From Rochechinard to Pré de Cinq Sous

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A beautiful hike in the Monts du Matin, through beech forests and meadows covered with orchids.

Details

n°2112609
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.96 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 740 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 733 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,143 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 471 m
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Description of the walk

Departure from the Rochechinard Museum car park.

(S/E) From the car park, take the path heading south-west and follow it around the wide bends.

(1) At the bend, continue climbing on the left, staying on the stone path (GRP®). Ignore the path on the left (elevation 682) towards Les Revols and stay on the zigzagging path.

(2) At Eau Basse, ignore the small path that climbs to the right; this will be the return route (it will therefore be on the left) and continue towards a barrier.

(3) At the "Eau Basse" point, go through the barrier and continue along the path opposite in a south-westerly direction. Leavethe GRP®.

(4) At the three-way junction, turn left towards Laragnolle. After 700 m, pass in front of this farm and continue along the path southwards, climbing up the edge of the meadow.

(5) At the edge of a beech forest, take the path that leads into the meadow on the left, continuing uphill, and follow this path for 200 m towards the east, then towards the south-west, still climbing. Pass in front of the Source de Selle (rusty metal tanks) and stay on the path on the right that climbs along the edge of the forest to reach the "Pré de Cinq Sous". Continue along the edge of the meadow.

(6) At the "Pré de Cinq Sous", enjoy the landscape behind you and in front of you. Turn right towards the west for 350 m (viewpoint on the left), then descend to the right, heading north-west into a pine forest, until you reach the Col des Cordeliers.

(7) Turn onto the grassy path on the right and follow it straight downhill.

(8) At La Chardonnière, take the path that descends to the right towards the south-east and stay on this path as you descend. You will rejoin the path you took on the way up.

(4) Turn left and retrace your steps, passing through the gate.

(2) 400 m after the barrier, take the path that climbs up to the left and enter the forest. This is a very beautiful path that climbs up to join a wider path that descends steeply. Take care in wet weather.

(9) Find a path that descends to the right and is marked yellow/green, heading south, then east and finally north.

(10) Continue right on this downhill path (GRP®). You will rejoin the uphill path.

(1) Keep left on this stony path as you descend (end of theGRP®) to return to the Rochechinard Museum car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 472 m - Rochechinard Museum car park
  2. 1 : km 0.88 - alt. 549 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 3.34 - alt. 810 m - Common fork for outward and return journeys
  4. 3 : km 3.65 - alt. 805 m - Barrier (Eau Basse)
  5. 4 : km 4.4 - alt. 881 m - Common fork for outward and return journeys
  6. 5 : km 5.15 - alt. 971 m - Turn left at the edge of the forest.
  7. 6 : km 6.28 - alt. 1,135 m - Pré de Cinq Sous
  8. 7 : km 7.37 - alt. 983 m - Col des Cordeliers (987m)
  9. 8 : km 8.26 - alt. 932 m - Chardonnières
  10. 9 : km 11.55 - alt. 724 m - Fork to the right
  11. 10 : km 12.69 - alt. 600 m - Les Cartelans (altitude 580m)
  12. S/E : km 13.96 - alt. 471 m - Rochechinard Museum car park

Notes

Alternative
(7) After walking about 100 metres, you can take the path on the left up to Col des Marchands (no sign). At the pass, continue to the right and rejoin the route at La Chardonnière (8).

Take plenty of water with you as there is no possibility of replenishing supplies.
Good walking shoes are essential, especially in wet weather.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 13 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
FDHS
FDHS
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, especially in spring to get ready for the season or in autumn to prolong the pleasure.
At point 4, it is possible to turn left even though it is private property. However, it can be tricky if there are animals grazing there.
As for the famous point 2, already very well covered by my predecessors, it is a very narrow, unmarked path, but easy to follow. However, it is steep and, apart from enjoying the shade if it is hot, this downhill route is, in my opinion, not of great interest. It should be avoided by novice hikers or those with children.
As for the castle, as much as I love old stones, I was disappointed. It is very dilapidated (fortunately inaccessible as it could be dangerous). Those renovating it still have a lot of work to do to make it attractive.

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craco.35
craco.35

Hello,
Pt 7 The pass is marked by a post... at least when I passed by, and you can reach the Col des Marchands.
Pt 2 This is a path used by hunters; it is not marked on maps... ...just marked by a small passageway for one person. There is a building hidden in the vegetation opposite the path to take (satellite view of Pt 2).

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carala
carala

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

(7) Is the Col des Cordeliers marked by a cairn where one can go to the Col des Marchands?
(8) At the "Chardonnière" signpost, mention that you should retrace your steps and take the green-yellow marked forest path that descends south-east.
On the way back to (2), we couldn't find the path that climbs to the left 400 m after the barrier. Try to mention whether this path is before or after the house known as "Le Fayet". We didn't see it on the way there either.
A beautiful hike nonetheless.

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craco.35
craco.35

Hello,
This sign indicates that it is private property, but that is not the case. This path is communal. The owner put up this sign to discourage hikers from passing near his property.
Unfortunately, this is common practice in our beautiful Vercors region!

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pallandre chantal
pallandre chantal

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A beautiful hike, mostly through woodland, which makes it very pleasant when the weather is hot. There are some beautiful views when you reach the Pré de Cinq Sous:
BE CAREFUL, however, at point 4, do not take the path on the left as indicated, as it is on private property (with a sign). Continue straight ahead and when you reach Chardonnieres (signpost), take the path on the left, which will also be the return route. This adds a little over a kilometre to the hike, so the description will need to be amended.
Thanks to the author for this route.

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beconnerie
beconnerie

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, at point 4, near the farm, the owner told us that we were on a private road and that we should have turned right at the fork.
In addition, after passing the farm, we walked through wet tall grass on the straight line and ended up with wet feet.
Kind regards

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mamou38
mamou38

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike on trails that are more or less marked—I think I missed point no. 4, so I couldn't complete the circular—but that's okay, we'll do it again on Sunday as a family.

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BackBox
BackBox

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

interest: venturing off the beaten track at times

Thank you for the work done on Visorando.

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chris2610
chris2610

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The start is from the Ego Museum without any real difficulties.
After a slight incline, the climb remains pleasant. Once past the revols, the signposting remains very unreliable due to a lack of markings!
We took a slightly longer but very pleasant alternative route with a level of difficulty suitable for good walkers.

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Pchitou
Pchitou

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike, gradual climb, partly shaded, partly sunny, not very busy, varied environment

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Laurent P5
Laurent P5

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful hike that is easier than the one near Beauregard Barret.
I did it via the Col des Marchands pass, which also offers beautiful views.
It's true that at point No. 2, it's not very clear, but the two paths are close to each other, so it doesn't matter.

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MC5638
MC5638

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful hike. Rochechinard Castle is undergoing renovations, otherwise it could be added to the hike.
The rusty reservoirs mentioned are the remains of charcoal kilns once used for making charcoal.
A small toponymic trap: two points are called L'Eau Basse.
The one on the map is a small pass from which the path used on the return journey (point 2 on the map) actually starts.
The one marked on the trail is a post located at Point 3 on the map.

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manou5738
manou5738

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very interesting hike and less difficult than the Beauregard route. I thoroughly enjoyed this walk.

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craco.35
craco.35

That's what you call thinking outside the box!!!

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Heliane
Heliane

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

For beginners in map reading, it can be difficult to find unmarked paths. It would be helpful to mark them differently from the marked paths on your map.
Otherwise, a superb place for hiking.
Thank you for your work on Visorando.

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