Vallon de Lèque in Fontvieille

Date of your route : Dec 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I put 'average interest' because I made a mistake somewhere, but I ended up finding my way. And as the weather wasn't good, it bothered me. But I'll do it again in a better season. Thank you.

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

A very pleasant hike, without any difficulties, but a GPS is necessary in some places.

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Date of your route : Mar 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The route mainly follows small paved roads, forest tracks and dirt paths. The trail along the edge of the olive groves is pleasant; the view from the watchtower is impressive, and the descent via the "pink" route offers a remarkable view of the forest and the Alpilles, as well as the Vallon de la Lèque. Once at the bottom of the valley, rather than walking along the paved road to the St Jean chapel, we preferred to follow the small canal almost to the starting point; we found the area more bucolic. Finally, we stopped at the Domaine de Fonscolombe, just next door, a magnificent place with a restaurant, shops, a chapel, a château, a wine cellar, and more.

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Date of your route : Mar 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and easy hike. Like Nerfertilou13, we chose to follow the pink trail after the watchtower. This gave us some nice views of the gorge from above.

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Date of your route : Nov 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful and varied hike. Vegetation, views. Pleasant walking.
The GPX track was useful for finding some of the trailheads.

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Date of your route : Mar 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you very much for sharing. The first part was great (Mont Paon), but the second part was more mixed, with no real view from the watchtower... Over time, the trees have grown quite a bit, which blocks the view!

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Date of your route : Feb 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We made a slight change at the watchtower. Instead of returning along the same path (i.e. to point 10), we turned right immediately (leaving the watchtower area) and went down the path marked in pink on the IGN map, which took us past the climbing walls and even a cave (a large rock shelter). Just after the cave, we rejoined the path that descended from point 10.
it's a shame not to be able to visit the St Peire chapel (probably for safety reasons)

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Date of your route : Jul 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with a lovely mix of limestone cliffs and maritime pines. Avoid in very hot weather and respect the restrictions to preserve the massif

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Date of your route : Feb 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, the start of the hike is very poorly signposted. There is little parking available. Everything is blocked off and private property. There are no signposts. It is impossible to find your way around. There is a lot of road.
Otherwise, there is a very beautiful castrum at Mont Paon, which is worth a look.
The Vallon de la Lèque is also nice

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Date of your route : Jan 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Mont Paon is a wonderful discovery. However, between the car park and the start of the path leading up to the fortress, the small tarmac road is tedious to follow for 1.2 km. The climb is short and the site is magnificent, with a beautiful 365° view of the region and information panels describing the dwellings of the time.After descending the mountain, the path back to the Lèque valley is also very long and monotonous. You do have to step over some pallets stacked on a section of the path on private property, but this is no problem. We finally arrived at the start of the valley but once again found ourselves on a tarmac road that we apparently had to follow for a while. We therefore turned back at this point, as we didn't have enough time to finish the hike. It's a shame, as the valley must be interesting to see.

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Date of your route : Oct 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

As mentioned in previous comments, the route became impossible between points 7 and 8. At point 7, I descended along the olive grove and, as soon as I could, I took the track that climbs up to the right. I followed this track, keeping to the left (Cabrières valley) until I rejoined the route at the top of the Lèque valley. The Castrum du Mont Paon is magnificent. This allows you to complete the entire hike and see the Saint Peire chapel and the watchtower. If you don't want to make a return trip to the watchtower, a path takes you back down to the route, but you'll miss some beautiful rocky cliffs.
The only difficulties are the climb up and down Mont Paon. I highly recommend walking poles for this short section.

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Thank you for trying out this route and for your comments. Thank you also to everyone who helped improve it.
i haven't been able to do it again since, but with a little effort it should be possible if the fence is still there
i will keep you posted very soon.

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Date of your route : Feb 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

Hike to be deleted because the route is incorrect and fences have been placed on the trails

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

The GPS on the Visorando app is very helpful.
As for the difficult passage at point 7 to reach point 8: there are indeed a few steps to the left of a large pine tree. You need to climb onto the platform and head to the right, where some fallen rocks hide the passage. You will then find yourself on the small path that leads to point 8. Be careful during hunting season, however, as the bushes are waist-high, so don't hesitate to make some noise.
This search adds a little spice to this very pleasant hike.

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Date of your route : Feb 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Today's route: The first part was very interesting, with the discovery of the ancient Castrum du Mont Paon. Even though it's uphill, the reward at the top is well worth the effort. The site is secure, marked and information panels have been put up.
Be careful on the way down as it is a little steep in places.
However, we had a problem at point 7 as we were unable to reach point 8. We were using GPS, so finding the path wasn't a problem, but the owner of the olive grove had barricaded everything and put pallets across the path. As already mentioned by patrick.bormann (on 26 October 2020): we climbed up onto the small plateau above the meadow (accessed via a few wooden steps) and there, on the left, there was no path, or only a path through the brambles. There was an old plastic table and chairs in the middle of the path (probably to block it).in short, we turned back to return to point 14 and shorten our hike for the day (7 km).
The solution is probably to go to point 9 from point 7, which avoids the problem (already mentioned in some comments) of the connection between 7 and 8.
However, we don't regret doing the first part

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