, you will come to a large roundabout. Go around it on the left and take Chemin du Canebas, which climbs towards the south-west. Follow Chemin du Canebas for almost its entire length, about 1 km.
(2) On the right is Chemin des Arbousiers, at the entrance to which there is a sign announcing the Arbousiers campsite and a sign indicating the direction of Fort de la Bayarde. Walk up this street to the entrance of the Arbousiers campsite.
(3) Opposite the entrance to the campsite, a dirt track called "Chemin de la Bayarde" branches off to the left, at the entrance to which there is a sign indicating the direction of the fort. Follow this track for about 150 m.
(4) Turn right towards the fort, go through a gate and walk for about 400 metres.
(5) Turn left towards the fort, whose gate is adorned with a large "B". At the gate, you can turn right to walk around the enclosure, then at the other end, join the esplanade and return via the interior to the entrance gate.
(5) Turn left back onto the track you left earlier and follow it for over a kilometre until you reach an open area, at the end of which you will come across another track.
(6) Turn right to climb to the top of Colle Noire. First, you will pass an old semaphore (on the left), then after a right-hand bend and before a left-hand bend, you will pass the ruins of a small building. Then keep to the right to go around another ruin that you will see on your right.
(7) After this ruined building, there is a left turn, to the right of which is a path that you will take after going around the fort. For now, continue left towards the north, passing in front of the fort on your right.
Go around the fort via the path overlooking its moat, which will take you back to the track, which you will follow in the opposite direction.
(7) Take the path heading south, passing by a small ruin. You will come to an open area where you will join the track coming from Fort de la Bayarde, which you will follow to the right.
(6) Take the track on the left that descends southwards, passes in front of a cistern and joins the track leading to Fort de la Gavaresse. Go around the fort on the right and at the other end of the fort, you will find a path that descends towards the Cap Garonne mine, whose old mining buildings are visible.
First, walk back and forth along the south side of the fort to enjoy the views, then descend this path, which leads to a track running parallel to the road (Chemin du Bau Rouge), which you will reach just in front of the mine buildings.
(8) Follow Chemin du Bau Rouge, i.e. the paved road, and continue straight ahead until you reach the intersection with Chemin du Coupereau.
(9) Turn right onto this path, which descends to the picturesque little fishing port nestled in the Coupereau cove. Continue along the road that runs along the sea to the east, until you turn away from it at a hairpin bend to the left. Stay on the paved road and head north on Chemin des Peyrons, which you follow for about a kilometre until you see a small yellow house with a round window overlooking the road on your right. Continue another 150 metres on this small road to reach a small ruin.
(10) At this ruin, turn right down Chemin de la Salamone.
Follow this road, which is initially unpaved, continuing eastwards. It soon becomes paved and passes through a residential area. Finally, it passes in front of a pink-plastered building with arched balconies and pergolas on the second floor, before joining a street that you take on the left and which leads to Avenue du Grand Chêne. Take this street on the left for a short distance.
(11) On the right, there is a pedestrian stairway leading down to a small round square, in the centre of which there used to be a huge oak tree that gave its name to the avenue above but was cut down in May 2016. Turn left at a right angle at this square.
(12) Soon you will find a series of steps on the right, which is the Promenade Georges Pompidou; go down these steps until you cross over the Ruisseau du Grand Vallat.
(13) Walk along the buildings, turning left and taking the promenade between the buildings and the Albert and Émilie Jahandiez alley to the bridge that crosses the Toulon-Hyères road. Cross the bridge and you will arrive at the old station.
(1) Walk up Avenue de la Gare until you reach Avenue Jean Jaurès, cross it and walk along the right-hand side of Place de la République. Then turn left to cross the square and you will reach the Rebufat car park (S/E).
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