Dourgne walks

A lovely climb up a steep gorge leads to the dry grasslands of the Désert de Saint-Ferréol, where La Capelette stands proudly overlooking a vast landscape.

Breathtaking panoramic views steeped in history and legend. 02/08/2023 Message from the moderator: Change to the route at point 11 to continue on thePR® and avoid En Crouzilles, which is private property.

Route through the Montagne Noire, with superb panoramic views of the Lauragais, the village of Dourgne and Sainte-Scholastique, places of worship (Quatre Saints) and magnificent pine forests.

A beautiful, undulating route that passes through four places dedicated to the four saints of Dourgne: Saint-Macaire and his healing spring, Saint-Stapin the giant, Saint-Chipoli or Saint-Hippolyte, Saint-Ferréol and his Capelette.

Semi-shaded route in the Montagne Noire, with beautiful views of the Revel and Puylaurens valley and the Pyrenees. Forest of fir, pine and beech trees, moors of ferns and ash trees. Little elevation gain. Most of this hike follows unmarked paths, even if you come across some markings. Only take these into account when they are mentioned in the description.

There is a pretty waterfall to see, unless there is a drought like the one in 2022.

This trail, thanks to its natural and historical richness, is listed as a Historic Monument and is classified as a landscape site. Through its many information panels, you can gain an understanding of the karst landscape in all its aspects. In particular, it highlights the archaeology and the exploitation of the caves as mines and quarries by humans since the Middle Ages.

A circular route on the plateau above Arfons via the Croix des Fangasses, the Croix de Montalric and the Montalric orientation table. Magnificent view over the entire Revelois and Puylaurentais plains as well as the Pyrenees. GPS essential for this hike.

On the western edge of the Montagne Noire, this hike harmoniously combines historical remains and beautiful views. The Oppidum de Berniquaut, the excavations of medieval dwellings on the same site, a large standing stone with cup marks and the ruins of the Chapelle Saint-Jammes de Besauceles will delight history enthusiasts. Lovers of beautiful landscapes will also find something to satisfy them on this route, which overlooks the Sorèze plain from a height of over 300 metres.

Circuit to Gallic ruins offering a 360° view of the Sorèze plain.

A very beautiful route, almost entirely on footpaths and often through woodland. It will allow you to discover the different facets of the two sides of Durfort up to the Gravette dam on Lake Cammazes.

Departure from the village of Durfort, home to craftsmen specialising in metalwork. You will tour the Sor valley along the ridges, culminating at the Cammazes dam, which feeds the Canal du Midi. There are many points of interest on or near the route.

Forest, forest and more forest for a short family walk.

From the dam, head towards the Montagne Noire Natural Park for a hike in the forest and along the river. After a short wet crossing and a final easy climb, the arrival point reveals a magnificent view of the dam.

A very pleasant walk, almost entirely through forest. Wide, easily passable paths and superb views of the lake and dam.

There are no signs indicating this remnant of a powerful Cathar fortress where three hundred Cathar perfects took refuge in 1209. All that remains is a tower and an intact Romanesque gate marking the entrance to the castrum. This walk along the Rigole de la Montagne and Sor rivers will reveal the entrance to the hidden path.

This hike is very easy to follow, but bring sunscreen and water if you're doing it in the middle of summer!

This hike alternates between beech, oak and chestnut forests and cattle pastures on the hillsides. The elevation gain is gentle, but the beautiful descent through the woods after Le Montagnet can be difficult in wet weather. Spring and late autumn are the best times to enjoy this route.

A shaded hike through a beautiful forest that once provided charcoal. A few pits, or charcoal pits, remain as evidence of this.

This circular walk almost circles the stream that gave the valley its name. Very shaded, it is a very popular walk during the summer months.

Circular between Lake Saint-Ferréol and Lake Cammazes for a short day's hike. Lovely views of the lakes, very pleasant sections in the forest, chance to spot deer, visit the Voûte de Vauban or enjoy a gourmet break in the village of Les Cammazes.

A short, easy walk around Lake Saint-Ferréol. It allows you to discover the different facets of this lake, which serves both as a leisure area and a reservoir for the Canal du Midi. This route includes a short detour to the geyser below, where you can cool off and keep the children entertained.

Three quarters of the hike is sheltered from the sun and wind by the beech forest (mainly). Wear good shoes as the trail is often muddy with some stream crossings that are more or less maintained. Foresters have cleared the trail, which creates some large puddles, but these can always be avoided by walking along the edges of the forest.

