Route du Bois de Garavagne

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Starting from Tourounet, this mostly shaded route will take you to the Saint-Barnabé plateau, then to the outskirts of the village of Coursegoules, before descending via an ancient Roman road lined with pine and oak trees back to Tourounet.

Details

n°27420126
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.75 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 539 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 542 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,139 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 641 m
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Photos

The Roman road
The village of Coursegoules
Hamlet of St Pons and summit of Cheiron

Description of the walk

Take the D6 road towards Gréolières until you reach Bramafan. Continue straight on, still towards Gréolières, following the Loup river for 4 km until you see the old holiday camp on your right, in the second hairpin bend. For safety reasons, drive back up to the roundabout 500 m further on to turn around. Park near marker 175. There are a few parking spaces available to the right of the marker, downhill.

(S/E) Follow the yellow marked trail to reach the Loup aqueduct. Follow the canal for a few metres to the west, then take the trail on the left, still following the yellow markings to reach the forest track. Follow it to marker 176.

(1) Turn right and follow a few bends to reach marker 170.

(2) Leave the track here and take the old Roman road that climbs up to the left into the oak forest of Bois de Garavagne. An easy climb brings you to a crossroads at marker 152.

(3) Take the path on the right and, after crossing the underground gas pipe, you will reach the crossroads at marker 265.

(4) Take the downhill track to reach the oratory at marker 264.

(5) Go up the left-hand track for about 100 metres, then, at the bend, take the marked mule track on the left. You will quickly reach the highest point, then begin the descent. Enter the woods and stay on this path to reach marker 151.

(6) Turn right and you will soon reach marker 150, near the hamlet of La Roubine. Keep to the left to come out onto the D2. Turn left onto the D2 and continue for 600 metres to reach marker 177.

(7) At marker 177, take the Roman road. Descend through the woods, still parallel to the D2, to return to the initial crossroads at marker 176.

(1) Opposite, take the path you came on to return to the car park at marker 175 (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 644 m - Parking at marker 175. Close to the - Ganière (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 1.11 - alt. 771 m - Marker 176
  3. 2 : km 1.75 - alt. 852 m - Marker 170
  4. 3 : km 4.32 - alt. 1,026 m - Marker 152
  5. 4 : km 5.06 - alt. 1,005 m - Marker 165
  6. 5 : km 6.35 - alt. 1,024 m - The oratory
  7. 6 : km 8.98 - alt. 984 m - Marker 151
  8. 7 : km 9.85 - alt. 978 m - Marker 177 Embut de Camp Réou
  9. S/E : km 14.75 - alt. 641 m - Car park at marker 175.

Notes

Avoid doing this hike in summer when it is very hot.
There are no water sources along this route.
Refreshments are available in the village of Coursegoules.

Worth a visit

Visit the hamlet of Saint-Barnabé and its chapel from marker 264, then visit the village of Coursegoules from marker 150.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 7 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
Roby06
Roby06

Thank you for your review, PAACAAL.

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PAACAAL
PAACAAL

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful sunshine and mild air on this shaded route where we didn't meet anyone. It was a Thursday, but the place seems quite wild. I like it!
Excellent, even tracks, except for about 2 km after the B177 where a flood from the stream washed everything away, but it's still passable.
Oh, the B150 is back, all new!
Thanks for this route.

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Roby06
Roby06

Thank you for your comment, adlprade. Regarding the path parallel to the road at point 6, it's true that on the day I did this hike, I also took the road, but for safety reasons and because the map showed a section of the route parallel to the road, I decided to take that path (a big mistake on my part).

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adlprade
adlprade
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, easy walk, punctuated by an encounter with a stag and two hinds 20 metres away from us shortly before point 3.
We encountered a few people between points 4 and 6 (about 10 for a Sunday morning).
Two small points to note:
- at point 4, the trail descends a few dozen metres after the marker, so don't take the side trails,
- when we reached point 6, we couldn't find the path parallel to the road. The easiest thing to do was to walk along the road to point 7.
A few hunters were returning after point 7, but we got along very well.
Thank you for this route!

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Roby06
Roby06

Thank you for your comment, Pioupette. Indeed, marker 150 has disappeared.

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pioupette
pioupette

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Very nice hike, especially the route at the end, which crosses through pine trees. However, it was impossible to find the 150 suitcase near the hamlet.

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pioupette
pioupette

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Very nice hike, especially the path leading to the finish line in a lovely little forest. However, we were never able to find marker number 150, which was supposed to be near the hamlet of La Roubine.

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DEVOUASSOUX
DEVOUASSOUX
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful, easy hike on a very passable path. We had the great pleasure of seeing two young deer pass in front of us. This hike must be very pleasant in May and June when the trees have their leaves.

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danielaime06
danielaime06

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great! We discovered this beautiful route, even though we often hike in the Vençois hinterland.
We enjoyed the Garavagne woods, their tranquillity in March, the birds and the first spring flowers (crocuses, periwinkles and hellebores). We didn't meet anyone, but it was a weekday...
The route is varied and easy, both uphill and downhill. I think it could even be classified as "easy" if it weren't for the time it takes to complete (4½ to 5 hours without rushing).
In response to Coco's comment, I would say that this hike is very pleasant at the end of winter and certainly in summer, given that three-quarters of the route is shaded!
I'll finish with two small comments:
- marker 265 (pt (4)) has been moved 100 metres further on
- we couldn't find the path parallel to the D2 road between pt (6) and pt (7), and rather than walking through a ploughed field, it's better to simply follow the D2 for 300 m.

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Roby06
Roby06

You're absolutely right about winter, but what about spring?
Thank you, dear, for your opinion.

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coco pego
coco pego

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A very beautiful autumn hike with splendid colourful landscapes, not too difficult and no hunting on MONDAY!
However, I think that if you do it in winter, it's not very interesting and dangerous on the way back (descent).
Worth seeing in spring?
It's definitely too hot in summer.
I recommend it.
Coco rando

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danielaime06
danielaime06

We decided not to go on this hike (Saturday, 28/10/22) because of the "Hunting in progress" signs near the starting point . Maybe next time...

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