Hike to the Tour des Dentelles de Montmirail

It was a magnificent walk, but the route was complicated and even impossible to find at point 3, when we had to walk along the lace to get back to point 4. We had to turn around and go around the lace at the bottom to get back to point 4 on small roads, which were tarmac, but very pleasant and there were hardly any cars. In the end it was 20km instead of 15km, but it didn't matter, it was so much fun!
Incidentally, the Col du Crayon car park no longer exists (apparently reserved for the fire brigade), so you have to go to the Florêts car park, just 200m further down.

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Practically everything has been said about this beautiful hike, namely a lower situated car park and the lack of reliable markings at the foot of the lace where there are climbing routes. We took quite a few turns to find the path. Fortunately, the Visorando application corrected our mistakes. Much better than a traditional map, especially in the wind, and quite accurate. Steep and dangerous places, we had a dog and that can be difficult. We saw a very ill-equipped Dutch family (the woman had street shoes), totally unaware of the danger with 2 children of around 10 years old who climbed to the top of the lace (we cut the circuit to go and see these famous holes) with a crazy mistral wind that threw me off balance... A bit long on some of the DFCI, but superb views. So don't do it with children or dogs, or when the mistral is too strong.

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Nice hike but lack of clear, precise signposting. The place names don't always correspond to those given in the description. Unfortunately, we wasted too much time trying to find out where we were, so we had to shorten the circuit. It's a real shame that a massif like this isn't better signposted! the strong point of this place: no hunting on Wednesdays and weekends!

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We had trouble following the route near the cliffs, but were able to pick up the circuit a little further on.

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We've lost our way. So we're not talking about the beaconing.....................

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We had trouble following the route near the cliffs, but were able to pick up the circuit a little further on.

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Very nice hike. It's true that the ridge path is very difficult to follow, and you can't keep track of it even with the GPS. Some of the passages are vertiginous and quite dangerous.
Not for children.

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A superb walk with many viewpoints over the valleys and the lace. As has already been said in other comments, you have to park in Gigondas and walk to get to the starting point (it's uphill and adds around 3km each way).
There are a few too many DFCI paths, but the views make you forget these and then the paths to the lace are sublime, even if there are a lot of them and they are sometimes hard to find (even with GPS).
Nothing serious, you end up more or less close to the climbing accesses and you can easily correct your aim.
Not recommended for dogs/children unless you avoid going too close to the lace.
The picnic at the foot of the climbing points alone, with your back to the rock in full sunshine and a view over the calm valley and the Ventoux, will remain a magical moment.
The chapel is very nice (small diversions).

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Magnificent long walk at the best time of year (early Nov): great weather, little wind and the autumn vines turning from yellow to red: sublime! (bonus: 4 planes from the Patrouille de France manoeuvring above us during the 1st hour).
Add 2.5km and 200m of positive gradient (in total for the outward journey and return) to get to the start of the hike - it's no longer possible to drive up to the Col de Cayron).
The route is very easy, with no difficulties in the first half.
3rd quarter: a bit more challenging!
You climb to the foot of the cliffs and walk alongside them:
Many of the secondary paths have been cordoned off.
As a result, you have to turn right (towards the climbing cliffs) earlier than the GPS indicates.
(Be careful, this part is a little dizzy/technical).
The descent to Lafare is as good as it gets on the GPX: lots of intersections close together, so it's not always easy to find your way around.
Finally, the last quarter was easy, .... but uphill.

In short, a great tour - sometimes you have to look for your way around a bit (not a perfect GPX grace, but still very useful).

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Would do again, magnificent setting, no difficulties, perfect.

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This walk took place on Sunday 1 August, but there were few people on the paths, only on the tracks.
Allow 15.8 km from the Les Florets car park, which is compulsory if the barrier is closed to access the Col du Cayron.
From the start car park to the car park under the Clapis(3), no problem, it's a boulevard.
Then I was surprised by the climb because the end indicated on the GPS route doesn't follow the usual path that leads to the cliff (I'm a climber). Similarly, the whole section at the foot of the Clapis is completely out of sync with the actual path; it seems that the recorded track follows the IGN map, and if you don't use the IGN map, it's obviously a problem. Then I never found the yellow and blue cross that marks the start of the path back down to Lafare, so I took another one that ended up in the forest... I had to "cut" into the wilderness to find the intended path.
In conclusion: a lot of route errors due to a lack of adequate signposting between 3 and Lafare, but a magnificent panorama at the foot of the Clapis cliff.

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We did the tour last Sunday but didn't complete it because it was mixed up with the other Visorando proposal: tour des dentelles and tour sportif des dentelles de Montmirail.
What we have learnt is that you should avoid doing them in July and August, when it is dangerously hot (you can't expect anything from the waterfalls mentioned in the description), and avoid rainy days (frequent risk of slipping, especially when rock-climbing). Otherwise, the routes are perfectly feasible for experienced hikers and offer some lovely views.

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Departure from the village of Lafare, a few people on the large tracks, and the climb to point 3, then no more people along the cliff. The route is a bit steep and it's hard to find the trail in some places up to point 4, but the descent is easier than the route along the cliff.
Nice hike.

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Done this Sunday in fine weather, obviously a bit crowded.
I'm an average walker, but I do it regularly, so it took me 4hrs 15mins (walking time) from the car park below the Col de Cayron (allow 20mins for the return journey from the car park to the Col). I hadn't realised that the Col was accessible by car at that time of year, but it didn't matter.
The section along the cliffs (between points 3 and 4) is quite steep, so don't go there with children in my opinion. From point 3, take the road to Lafare.
At point 6, there are quite a few paths leading off, take the one furthest to the right, it's a steep climb, sometimes you have to use your arms, but it's not particularly difficult.
Magnificent views throughout the walk, really top notch, go for it.

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Walked in the opposite direction to the description.
Superb walk and no problem following the route (with GPS) except once we arrived at point 4 "Le Clapis".
It was impossible to follow the GPX route: there was no path on site to get to point 3. Very dangerous terrain, even though we weren't novices! The description did not correspond to the reality of the terrain between points 3 and 4; we had to turn back until we reached a small path that led us to Mon Rêve, where we found the circuit again.
Otherwise a superb walk.

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