From Corrençon to Darbounouse (circular)

Park in the car park at the Corrençon-en-Vercors golf course and the Auberge-Refuges des Hauts Plateaux.

GR®91 marked in white and red

(S/E) Take the path uphill and you will soon reach a fork in the road.

(1) Keep left towards the^45th parallel. Continue along the path with the biathlon stadium on your right until you reach the Clariant crossroads.

(2) Continue to the left and pass through the hamlet of La Croix de la Messe. Continue to the Les Rochers de l’Échalet trail junction. Here the path turns into a trail, eventually reaching the^45th parallel marker.

(3) Carry on uphill to reach the Porte Barnier junction.

(4) Carry on to quickly reach the Cabane de Carrette.

(5) Stay on the GR® and finish the climb. A few steps further on, you’ll reach the karstic cave of Scialet.

(6) Walk now almost level and due west to reach the Prairie Darbounouse on the Vercors High Plateaus.

End of GR®91signposting

(7) Leave the GR® here and take the path on the right, which climbs slightly. Cross the meadow and join the clearly visible forest track to the north-west of the meadow.

(8) Follow the path to the right, heading due north and slightly uphill. Ignore the path branching off to the left at the water tank. You will reach a Y-shaped junction.

(9) Continue to the right on the slightly less marked path. Enter the forest again, ignore a path branching off to the right and continue to the Carrefour de la Royale and the Route Forestière de Roybon.

(10) Turn right here, walk gently downhill, proceed at a leisurely pace and then reach a four-way junction.

(11) Keep left on this road and reach the Auberge de Roybon crossroads.

(12) Turn left and walk to the inn and back.

(13) Retrace your steps to the fork.

(12) Head left and uphill to reach the Pas de l'Âne. Continue downhill to the hamlet of Les Auberges.

(14) Join a forest track, follow it to the left and immediately ignore a turn-off on the left. Follow the forest track down to the Fleur du Roy junction.

(15) Then take the forest path that descends to the right. Stay on this path and, continuing downhill, return to the initial crossroads passed on the way out.

(1) Turn left and follow the route back in the opposite direction to return to the golf course car park (S/E).

Water sources are not necessarily plentiful along this route, especially in summer. It is advisable to carry sufficient water. A few hundred metres past the Cabane de Carrette, along the path on your right, there is a spring, the Fontaine de Carrette. Check the flow rate in summer.
This hike can be done in both summer and winter as the elevation gain is relatively modest.
Note: a shorter version of this hike (17.7 km), which links a junction just before (7) and the point (14) by taking a more easterly route, is published on Visorando: Corrençon Route via Darbounouse and La Coinchette.

There are numerous points of interest along this circular route.

(2) Firstly, Clariant, where the Auberge de Clariant offers refreshments and/or drinks.
(3) Next, the^45th parallel marker with its sculpture, next to which a monument has been erected in honour of the French Resistance during the^Second World War.
(5) If you’d like to take shelter for a while to rest or eat, you can visit the Cabane de Carrette, which is open to everyone—provided you respect the site, of course.
Between (7) and (9): the Darbounouse meadow, which marks the boundary between the departments of Isère and Drôme, offers a superb open panorama typical of the Vercors highlands. Stopping there to take in the scenery is a wonderful way to spend some time.
(7) Once you reach the northern peaks of this meadow, turn around and admire the magnificent landscape of the southern part of the nature reserve.
You can also stop at the Auberge de Roybon for a drink or a meal.
Between (15) and (1): before reaching the car park on your return, you’ll pass along the Charmeyenne meadow, where there’s an outdoor photo exhibition chronicling part of the filming of the 1939 movie *La loi du Nord* starring Michèle Morgan. The location was chosen for its resemblance to Canada, the film’s fictional setting.