In the woods at the start of Gratentour

This route is an extended 10 km version of the route proposed under the title "Around Gratentour" by EJP, from which much of the description has been borrowed.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.05 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 65 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 64 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 197 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 145 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Gratentour (31150)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.721578° / E 1.432607°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2043ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Parking is available opposite the main entrance to the town hall, near the church.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, turn left and go down the paved path. Follow the road (Avenue de Toulouse) until you reach the right-hand bend. Then take a footpath and a footbridge to cross a stream. Immediately follow a footpath to the left and walk up the stream.

(1) Cross a tarmac road and take Rue du Coustela opposite. Follow this winding street and ignore the side roads. Ignore the access to Rénery on the left and continue to a crossroads.

(2) Turn left onto Chemin de la Serre. At the fork that appears immediately, keep left and follow Chemin de Rénery. It is tarmac at the beginning, then gives way to a path that leads to a roundabout. Take the Route de Labastide Saint-Sernin opposite (third exit when going around the roundabout on the right). Follow it for about 200 metres.

(3) Turn right onto Rue de l'Orée du Bois, which immediately turns left. After a grassy section, follow the path on the right. Enter the woods and follow the Ruisseau de la Magdeleine stream as closely as possible for a long stretch. You will reach a barrier.

(4) Go through the barrier and take the path on the left. Follow the Ruisseau de Brunet stream.

(5) When you reach a stadium, take the path on the left (do not leave the woods). Continue straight ahead (west-northwest) to reach the D77a road.

(6) Cross the road and take the path opposite, slightly to the left. Follow this winding path to the cemetery. Continue along the path in the woods, which turns right.

(7) At the end of this path, at thefirst house on the right, take the path on the left. Continue diagonally to the right until you reach a wire fence. Follow it to the left.

(8) At the corner of the fence, turn right. The path continues to run more or less alongside the fence.

(9) When you reach the corner of the fence, continue straight ahead. Go downhill, cross a large ditch and go back up the other side. This passage is a little tricky; you can avoid it by going around it on the right. The path (not shown on the map) winds through the woods. Then the woods thin out, the path turns right and leaves the woods. At the first house, take the cul-de-sac on the right and follow it to the junction with Route des Maurys.

(10) Turn left towards Gratentour. Further on, note the sports fields on the left.

(11) Just after the junction leading to the sports fields, turn right onto the footpath that goes around the Claude Cornac College on the right. After the college, continue straight ahead and join Avenue de Villemur. Continue straight ahead to the roundabout to return to your starting point at the town hall (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 176 m - Town hall car park - Église Sainte-Quitterie (Gratentour)
  2. 1 : km 0.45 - alt. 169 m - Tarmac road
  3. 2 : km 1.32 - alt. 186 m - Chemin de Renery
  4. 3 : km 2.28 - alt. 181 m - Rue de l'Orée du bois
  5. 4 : km 4.07 - alt. 145 m - Barrier
  6. 5 : km 4.87 - alt. 146 m - Labastide Saint Sernin Municipal Stadium
  7. 6 : km 5.61 - alt. 146 m - Route D77a
  8. 7 : km 6.84 - alt. 158 m - Intersection
  9. 8 : km 7.4 - alt. 170 m - Corner of the fence
  10. 9 : km 7.88 - alt. 161 m - Corner of the fence
  11. 10 : km 8.41 - alt. 178 m - Route de Maurys
  12. 11 : km 8.92 - alt. 176 m - Footpath
  13. S/E : km 10.05 - alt. 176 m - Town hall car park - Église Sainte-Quitterie (Gratentour)

Notes

The paths through the woods can be very muddy in winter.

Reviews and comments

3.9 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.7 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
PMOURET
PMOURET

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A walk taken between the holidays on a Sunday afternoon, when people needed to work off their excesses in the woods.
Note the beautiful view of the Toulouse valley from the heights of Gratentour.
With the humidity at night, the trails are slippery but largely accessible. The route is exotic.
There are a few short but technical climbs in the woods with mud.
There are a few concrete sections at the beginning and end of the hike, but they are fine as more than half of the route is in the woods.
No problems following the route for this hike. Easy to follow.
Thank you for this route, which is worth doing again when the weather is nice.

