Maupas Grand Circular Route

Park in the church car park.

(S/E)Walk past the church on your right (D45), turn right and pass between the apse and the cemetery. Then turn left and cross the town hall car park. Turn right and cross the multi-purpose hall car park. You will come out onto Boulevard Docteur Valois; follow it to the left.

(1) At the next junction, take Rue Michel Criminesi on the right and follow it for about 250 m. When you reach Rue du Guichet, head left and continue for about 150 m. Turn right towards the football stadium and walk along its right-hand side. The path runs between two fences and leads onto the Renage to Fure road (D45), which you should follow for 50 m to the right.

(2) Cross the road carefully, then take Chemin de Maupas. After about a hundred metres, take the grassy path on the left, which climbs, then turns south and rises steadily. At the first fork, keep to the right until the junction with Chemin de la Bergère.

(3) Cross over and take the path leading uphill opposite. At the next fork, continue straight on along the forest track until you reach the Route des Arrons, then continue left for 200 m towards Tullins. You will come to a fork with letterboxes attached to a tree.

(4) Take the first path on the right. A fairly steep climb leads to a barn. Continue straight ahead to the left of the barn. About a hundred metres further on, a steep climb leads to a ridge below Parménie. Take the level path on the left and follow it for about 250 m. Two successive paths descending to the right lead to a track between Beaucroissant and Les Arrons.

(5) Head towards Beaucroissant on the right (north). Continue along this clear path and, further on, pass a path coming from the Col de Parménie on your left. You will reach the hamlet of Les Vernes (signpost) directly beneath a power line.

(6) Continue straight on towards Beaucroissant. About 200 m further on, keep left at the junction. Cross a wide track coming down from Parménie and stay on the main track towards Mollard-Ceval.

(7) At the hamlet of Mollard-Ceval, take the track on the right towards Renage. 200 m further on, before the tarmac road, take the track on the right which turns southwards towards Tullins. Pass in front of the Parménie stables then follow the left-hand fork at the junction in front of the farm buildings. Keep left at the next fork.

(8) Turn left towards Renage. At the yellow marker indicating a gas pipe, head straight down to the hamlet of Les Arbres Creux, where many old chestnut trees once grew. The path crosses the Route du Bois and continues, on the opposite side, to the Chemin de la Bergère. Follow it down to the right for 250 m.

(9) Immediately after the house on the edge of the road, turn left. Follow the grassy path down, then take the Montée du Couloir, and rejoin Rue de la République.

(10) Take the D45 to the left and return to the church car park (S/E).

Hiking on our trails is an outdoor activity and involves certain risks: you may slip and fall, find yourself in the path of a mountain bike or a falling branch… Please be careful. Warning: global warming is affecting the vegetation. Trees are weakened and may uproot unexpectedly. Do not venture into the undergrowth in windy or stormy weather. Walking with poles is recommended. Keep an eye on your children and stay on the path. Enjoy your walk.

Note: after the (4), if you go round the barn to the right, this is a shortcut for a descent towards Beaucroissant. The passage under the high-voltage power lines offers unobstructed views of the Vercors, the Chartreuse and the Pays Voironnais. At the next fork, head west-northwest. Stay on the hillside and under the high-voltage power lines to reach the (6).

Where the path passes beneath the high-voltage power lines, the generally unobstructed view offers interesting vantage points over the Pays Voironnais, the Chartreuse and the Vercors.