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As this hike does not appear in any guidebook, the markings on the ground may coincidentally correspond to a portion of the route, but that is all.
Important: all the places to pass through that are in "quotation marks" are marked on the ground.
Park in the car park at Place des Tilleuls, next to the "Chez Joelle" bar.
(S/E) Head for the "Montée du Charron", which is quite a steep climb. At the top, turn left onto "Chemin du Parron" (beautiful view of the Monts du Forez and Pierre-sur-Haute, recognisable by its antenna). Continue to the right along the "Presle" path to "Blanc-Parron".
(1) Turn right towards "Saint-Martin-Lestra" on a small road. Leave it after the right-hand bend and take a grassy path that descends between the meadows at first (yellow marker) and then runs alongside a wood on your right until you reach a crossroads.
(2) Ignore the path that branches off to the left and keep to the right to cross a stream (footbridge). The path climbs slightly, runs alongside a house and then a farm building, and leads to a small road.
(3) Turn right, cross the D101E and follow the "Chemin des Chevreuils" which leads to the "Route des Hameaux". Follow it to the right for about 20 metres until you reach "Sérail".
(4) Turn right towards "Gorges" and at the exit turn right towards "la Truelle". Continue climbing the small road, leaving the path that leads left towards Chambost-Longessaigne, and reach "la Truelle".
(5) Turn left onto a grassy path to reach the hamlet of "Chole", keeping to the path that climbs to the right. At the exit of the hamlet, turn left towards "Longessaigne" via the "Chemin de la Chamotte". Go around the farm building on the left and follow cycle signpost 107, which passes through La Croix des Mines, Le Fardet, Chez Séve, Chemin de Font Froide, Les Cueillettes d'Amélie and L'Allée du Plat until you reach Les Granges.
(6) Leave cycle signpost 107, which branches off to the left, and turn right towards "Chancolan" to reach Longessaigne via "la Chaise". Cross Longessaigne following the "Grande Rue" on the right-hand pavement until you reach the village exit.
(7) Turn right onto the path signposted "Auberges". This path passes through "la Tour du Canet" and then joins a road. Follow it for about 50 metres along a vague path on the right, slightly below. Cross the road carefully just before the bend for better visibility, and take a good path that will join theGR®7marked in white and red. Follow theGR® 7 to Montrottier intramuros.
(8) In Montrottier, shortly after the town hall, leave theGR® 7 via the "Chemin du Raty" and leave it about 20 metres further on for the "Chemin de Pieracole" (which is not shown on the IGN map), which descends straight down to a road. Cross it and, slightly to the left, take the path that descends (mountain bike marker 116) to the stream. The path then turns into a good track. Follow it up to "Raty" (the IGN map shows "Grand Maison"). Then head towards "Prou" following the GTML (Grand Tour des Monts du Lyonnais) cycle route markings, then "Chemin des Balades" and "Chemin de la Renaudière". Continue to "la Mazalière".
(9) Then turn right towards "Vers le Grand Vial" via the "Chemin des Pierres". At "Vers le Grand Vial", follow the signs for "Saint-Clément-les-Places", cross the road and at the "Grand Vial" farm, follow the yellow markings (turn right) to the nearby intersection. There, follow the signs for "Foyer Rural", leaving the path that leads to the "Le Grand Robert" farm on your left. Finally, pass through the hamlet of "Laprat".
(10) Just before the D101, turn right onto a road closed to traffic that descends to the "Foyer Rural" in Saint-Clément-les-Places. Go up the street on the left, following the signs for "Saint-Clément-le-Bourg". Then turn left again onto "Rue du Lavoir" to reach "Place des Tilleuls", the starting point (S/E) of the hike.
: we turned right, following the yellow and red markings too closely before Le Prou (on the way back), passing by La Grand Maison, Le Garel, Les Places, etc., and then returned to the route. This was a small detour of 1 kilometre and a little more elevation gain.
Visorando member
Easy 
Moderate 
Association / Club / Walk leader
