Lemps Pond, Moulin de la Roche starting from Saint-Baudille-de-la-Tour

A walk in a natural environment where you can observe a wide variety of wildlife, including European pond turtles at the Lemps pond.
This hike can be done in late October or early November, when you can admire the beautiful autumn colours of the bald cypress trees at the Surbaix pond next to the La Roche waterfall.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.90 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 174 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 180 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 385 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 258 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the boules court car park in Saint-Baudille-de-la-Tour.

(S/E) Head south on Route du Figuier, then take the path that follows it at the crossroads. Walk alongside the cemetery and continue along the path. Cross a wide track and then pass under the power line. Shortly afterwards, you will reach the D52.

(1) Turn left and very quickly veer onto the path that starts on the right. Stay on this main path to reach the water tower.

(2) Turn slightly right to go down into the field and walk along the small wood on the right to the end of the field. Find a small path, go down it and a few metres further on you will find a road and the Chemin de Tillieux. Take it due east to reach the crossroads with the Chemin de la Bonde and the Étang de Lemps.

(3) Ignore this path and turn right to reach the bank of the Étang de Lemps. You will arrive at the Chemin de l'Étang de Lemps. Take a detour to the left towards the observatory.

(4) Go back a few steps on the path, take it to the left and then, at the next crossroads, leave the road to continue along the pond after a left turn. Pass a crossroads and keep going straight on this path until you reach the Chemin de Marcolet fork.

(5) Turn right onto this path. Then turn left onto Chemin de Doiret and continue along it until you reach the village of Surbaix. Cross the village until you reach the wash house.

(6) Continue straight ahead on the road and, shortly after, at the electricity pole, take the path that descends to the right. Stay on this path until you reach the Cascade de la Roche waterfall.

(7) Follow the path to the left heading north-north-west until you reach the D52 departmental road.

(8) Turn left onto it, then immediately right onto the path that climbs into the woods. You will soon come to a three-way junction.

(9) Turn right onto the path that climbs slightly, passing under the power line again. Continue on to enter the village of Saint-Baudille-de-la-Tour and return to the boules court car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 368 m - Parking at the boules court
  2. 1 : km 2.81 - alt. 323 m - D52 crossroads
  3. 2 : km 4.13 - alt. 385 m - Water tower
  4. 3 : km 5.44 - alt. 350 m - Crossroads before the pond
  5. 4 : km 6.16 - alt. 350 m - Lemps Pond Observatory
  6. 5 : km 7.68 - alt. 357 m - Marcolet Path junction
  7. 6 : km 9.96 - alt. 318 m - Surbaix: wash house
  8. 7 : km 10.99 - alt. 266 m - La Roche waterfall
  9. 8 : km 11.85 - alt. 301 m - D52
  10. 9 : km 12.31 - alt. 320 m - Carrefour three-way junction
  11. S/E : km 13.9 - alt. 368 m - Parking at the boules court

Notes

No water on the route.

Worth a visit

(3) The passage at the water tower offers a beautiful view.
(Between 3 and 5) Depending on the season, the Lemps pond is the main point of interest on this hike. It offers the chance to observe a wide variety of wildlife, including European pond turtles.
(4) The observatory offers views of wildlife, birds and European pond turtles.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Nonooo
Nonooo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hike with few shaded areas, not recommended in the height of summer. The pond and waterfall area are in the undergrowth.
Please note that you will be passing through hunting grounds. The area with the waterfall is marked "private property, private hunting grounds". We heard hunting dogs and hunters quite close by, which could be dangerous with animals and/or children.
The water tower is indeed off-limits. Do not turn left, but continue straight ahead. You will find the trail again fairly quickly.
Otherwise, it's a peaceful walk and we didn't come across many people.

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coocki38
coocki38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful route, 80% paths, very easy to follow, just glance at the app.