On the watershed between the Aude and Tarn rivers, we follow in the footsteps of P.P. Riquet once again, discovering other water resources that enabled this self-taught engineer to demonstrate to the experts sent by Colbert the merits of his project to supply his Canal des Deux Mers. However, the forest remains present on this easy route, and Arfons, with its slate roofs, is a picturesque little village in the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park.

The proximity of the lake for cooling off, the deciduous forest for a shaded walk and the very passable paths, despite a few fords along the route, ensure a very pleasant time even with children.

This walk allows you to explore the hills of Labruguière, comprising small limestone plateaus to the north and wooded countryside to the south. You climb towards the Montagne Noire, which often dominates the southern backdrop of the landscapes in this department. This is the realm of the forest, composed of both deciduous and coniferous trees. Its peaks are gentle and varied: moors, forests and meadows share the view of the sky.

Balade vers le Parc éolien d'Arfons-Sor, situé sur la commune d'Arfons, depuis le château de Ramondens, qui a été un temps la propriété de P.P Riquet, et siège maintenant du CCAS d'EDF qui y organise des colonies de vacances pour les enfants. Le parcours, sans balisage (ou presque), se situe entièrement dans la Forêt Domaniale de la Montagne Noire, au Nord du torrent de l'Alzeau, "frontière" naturelle entre Aude et Tarn, à deux pas de la célèbre Prise d'Alzeau. Après l'arrêt à une ancienne cabane de pisciculture, réaménagée par l'ONF, le retour s'effectue par le vallon de Bergnassonne pour retrouver le château de Ramondens.

Section of the "sentier des sommets" trail, cut off from the link with Revel, reducing the total distance to 14 km. No technical difficulties, with beautiful views of the Lauragais. The route ends with a shaded walk around the lake, where you can swim in season.

A walk entirely through the woodland of the Forêt de La Loubatière. Following paths and tracks, without ever walking on tarmac, you will follow the Ruisseau de Fraïssègne, one of the streams feeding into Lac de la Galaube, along whose eastern arm you will walk.

The Rigole de la Montagne again. But this time you won’t be walking alongside it. You’ll go round it on a route that’s shaded all the way. The return along the road is a bit long, but you can walk on the verges if you don’t like tarmac.

The walk is always in the shade and sheltered by very large beech and oak trees. There is practically no elevation gain as you follow the water.

A short, gentle walk with no uphill sections, sheltered by the forest throughout. Suitable in summer and winter, even in strong winds.

A refreshing walk in the Montagne Noire from the small village of Lacombe (11310) to the Ramondens national forest (Tarn) with a picnic stop near the retaining dyke of the St-Denis basin. Return via the right bank of the Alzeau and passage at the Prise d'Alzeau, source of the Canal du Midi, before climbing back up to Lacombe. Walk checked on 18/06/23. A few details have been added by the author

360 years ago, Pierre Paul Riquet had the trial trench for the Canal du Midi dug. The official purpose of this small diversion canal was to prove that large quantities of water could be brought from the Montagne Noire to the Naurouze threshold, where the planned navigation canal would have its "dividing point", its highest watercourse. However, for Riquet, the stakes were much higher: he also wanted to prove that he was fully capable of managing a project as large as the gigantic structure he had planned. To convince Colbert and the commission responsible for examining the feasibility of the project, he offered to finance the test canal himself and only be reimbursed if the objectives were achieved... Theoutcome proved this stubborn man right! This walk takes you on a journey of discovery to find traces of this "Rigole d'Essai" in the Alzeau valley, starting from the village of Lacombe. Parking is available opposite the town hall.

Walk along forest paths towards the Bois de la Serre Haute and the Forêt Domaniale de la Loubatière from Lacombe, stopping at the source of the Canal du Midi, the Prise d'Alzeau, before following the left bank of the Lac de la Galaube. The route is marked locally (yellow line). It is taken in the opposite direction to the description with a few modifications for greater comfort (descent at the end of the route).

In hot weather, here’s a short, shaded walk in the Loubatière State Forest along paths not necessarily marked on the IGN map but very pleasant to walk along with little elevation gain. The route shares a section with the Lacombe PR°°®°° trail

Nestled between Lake Galaube and Lake Laprade Basse, the Loubatière State Forest covers 450 hectares. It is located in the western part of the vast forest that covers the southern slope of the Montagne Noire in the Aude department. A single, completely wooded area, this forest, which ranges in altitude from 660 to 885 metres, forms the headwaters of the Linon stream. In autumn, it offers a dream setting for hikers in search of mushrooms and chestnuts, with the golden colours of oak, beech, birch and chestnut leaves carpeting the ground. This is the ideal playground for an easy walk starting from the hamlet of Cals Haut, part of the commune of Lacombe, between Saissac and Les Martys.