The unfinished church of Saint-Genest-de-Beauzon

Saint-Genest-de-Beauzon is a strange commune, made up of scattered hamlets in the southern foothills of the Cévennes Ardéchoises, with an isolated town hall near an unfinished church that has only its walls remaining. Landscapes, old houses, historical curiosities and geological sites punctuate this route.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.34 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 319 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 318 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 334 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 173 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in front of the town hall (coming from Lablachère, just after the unfinished church, which is itself a little after the hamlet of Le Suel). Address: Mairie, Le Suel, Saint-Genest-de-Beauzon.

(S/E) Take the road (D 407) northwards, first passing the unfinished church on your left, then most of the hamlet of Le Suel on your right. A path branches off to the left 50 metres after leaving the hamlet.

(1) Take this path downhill towards the Mézillon stream for about 150 metres, then leave it on the left for a path that leads to a bridge over the Mézilhon. Then follow the tarmac road on the left for 250 metres.

(2) Leave the road and take a paved slanting street on the right that crosses the Mézilhon via an arched bridge, then climbs up through the trees at Bas Darbous. Continue in the same direction and rejoin the road on the left until you reach a tennis court.

(3) Turn left and walk alongside the tennis court. About 100 metres after the tennis court, take the path on the left that descends to the Régimont stream, then follows it (ford) before climbing up between two walls. When you see the houses, before the roads and the hamlet of La Ribeyre, a grassy path climbs up on the left.

(4) Climb this path, which joins the tarmac access road to Raynal. Follow it to the left for about 50 metres and then, at the end, take the path on the right heading north. This leads to the hamlet of Monteillet. At the tarmac road, take the path that runs along the right side of the hamlet and joins the D407. Follow the road to the left for about 100 metres until you reach a left-hand bend.

(5) At the bend, leave the road on the right and take the path towards Monteil. After about 300 metres, at the three-way junction, keep right and then, after a few hundred metres, turn left at the T-junction. Go around the hamlet of Monteil on the left and take the road (heading approximately north-west) for about 200 metres.

(6) A path branches off to the right. Descend into the pine trees, cross the stream and continue between the low walls. At the junction with a wide path, leave Salette on your left and continue straight ahead until you reach the tarmac road. Follow this road to the left, then turn right at the next crossroads and continue for about 100 metres.

(7) Descend to the right along the path that leads to the hamlet of Cros. After the hamlet, cross the D407 and walk along the right-hand side of the church and cemetery. When you reach the fields, keep left at the crossroads and walk along the fields to reach the hamlet of Salel. At the exit of this hamlet, a path descends to the left.

(8) Descend this path heading south. At the T-junction, turn right. Pass under the hamlet of Darasse (on your right). Join a road and find a path climbing south-west, roughly opposite. At the tarmac road, keep right and continue climbing along the forest track. About 50 metres after a hairpin bend to the left, a path climbs up to the right.

(9) Follow this path, which then descends and joins some houses. Continue along the wider path in the same direction until you reach the next three-way junction.

(10) Turn sharply left at the hairpin bend. Pass to the left of a large house (l'Espit) and continue along the path. After two hairpin bends, you will rejoin a wide path (heading south-south-east). When you leave the woods, turn left after crossing an olive grove to reach the D 407 and Salette. Turn right onto the D407 and continue for about 100 metres.

(11) At the crossroads in the right-hand bend, continue along the road for about 100 metres. Take the path on the right as an alternative to the road, which you will rejoin as you approach Le Suel and the starting point. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 245 m - Town hall car park
  2. 1 : km 0.18 - alt. 247 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 0.67 - alt. 222 m - Paved slanting street to Bas Darbous
  4. 3 : km 1.24 - alt. 264 m - Tennis court
  5. 4 : km 2.4 - alt. 173 m - La Ribeyre
  6. 5 : km 3.2 - alt. 211 m - Monteil Trail
  7. 6 : km 4.72 - alt. 248 m - Salette Trail
  8. 7 : km 5.73 - alt. 275 m - Cros Trail
  9. 8 : km 6.91 - alt. 296 m - Hamlet of Sahel
  10. 9 : km 8.13 - alt. 325 m - Le Pléjadou - The plague victims
  11. 10 : km 8.68 - alt. 311 m - Hairpin bend to the left
  12. 11 : km 10.35 - alt. 278 m - Les Salettes
  13. S/E : km 11.34 - alt. 245 m - Town hall car park

Notes

Good hiking boots are recommended.

Worth a visit

There are fountains along this route, notably just before (3) (towards Bas Darbous) and between (4) and (5) after Monteillet.

Note the vaulted or arched passages in several hamlets (Le Suel, Le Monteil, Salel).

In addition to the unfinished church in Le Suel, you can stop at Le Cros to see a religious monument.

Shortly before (9), before the hairpin bend in the forest track, the "Pléjadou" is a rock that has been carved to bend the wood for barrels (see photo).

After (9), on the uphill path, you can see the circular site of an old cemetery for plague victims. A site with sandstone blocks is nearby.

The rural architecture (many beautiful old houses), the trees (olive trees, old mulberry trees, pines, etc.), and the landscapes are sure to delight even the most seasoned hikers.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
B.T
B.T

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A pleasant walk along beautiful paved slanting streets to explore

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Waitukubuli
Waitukubuli

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A discovery for us in this region. A very beautiful, surprising and original hike. Paths and stone walls that take us back to another era. A walk not to be missed if you are in the area. Thank you again for this magnificent spot.

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La Barunle
La Barunle

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike.

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CAUMETTE
CAUMETTE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk with pretty paths and some beautiful stone houses, but with a bit too much tarmac.

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DROP34
DROP34

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with a bit too much road for our liking, passing through some charming Ardèche hamlets.

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joorange
joorange

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route is still as pleasant as ever, even though all the streams have dried up at the beginning of July.
The paths are well maintained and shaded.
There are some pretty arched passages that you can take (from the start, at Le Suel, then at the hamlet of Le Salel).
The yellow and white markings are very useful throughout the route.
A few changes compared to the description:
At point 2, the downhill path is not very pleasant. I followed the markings, which lead down a few metres further on (not much more pleasant, incidentally). You reach the paved slanting street, which you follow to the right before turning left at point 2.
- After Bas Darbous, the markings lead directly to the path that heads north to Raynal. I descended at point 4, but I didn't see any path coming from the west (perhaps it's private?).
- At the hamlet of Monteillet, you have to walk a few metres along the small road before turning right between the houses.

If you follow the markings carefully, there is no problem.

I did this hike early in the morning to avoid the heat.

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Poupette
Poupette

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It is a very pleasant and varied hike. Some points should be more precise, such as point 5.

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boninmi
boninmi

Thank you very much, SpaakC.

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SjaakC
SjaakC

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful walk along wonderful paths. Download the GPS track, very helpful in spots. Thanks for posting this walk!

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CoPhi
CoPhi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A walk through the woods, which must be very pleasant on hot summer days. We missed out on the views...

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PatPros
PatPros

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 17, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful little hamlets. Very pleasant walk.
Patricia

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joorange
joorange

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We took advantage of the slightly cool weather at the beginning of June 2018 to go on this hike.
I imagine it must be very hot in the middle of summer.
A very pleasant route with beautiful trails, some of which are quite difficult (between 3 and 4, after point 8).
There is a nice picnic area near the church in Le Cros (with a shaded table).

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