The Croix de Rochefort from Beaujeu

A beautiful circular route starting from Beaujeu that leads to the Croix de Rochefort, where the view is splendid.

Details

16836208
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.18 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 642 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 634 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 883 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 302 m

Description of the walk

Park in the car park on Avenue Docteur Giraud.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the church, turn right and then right again into Rue de la République.

(1) Turn left onto Montée des Étoux. Go up to the Croix de Saint-Vincent, turn left, then immediately right, walking alongside the cemetery. Continue along this street until you find a path on the right.

(2) Turn onto this path which passes through the vineyards. At the crossroads, turn left and continue until you reach a road.

(3) Turn right. The road quickly turns into a path. Continue straight ahead until you reach a road.

(4) Do not take this road, but instead take a path that branches off immediately to the left. Continue straight ahead, passing a first hairpin bend to the left and then another to the right. Continue climbing and pass another hairpin bend to the left to reach a crossroads.

(5) Turn right at this new hairpin bend. Further on, at the fork, keep left and continue to the road. Turn right and then left. Leave the road on your right and the dead end to follow the path that branches off to the left. When you reach the entrance to a house, take a path on the left and continue along it until you reach a small road just before the D 136.

(6) Turn right onto this road, which turns into a path just after the houses. At the fork, turn right. When you reach a junction of three paths, continue to the right. Continue climbing until you reach a path on the left, turn onto it and follow it. Be careful, this path is a little overgrown with broom but remains passable. It becomes clearer and veers to the right. It climbs quite steeply and as soon as it descends, it reaches a fork.

(7) Keep to the right. At the end of the climb, continue on the left until you reach a wood storage area. Turn right to reach Croix Callet.

(8) Take the path on the left. At a fork, keep left and continue to Croix Rochefort, the highest point of this circular route (altitude 888 metres).

(9) Enjoy the view, then continue along the path. At a crossroads, turn right and then immediately left onto a path blocked by a vehicle barrier. Continue without paying attention to the side paths and you will arrive at another barrier and a track.

(10) Turn right and continue to a road. Turn right, then straight ahead. Walk down this road a little to the Croix du Py to enjoy the view.

(11) Retrace your steps in the opposite direction and return to the fork you passed earlier.

(10) Continue straight ahead on the right track until you reach a hairpin bend.

(12) Just after this bend, turn left onto the path that follows theGR® 76. Continue following the red and white markings that lead downhill to Beaujeu.

(13) Turn left. When you reach a road, turn right and then, a little further on, turn left onto the path that descends towards the stream. Follow this path and, at the fork, take the left-hand path. When you reach a road, follow it to the left, leaving the path that branches off to the right a little further on. A little higher up, a tarmac path descends to the right.

(14) Take it and continue on a path that leads to Beaujeu. TheGR® markings are still present. When you reach the road, turn left and continue straight on along Rue des Écoles and then Rue de la République. At the church, turn right and return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 302 m - Church car park. Close to the - Ardière (rivière) - Affluent de la Saône
  2. 1 : km 0.25 - alt. 306 m - Montée des Étoux
  3. 2 : km 1.08 - alt. 363 m - Path on the right
  4. 3 : km 1.64 - alt. 421 m - Road junction, on the right
  5. 4 : km 2.4 - alt. 429 m - Path on the left
  6. 5 : km 3.07 - alt. 510 m - Crossroads, on the right
  7. 6 : km 4.21 - alt. 549 m - Road, on the right
  8. 7 : km 5.18 - alt. 713 m - Junction, on the right
  9. 8 : km 6.49 - alt. 823 m - Croix Callet
  10. 9 : km 7.72 - alt. 883 m - La Croix de Rochefort
  11. 10 : km 8.97 - alt. 765 m - Second barrier, common fork A/R
  12. 11 : km 9.44 - alt. 763 m - La Croix du Py
  13. 12 : km 10.66 - alt. 701 m - Hairpin bend
  14. 13 : km 11.72 - alt. 573 m - Turn left onto the GR°®°
  15. 14 : km 13.94 - alt. 371 m - Tarmac road on the right
  16. S/E : km 15.18 - alt. 302 m - Church car park

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

4.5 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Rackoon
Rackoon

Hello
I would like to point out that the route of the GR76 between "La Croix Callet" and Beaujeu was changed around the middle of last year. The markings on site have been removed and moved to the new route. From Croix Callet, the route heads south-west towards Malval and then roughly follows the Font Bidon stream from Grange du Milieu. The change has not yet been made on the IGN map.
This probably explains Vincent Bron's comment!

