La Croisée des Plâtres at the start of Chevrières

This walk presents no major difficulties. It climbs the foothills of the Chambarans and offers many beautiful panoramic views of the Vercors and a few of the Chartreuse. The paths taken are either wide stony tracks or small tarmac roads.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.89 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 302 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 299 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 670 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 398 m

Photos

Description of the walk

You can park near the church in Chevrières.

(S/E) Leave Place du Souvenir and Chevrières Church, heading north-west along Montée de Château Rostaing. At the corner of the square, at the entrance to the street, there is a fountain and toilets.
You will see the yellow markings. You will climb steadily. When your lane begins to curve to the left, continue straight ahead on a path that quickly becomes grassy. When you reach a wooden cross, climb to the left. You will come to a small road, which you take on the right, then take the first lane on the left (signposted "Voie sans issue" (dead end), which is quite faded, and a stele indicating the direction of the orientation table and the chapel). When you reach the "castle", climb the steep, stony path on the left.

(1) A little further on, you will find a rough staircase on the right that will take you up to the chapel and the orientation table. Once you have enjoyed the view, continue along the original path, climbing for a good kilometre, ignoring a path that branches off to the left.

(2) You will arrive at a crossroads marked by the Buissonnière sign. Continue straight ahead towards the Bois de Saint-Appolinard. You will soon come to two forks, then a third. At each fork, take the right-hand branch. Ignore the two paths that come in from the right. When you reach a crossroads, enter the woods by taking the narrower path straight ahead (a yellow marker will quickly confirm that you have made the right choice).

(3) You will come to a wide stony track with a sign for Bois de Saint-Appolinard. Turn right towards La Croisée des Plâtres and follow the track, ignoring any paths that may join or leave it on the right or left.

(4) You will arrive at a wooden hut and a complex crossroads. You are at La Croisée des Plâtres. Cross the tarmac road and follow theGRP®® du Tour du Pays de Saint-Marcellin et de Saint-Antoine l'Abbaye, marked in yellow and red, towards the sign opposite indicating: Croisée des Plâtres - altitude 651m. Take the dirt track towards Bois de Chevrières.

(5) You will arrive at the sign for "Bois de Chevrières". Continue along the track towards La Faitas. You will come to a small tarmac road. Take this road opposite (slightly to the left). You will walk alongside a very pretty little pond.

(6) You will arrive at a crossroads with a sign for La Faitas. Leave theGRP®® here and turn right towards La Féta/Murinais. You are now on a pretty little tarmac road that descends towards the valley. Follow it, ignoring any paths that branch off to the right or left (there are occasional yellow markings).

(7) You will come to a crossroads. There is a green sign: Des châteaux et des hommes - Gros Pierre. Take the path on the right. It is paved at first, then becomes a stone path.

(8) After crossing a stream, you come to a road which you cross to take a grassy path opposite. When you reach another road, turn left. At the next fork, very quickly, turn left. You come out onto a road, at a transformer, turn right to quickly return to your starting point. (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 405 m - Chevrières Church
  2. 1 : km 0.85 - alt. 518 m - Chapel and Orientation Table
  3. 2 : km 1.98 - alt. 544 m - Panneau Buissonnière 550m
  4. 3 : km 3.93 - alt. 651 m - Signpost Bois de St-Appolinard 653m
  5. 4 : km 6.03 - alt. 647 m - Signpost La Croisée des Plâtres 651m
  6. 5 : km 6.77 - alt. 668 m - Signpost Bois de Chevrières 664m
  7. 6 : km 7.34 - alt. 645 m - Signpost La Faitas 643m
  8. 7 : km 11.17 - alt. 479 m - Green sign: Castles and Men - Gros Pi
  9. 8 : km 11.87 - alt. 399 m - Ruisseau de la Combe de Messin (cours d'eau) - Affluent du Merdaret
  10. S/E : km 12.89 - alt. 405 m - Chevrières Church

Notes

Head to the pretty village of Chevrières in Isère, north of St Marcellin. Park in the church square (Place du Souvenir).

The route is marked in yellow (between S/E and 3). In red and yellow (between 3 and 6). In yellow for the end. The markings are often sparse, to say the least, but there is little risk of getting lost.

After (6), the route takes a very pretty, quiet little road for the 3.5 km descent, offering beautiful views. However, it is tarmac! Those who dislike tarmac should opt for another route.

At the start (and therefore at the finish), there is a water point and toilets.

Worth a visit

During this walk, you will enjoy many beautiful panoramic views of the northern barrier of the Vercors, as well as a few views of the Chartreuse.

A third of the walk takes place in the Chambaran national forest.

The St Marcellin valley and its many walnut orchards are nearby.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
mansuy
mansuy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Yannick's guides are as perfect as ever, thank you!
The start gets you off to a good start for the rest of the route.
Beautiful view from the chapel over the Drôme and Isère rivers.
Short break at WP4.
However, on the way back between WP6 and 7, the road gets steeper and steeper, but luckily there's a beautiful view of the Vercors.
My Visorando data:
13 km, 300 m elevation gain, 3½ hours including breaks

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atraver
atraver

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a magnificent walk, often along ridges around Chambaran.
views of the Vercors, unobstructed views, easy route, thanks to the creator of the circuit.

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Thank you. To the question "between points 3 and 4...", I don't know how to answer...
Probably to get off the beaten track...
Happy walking.
Yannick

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sarrarobert
sarrarobert

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you, Yannick.
as usual, impeccable circuit, but unfortunately on 4 October 2024 there was a lot of wind on the ridges...
why not take the GRP between points 3 and 4 (the plaster cross), even though the trail is very pleasant?
Thank you... Robert from Rando-Bevenais

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pasapas38
pasapas38

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A fairly easy route offering beautiful panoramic views.
Just one small downside: the climb to the little chapel right at the start is a bit steep when you've just set off.

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ma.ge.26.38
ma.ge.26.38

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a pleasant short hike; views of the Vercors

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jean luc hamonet
jean luc hamonet

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on Saturday, 30 July 2022.
Lots of sunshine and a little wind.
The first orientation table is very interesting. A beautiful path then leads to the Chevrières woods.
The small road that descends towards the village of Chevrières is indeed very pretty with beautiful panoramic views.
Thank you for this beautiful hike.

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craco.35
craco.35

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk at the beginning of November. The return journey by road was a bit long. Thank you to the author.

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment.
The designer of the walk and viso-rando are not responsible for the quality of the signposting, and cannot do anything about it...
When the ion asks for your opinion on the route, it is simply a matter of saying whether the route provided to you on paper corresponds to the reality on the ground.
Happy walking!
Yannick

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pesenti marie noelle
pesenti marie noelle

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

hike on 25 May 2021...plan ok, explanations ok...markings to be reinforced (yellow paint on trees) between points 2 and 4

Today, the ground was very wet with tractor tracks...

In any case, a great walk that I would recommend (3½ hours)

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Hello,
Thank you for your comment.
The description and map are there to replace the signposts.
Enjoy your walks.
Yannick

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mumby
mumby

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, but the signage could do with being redone
Magnificent view of the Chartreuse mountains in the Vercors

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tifoxis
tifoxis

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A route with beautiful panoramic views. It's a shame that the return journey is on tarmac.

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samsonnet26
samsonnet26

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike with a length and elevation gain that are perfectly suited to walkers who enjoy easy trails. Beautiful views of the Vercors and northern Isère. I recommend it for autumn walks.

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ALTMANYOSSEF
ALTMANYOSSEF

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A nice walk for winter.

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