The village of Dormillouse via the old road

Route to Dormillouse via the old road. A balcony-style path offering magnificent views of the Torrent des Oules and its valley. After a stroll through the hamlet, the descent follows the traditional route and then continues along the wild path known as the “Cascades”.

Please note: the path taken for the return journey after the “4 ” is impassable following the mudslide in August 2022.
You must return via the road or by taking the reverse route from the village of Dormillouse.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.38 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 470 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 465 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,780 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,363 m

Photos

Description of the walk

From Freissinières, follow the D238 road towards Dormillouse. After the hamlet of Les Mensals, continue for about 1.2 km and park in the grassy car park on the left below the road (400 m before the Pont du Laus bridge, which crosses the Torrent de la Biaisse).

(S/E) From the car park, walk back up to the road, go a few metres to the right and take the path that heads into the woods on the left. This is a small grassy track that climbs gradually. It turns into a steeper path that runs alongside a rock face and leads to a waterfall.

(1) Cross the “rocky ledge” below the waterfall and take the path opposite, which continues along a balcony-like route to Dormillouse.

(2) Turn right to make a round trip to the hamlet of Romans.
On your return, continue down towards the lodge and the chapel and reach the bridge over the Torrent du Chinchin.

(3) Continue down the wide path to the car park at the bottom of the valley, ignoring three junctions on the right.

(4) Turn immediately left and cross the Torrent de la Biaisse via a footbridge. Ignore the winter path climbing up to the hamlet of Dormillouse and head right towards Le Laus via the Sentier des Cascades. A discreet path, somewhat overgrown in places, which follows the left bank of the torrent. The route alternates between gentle descents and steep climbs and passes close to three waterfalls.

(5) At the fork, continue along the left bank on a more clearly marked path and reach the road towards the Pont du Laus.

(6) Follow this road to the left and head back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,363 m - Grass car park before the Pont du Laus
  2. 1 : km 1.74 - alt. 1,557 m - Waterfall
  3. 2 : km 3.29 - alt. 1,742 m - Dormillouse
  4. 3 : km 4.28 - alt. 1,677 m - Chinchin Torrent
  5. 4 : km 5.79 - alt. 1,437 m - Car park (D238) - Biaysse (rivière)
  6. 5 : km 7.67 - alt. 1,383 m - Junction, turn left
  7. 6 : km 8.01 - alt. 1,374 m - Laus Bridge
  8. S/E : km 8.38 - alt. 1,363 m - Grass car park before the Pont du Laus

Notes

Route to be avoided following periods of rain or snowmelt. Crossing the torrent at the first waterfall may prove difficult, if not impossible.
There is also a risk of rockfalls.

(4) The Sentier des Cascades leads down to the stream bed. When the water level is high, the path is flooded. It is advisable to return via the road.

Alternative route:
You can descend from the hamlet of Dormillouse via the winter path. Before the bridge over the Chinchin, turn left, head towards the mill and continue along the hillside towards the houses before continuing down the slope (handrail provided).

You are hiking in the heart of the Écrins National Park.

The Écrins massif is an exceptional area, open to all, with a natural, cultural and scenic heritage that is truly unique. To protect these treasures, the heart of the park is marked by blue-white-red flags, where regulations must be observed. Please familiarise yourself with these regulations when planning your hike to help preserve this shared heritage, at https://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr.

Worth a visit

A route offering numerous views of the various torrents and waterfalls.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Laurence et Manuel
Laurence et Manuel

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike in dry weather in August.
It's a beautiful route, but...
Sometimes the path climbs steeply (walking sticks recommended), and when it becomes more like a balcony, there are some difficult sections for people who are prone to vertigo (we came across a family in difficulty because the woman couldn't go any further and I had to pull myself up to get past).
Fortunately, the rocky section was dry in places.
When we arrived at the refuge, the owner told us that we had taken a risk because there are still regular rock falls.
I would therefore recommend taking the trail from the waterfall car park (the road is very passable in dry weather) and continuing towards the lakes if you want to walk further than the walk to the village, which is well worth a visit!

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Another Day In Nature
Another Day In Nature
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Set against a stunning mountain backdrop, the numerous waterfalls take centre stage.
The waterfalls aren’t very high, but their diversity (and that of the rivers) offers a variety of aquatic scenes that you never tire of. It’s hard to leave this place at the end of the day.
My video to capture it all:
Here

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fanee
fanee

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

So the hike is impassable due to the torrential rain of the past few days.
The access road is badly potholed due to the rain, so please take extra care
Start from the car park at the Dormillouses waterfalls, past the village, and continue towards Lac du Frangeas.
The autumn colours are magnificent!

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you, tseb95, for pointing that out, and I’m really sorry for the inconvenience; I’ll add a warning message to the introduction.
Best regards

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tseb95
tseb95

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 11 August 2023
A lovely hike exploring Dormillouse
/!\ The return path (4) on the left at the entrance to the footbridge is still closed following the mudslide mentioned in August 2022.
This is only signposted 300m after the start of this path; it would have been better to place this sign further up (at the footbridge)...
The mandatory return via the road was a struggle for us during this heatwave.

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Mat.S
Mat.S

Please note: we took the old road towards Dormillouse on Monday 31 October 2022. It appears that the section passing beneath the Pisse waterfall has completely collapsed; the rock is steep and slippery and looked extremely dangerous. We had to turn back. The path leading up to the waterfall may seem exposed to those prone to vertigo.

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lapinoum
lapinoum

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very well-designed circular loop with a gentle, charming climb up to Dormillousse
The views are splendid and the sight of the numerous waterfalls is breathtaking
In Dormillousse, there are two places to eat
Unfortunately, on the way back, it was impossible to take the waterfall trail due to a mudslide, and the park rangers hadn’t indicated this at the start of the trail
We had to make our way through the mudslide and return via the riverbed
We hope this path will be repaired

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