Machine-translated

Vincent Bron
Vincent Bron

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in favourable weather conditions: cloudy and foggy in the morning (departure around 10 a.m.) and sunny in the afternoon (return around 5 p.m.).
The hike was divided into two distinct parts: an ascent in the morning followed by a descent. There was no alternation, which made the exercise unique. It should be emphasised that the climb is continuous and steep in places. Right from the start, in fact: the climb up Les Etoux sets the tone. We set off confidently, full of enthusiasm, but soon find ourselves out of breath, exhausted by the slope. And it's like that for the two or three hours of the climb.
In our case, there was an additional difficulty: near the summit, we lost our way in a woodcut. We found ourselves in the middle of a large area littered with tree trunks and branches, with no way of finding the rest of the path. So we continued to climb "at random" up the slope, even though the path was lower down. We found it again further on thanks to... the GPS!
As a result, having set off just before 10 a.m., we arrived at the Croix de Rochefort around 2 p.m.! Even if you don't lose your way, the climb is difficult and, in my opinion, not accessible to the average untrained person.
That said, the effort is rewarded with satisfaction once you reach the cross: the landscape is magnificent, you can see the whole Beaujeu valley, and on that day, we were able to admire the magnificent play of sunlight on the different types of vegetation: meadows, vineyards, woods, etc.
Another interesting feature of the season is the opportunity to pick mushrooms, walnuts, hazelnuts and chestnuts. Not to mention the few bunches of grapes left behind by the harvesters.
The "Croix du Py" is the cross planted in the middle of the field as soon as you leave the woods. There is no need to go any further, as indicated on the map and in the description.
The descent was so easy that we missed the change of path at point 12, as the path we had been following since "10" was like a boulevard.
As for the mention of the GR76: no need to mention it: until BEAUJEU we saw no red and white signs, either to indicate the right path or, more annoyingly, at the crossroads we encountered. I hope this section of the GR is not very busy; there is hardly anything but the slope to tell you that you are going in the right direction!
All in all, it was a physically demanding hike, but really satisfying in terms of the pleasure experienced once at the top!

Machine-translated

Yoyolasaumure
Yoyolasaumure

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk in the cold, wind and snow on 2 December. It climbs steeply right from the start. It's a shame about the views and panoramas, as the sky was completely overcast. I didn't meet a single soul 😁😁. I'll have to do it again when the weather is better 😅.

Machine-translated

Rackoon
Rackoon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The climb to the Rochefort cross is a bit steep, but the view is spectacular.
It is possible to get there from Avenas, for example, which is less difficult.
A hike not to be missed.

Machine-translated

ouverture
ouverture

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike with a beautiful climb and a beautiful, fairly challenging descent.
Magnificent scenery on this cold day (-6/-10) with frosty trees, a thin white blanket on the ground, and leaves and soil crunching under our shoes.

Machine-translated

evaganay
evaganay

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route along the ridges above Beaujeu, with the flamboyant colours of autumn and glorious sunshine. It was a wonderful walk.

Machine-translated

d.aubert6
d.aubert6

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, with a fairly strenuous climb to Rochefort's X and a slightly long descent. Very beautiful views at the start and at Rochefort's X.
The antenna towards the Py crossroads is not particularly interesting, unless you want to locate the guesthouse located there.

Machine-translated

jeanlouispe
jeanlouispe

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

This moderately difficult route is very pleasant. However, without the route on our smartphone, we would have got lost once or twice. It's a hike worth doing again.

Machine-translated

Platinorius
Platinorius

Hello,
The GPX file for the "la-croix-de-rochefort-depuis-beaujeu" hike is not loading and is generating an error.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.