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Bernardd2016
Bernardd2016

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike along the hillside, about 1 km after the start, with beautiful views of Toulouse and the Gers. A good half of the trail is in the woods (quite pleasant in this heatwave) and the rest is across fields. The Visorando basic map is fairly easy to use, although in some places you need to extrapolate between the route and the various paths shown on the map (mainly between points 5 and 6). Be careful in wet weather, as there are streams to cross (dry at the moment), which may be more difficult after heavy rain, including on some paths and steep climbs. The starting point is currently more difficult to find due to work being carried out by the Gratentour town hall. I was able to discover places close to home that I didn't know about. Suitable for families.

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caoussis
caoussis

I congratulate and thank "hcrando" for his message, which expresses exactly how I feel about this route (and others): that of a "prehistoric" hiker who, refusing to use those evil GPS devices, often finds himself in trouble because of descriptions that are so vague and fanciful, or even downright wrong.

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hcrando
hcrando

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's nice to have a route near Toulouse, but the starting point is difficult to find. Much of the route is on paved roads, even though it says that the pavement ends quickly, which is not the case. At point 2, the fork is nowhere near "immediately" and, in any case, there are no street names. Fortunately, with GPS, all these difficulties disappear and you can enjoy the view and, further on, the relative coolness of the woods. The route follows the Montberon woods for a long time. GPS is essential for following the route in the woods, given the number of paths and the vagueness of some of the descriptions.
When you arrive in Gratentour, the school and the stadium are nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, once again, the GPS is there to show you the way.
Finally, at this time of year, the streams are dry, but I wouldn't recommend this walk after rain, as there are huge ruts in the woods of Gratentour, which must make the path almost impassable.
Thanks anyway to everyone who creates these trails. We owe them many walks.

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caoussis
caoussis

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and easy hike, without too much tarmac despite the proximity of Toulouse. However, there are two drawbacks, the first of which has already been pointed out by other hikers: given the condition of certain sections at the end of May, it is clear that the route is virtually impassable in winter after rainfall, due to muddy ruts. Furthermore, at point 3, it has become impossible to reach the woods directly because a large gate blocks the way. You are therefore forced to turn left and find the road that you follow until you reach one of the dead ends on the right. Personally, I took the third or fourth: the path, which starts next to a Récupverre, is barely visible but leads to the woods via Square Anne-Marie Boué. Finally, the end of the route in Gratentour is not obvious as the sports fields are nowhere to be seen. This two-hour walk is recommended in summer.

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michel31150
michel31150

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I have completed this route several times as it is close to my home.
Done using the IGN map route
A very pleasant walk in the surrounding forest. Not too many roads and some beautiful paths, but be careful as they can be quite wet or even muddy in rainy weather.
Well shaded in summer, no particular difficulty
Suitable for families, and children will love exploring the beautiful undergrowth.
If you have a dog, they will also enjoy themselves as the trail follows a small stream.
Enjoy your walk!

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Marcheuse71
Marcheuse71

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A few fallen trees disrupt the original route, but it is still easy to find your way.
Very shady. Very pleasant in hot weather.

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kikinato
kikinato

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Do not do in wet weather

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RME
RME

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello everyone,
We did the hike in beautiful sunshine with the Pyrenees visible from the start of the hike.

The route is accessible to all, but choose a sunny day and avoid hiking after a period of rain, as the various trails are muddy and therefore very tricky on the ascents and descents.

There is one tricky spot, which is mentioned in both the description and on the GPS.
I am referring to bridge No. 9. You can easily cross the stream via a natural bridge made of logs or tree trunks.
Just after this crossing, the description is unclear to me. The GPS track indicates the path to the right, but we couldn't find it.
We followed the trail indicated on the GPS, which meant going through brambles and under vegetation, and we found the housing estate indicated at the edge of the woods.

Apart from this minor difficulty, I recommend this hike in spring.
The undergrowth is pleasant, and there is a good picnic spot near the sports fields in Labastide St Sernin (point 5).

Enjoy your hike, everyone!

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FRANCOIS1ER
FRANCOIS1ER

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The start of the hike description is inaccurate:
- "With your back to the town hall, turn left and go down the paved path" is not correct because the paved path is opposite the town hall, not to the left. If you turn left, you will come to Rue du Coustela further on, turn right and pass the exit of the paved path further on.
The rest of the description is accurate.

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leroy jean pierre
leroy jean pierre

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We never made it to point No. 5; once again, we got lost, so we had to cut across the field to reach the Gratentour road and get back.

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