The Arry coast and its limestone grasslands

Hike between Arry, Mardigny and Lorry-Mardigny to visit their forests, limestone grasslands and local buildings. The Arry hillside offers panoramic views of the Moselle valley, the Rupt de Mad and the Seille valley. Flora: several species of orchids, aster amelle, stinking hellebore, meadow sage, crane's bill, viper's bugloss... Fauna: peacock butterflies and green hairstreak butterflies, whinchat birds, yellowhammer, linnet, thrush, finch, chiffchaff, smooth snake, birds of prey...

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.84 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 213 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 207 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 398 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 246 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Arry (57680)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.992058° / E 6.059455°
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park along the Lorry road at the end of the village of Arry towards Lorry-Mardigny, along the houses before the hairpin bend.

(S/E) Head towards Lorry-Mardigny via the D67 road to Lorry for 300 metres.

Yellow Ring Markings

(1) Go straight ahead at the hairpin bend, quickly leave the road and take the left-hand path that goes up into the woods for 300 m. At the intersection, take the left-hand path, still in the woods.
You will arrive at the edge of the forest with a field on your right. Continue along this field for 200 m.
At the intersection, continue straight ahead, slightly to the right, for 150 m.

(2) At the entrance to the forest, continue straight ahead into the woods.
Exit the forest and continue along the path through a meadow.
You will arrive at the ridge, at the edge of the field. There is an unobstructed view to the right. Continue for about 600 metres.

GR®5Ftrail markers

(3) Leave the path suddenly to cut across the field on the left. Take the small path that descends for 200 metres with a right turn to a barbed wire fence crossing.

Once you have passed the steps, continue downhill through the fields via the path, leaving the forest behind you. Continue to Rue de la Côte via a left turn and arrive at a farm building on the left.

(4) Pass in front of the farm building and turn right onto the street that descends to the centre of the village of Mardigny. Take thesecond left, along Chemin des Jardiniers, which turns slightly to the right, then immediately left onto Chemin de Saint-Laurent towards a modern (cubic) house and the church of Mardigny.

(5) In front of the church, take the small path that descends slightly to the right, through the gardens and orchards. Continue to a three-way junction. Then turn right until you pass the Notre-Dame de la Salette Chapel on your left.

(6) At the junction with the Lorry road, turn left until you reach Lorry-Mardigny. Leave the church on your left and continue along the road to the castle.

At the junction, leave Rue Notre-Dame and turn right, then immediately left along the houses to rejoin Rue des Sources. Turn right, then left onto Rue de la Croix Saint-Claude. Begin the 100-metre climb, then turn right into the forest before reaching the houses. The climb becomes steeper for 100 metres, then turn left along the gardens and orchards until you reach a carriage road.

(7) Turn left and follow the track through the forest until you come out of the woods. After leaving the forest, turn right at the fork, then climb the path until you reach the Lorry-Mardigny quarry and its orientation table.

(8) At the orientation table, climb up to cross the ridge and go around the old ruined casemate on the left and continue for 300 m. You will come to a barbed wire fence and a crossroads.

Yellow ring markings

(9) Turn left and follow the path through the field until you reach an intersection 400 m further down. Continue along the edge of the forest and then along the fields to reach the junction with the D67 road.

(10) Follow the D67 road downhill towards Arry, pass the hairpin bend at the start of the route and you will find the starting point on your right (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 316 m - Parking is available at the exit of the village of Arry.
  2. 1 : km 0.26 - alt. 331 m - Crossroads of the circular. Valley of the - Moselle (la)
  3. 2 : km 1.37 - alt. 373 m - Entrance to the forest. View of the valley. - Rupt de Mad
  4. 3 : km 3.21 - alt. 378 m - GR5F trail markings. View of the valley of the - Seille (Affluent de la Moselle)
  5. 4 : km 4.21 - alt. 284 m - Mardigny
  6. 5 : km 4.88 - alt. 270 m - Église Saint-Laurent (Mardigny)
  7. 6 : km 5.46 - alt. 258 m - Lorry-Mardigny
  8. 7 : km 7.28 - alt. 336 m - Junction with carriageway
  9. 8 : km 7.9 - alt. 363 m - Lorry-Mardigny quarry
  10. 9 : km 8.22 - alt. 386 m - End of the GR5F - Return to the Yellow Ring trail markers
  11. 10 : km 9.13 - alt. 354 m - Route D67
  12. S/E : km 9.84 - alt. 317 m - Parking is available at the exit of the village of Arry.

Notes

No special equipment is required other than hiking boots with good soles for sufficient grip on wet ground, a windbreaker for open areas, 1 litre of water and a hat in case of sunny weather.

Shelter is available in houses or bus shelters in Mardigny and Lorry.

Water is available at the cemeteries in Mardigny and Lorry during opening hours.

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
Christecol
Christecol

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 20, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with beautiful scenery and plenty to see. What’s more, it’s suitable for everyone. A word of advice: do it in good weather when there’s no wind.

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Taryl
Taryl

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very well explained route.
Just one downside: the car park at the start is small.

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michel pourel
michel pourel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, especially from May onwards when the wild orchids are in bloom.

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Gunther57
Gunther57

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Good hike, I would gladly do it again, but I would park at Lorry so I could start with the steepest climb.

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michel pourel
michel pourel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful route to enjoy with the family, easy to walk with many points of interest, including remnants of the 1914–1918 war and, above all, the limestone grassland where you can discover the different plants that grow there. Lots of beautiful 360° panoramic views across the entire area.

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valeriede M
valeriede M

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike, best done on a clear day to enjoy the panoramic views of Rupt de Mad and the Moselle, which is not often possible to see both.
Followed the GPX track on the GPS, no difficulty.
However, to avoid parking in front of houses at the edge of the village, we parked in the designated spaces in front of the church and then walked upstream to the starting point. Thank you for this hike.

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mamaude
mamaude

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk combining ascents and descents, interesting flora and fauna, and architecture (church, castle, and sculptures at the Maison Forestière de Lorry). Beautiful views of the Moselle valley AND the plateau to the east. You can stop for a snack either at the Notre Dame de la Salette chapel or at the church in Mardigny.
During the best months (May, June, September), you can see and photograph nationally protected flowers.

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MARLYZA
MARLYZA

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A superb hike that starts in the hills above Arry, offering beautiful views of the Moselle and Rupt de Mad valleys, and passes through two very pretty Lorraine villages, Mardigny and Lorry Mardigny. No difficulty. Thank you for sharing.

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Simon1
Simon1

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route with superb panoramic views of the Moselle Valley and Rupt de Mad on one side and the Moselle plain on the other. No flowers at this time of year, but limestone grasslands to admire. It is also a historical route with very well-designed educational panels about the battles of 1914 (we were on the border between France and Germany). Be careful at the start. You must take the path starting from the first bend in the road leaving Arry towards Lorry Mardigny, marked with a yellow circle. There is a sheep sign on a tree in the bend. We climbed too high up the road and did the hike backwards.

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