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solange.gervais
solange.gervais

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

no problem following Viso rando on my smartphone

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Muriel et christian
Muriel et christian
• Edited:

Very little signage. Trail in very poor condition

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jctrimintin
jctrimintin

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route was completed in April 2024. It is a relatively easy, pleasant hike with varied landscapes. As mentioned by other hikers, access to the water tower is prohibited. If you want to avoid the climb to the water tower (not very interesting), continue along the path called "Sépa" and join the trail. I was disappointed by the Étang de Lemps, with few birds but pretty scenery. The Roche waterfall is very beautiful.
I use a Garmin GPS, so I had no problem following the path except just before point 8, where the GPX file is incorrect. Before point 8, there is an uphill climb through the woods. Follow the winding path and not the Visorando route.
My Garmin GPS measured 15.5 km and 270 m of elevation gain.

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Fleurs38
Fleurs38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk, we didn't meet anyone
except at the waterfall.
The waterfall at La Roche is very pretty. You can also see the bald cypress trees without going there, as access is prohibited.

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laurentmathieu
laurentmathieu

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Nice but not very interesting

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Cléclédu74
Cléclédu74

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

Hike on 22 July 2023: the first part (from the start to point 1) is accessible and pleasant. However, the climb to the water tower is made almost impossible by the presence of an electric fence that appears to have been installed recently. Although it is still possible to continue by going around or through it, the descent is just as complicated. Beyond that, the theoretical route is vague and impossible to follow at this point. As other hikers have mentioned, it is preferable to go around the water tower via the Sepas path.

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JLE12
JLE12

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Excellent route, very pleasant, varied without too much elevation gain. In light of previous comments, we went around the water tower rather than climbing it. The waterfall is superb, there was quite a lot of water despite the persistent drought. The tour of the lake is also nice.
We'll definitely do it again one day when the weather is sunnier than the overcast conditions we had on 23 April.

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le nez dans l'herbe
le nez dans l'herbe

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

nice route. To get to the water tower, follow the path on the left despite the cross.

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Richard D288
Richard D288

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk with few visitors (except around the waterfall), almost exclusively on paths and trails.

Be careful, just before point 1, follow the map (take the path on the left to reach the water tower).
Just after that, follow the description: the trail crosses the meadow and then a hedge, descends steeply before crossing a second small meadow and joining the road, where you turn left and immediately take the path on the left.

The bald cypress pond area is private property and access is now prohibited (although this prohibition does not seem to be widely respected). Signs similar to those used for trail marking have been installed and are clearly visible. Will there be checks this autumn? It's a mystery...

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Gisele m
Gisele m

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you for your help with our hikes. We set off with peace of mind because the routes are well described. I use your site regularly and thank you very much.
Have a nice day, Gisele Marret

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deloubois
deloubois

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful circular to do again in another season. I would just note a lack of precision in the directions to the water tower. We missed the path on the left and continued straight ahead. We recovered by turning further on and found the indicated path after descending through the field. I don't think we missed anything important... The small lake formed by the Furon and its bald cypress trees alone are worth the hike, but the Lemps pond is also remarkable, and the walk is very pleasant, with no difficulty whatsoever.

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patrick.chambon
patrick.chambon

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A beautiful hike that is not too crowded, except at the end towards the waterfall and the bald cypress trees.
The lake with the cypress trees is magnificent in autumn.
No major difficulties as there are few elevation changes.
The trail is difficult to follow at the end of the plateau after the water tower (around 4.5 km) for a distance of about 500 metres.

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Tamin'
Tamin'

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant family outing.
To reach the water tower, do not follow the main path as indicated in the description, but turn left at a certain point as shown on the map.
The descent from the water tower is through fields, without really following the route, but the path to join at the bottom was clearly visible.
As already mentioned, between 8-9, there are two three-way junctions. Don't take the first one, marked in yellow on the ground (unless you want to take a short break for a snack on the "quarry steps"), but the second one, which is clearly marked as a junction.
Fortunately, the Visiorando app brought us back on the right track each time we made a mistake due to inattention!

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