The Estérel National Forest - Mont Vinaigre

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A long and beautiful hike that allows you to discover the Estérel National Forest via Mont Vinaigre. Offers beautiful views of the Mediterranean.

Details

n°228328
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 20.27 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 751 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 757 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 613 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 70 m
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Photos

Fréjus Bay - St Raphael

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the Colle Douce crossroads.

(S/E) Head north-east and take theGR®49(white and red markings) along the tarmac road for about 300 metres.

(1) Leave the road and continue on theGR®49to the left. At the first crossroads, turn right and head for the Col des Sacs.

(2) Leave theGR®49and take the path that climbs towards the large rock, passing between the two wooden posts to rejoin theGR®49on the other side.

(3) Turn slightly right, continue on theGR®49, ignoring the paths branching off to the right and left, until you reach the Maison Forestière du Malpey.

(4) At the crossroads, head north on the Route du Malpey. After about 60 metres, turn right, following theGR® trail, and keep to the right to join the Estarpe du Cheval track. Follow it to the left for about 50 metres.

(5) Turn right onto theGR®51, which crosses the road twice before reaching the Mont Vinaigre car park. Continue right on theGR®51, which climbs up to Mont Vinaigre, crossing the access road several times.

(6) At the Mont Vinaigre viewpoint, continue on theGR®51, which descends to a wide track.

(7) First turn left then right with theGR®, walk about 50 metres (biological reserve sign) then leave theGR® which turns left and continue straight ahead to a wide track. Follow this track to the left to the Col de l'Aire de l'Olivier.

(8) Continue straight ahead, taking the first track on the left of the cistern.

(9) At the next junction, continue straight ahead, passing to the left of a white pillar. Here, the path is slightly hidden by vegetation. Continue to the Colle Noire crossroads.

(10) Cross the track, turn right immediately and continue straight ahead until you reach the wide Castelli track. Cross the bridge, walk to a crossroads and take the first track that climbs to the right.

(11) Take the small track on the left, which is barely visible. There is a cairn built by hikers marking the start. Continue straight ahead, keeping a west-southwest direction, and reach a crossroads just before a small lake. As you approach the lake, the track is no longer visible, but you can follow the azimuth as the vegetation is low.

(12) Turn left and once at the bottom, turn left again, crossing the ford to reach another junction at the edge of another lake.

(13) Turn left, join the Castelli track and follow it to the right until you reach a three-way junction.

(14) Turn left and continue along the track, which winds its way back to the car park at the start (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 112 m - Car park at the Colle Douce crossroads
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 112 m - Follow the GR to the left
  3. 2 : km 1.26 - alt. 157 m - Col des Sacs (156m)
  4. 3 : km 2.2 - alt. 246 m - GR49; bear slightly right
  5. 4 : km 4.81 - alt. 361 m - Malpey Forest House
  6. 5 : km 5.34 - alt. 381 m - Leave the track and follow the GR51 on the right
  7. 6 : km 7.55 - alt. 613 m - Mont Vinaigre
  8. 7 : km 9.09 - alt. 400 m - Wide track, first turn left then right onto the GR
  9. 8 : km 12 - alt. 371 m - Col de l'Aire de l'Olivier
  10. 9 : km 12.67 - alt. 390 m - At the crossroads, continue straight ahead
  11. 10 : km 13.95 - alt. 174 m - Carrefour de Colle Noire
  12. 11 : km 16.7 - alt. 116 m - Crossroads
  13. 12 : km 17.66 - alt. 86 m - Lake, crossroads, turn left
  14. 13 : km 18.15 - alt. 78 m - Lake, crossroads, turn left
  15. 14 : km 18.48 - alt. 96 m - At the three-way junction, continue to the left
  16. S/E : km 20.26 - alt. 112 m - Car park at the Colle Douce crossroads

Notes

Please note that there are numerous potholes on the tarmac forest road leading from Saint-Raphaël to the car park.
Traffic is prohibited between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Some sections of the route are very stony.

 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.

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Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 16 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
User 17437019

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Excellent route. The app is excellent and accurate, which is fortunate because on the 11th and 12th the trail is almost completely worn away. The description reflects the route.
A very beautiful hike with two sections that are quite difficult for beginners.
Varied landscape and nature.

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Vévert
Vévert

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A few difficulties between 11 and 12..

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nicolas83
nicolas83

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

No access to the car park if you follow the directions to the start; another route may lead there, but not this one, which is closed by a barrier. However, there is still a car park available at this barrier; you just need to add a little over 1 km to reach the start. Total distance: 23.24 km. A beautiful, fairly easy route, with a lack of landmarks between 11 and 12, but it is still passable with the app open. The route was completed in 4 hours and 45 minutes at a steady pace.

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albo06
albo06

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I discovered some trails that I hadn't yet explored, and I did this route starting from Malpey.

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jpmathieu39
jpmathieu39

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 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, varied and wild route. On the way back, some paths have almost disappeared over a distance of about 1 km (especially between points 11-12), and you need to be equipped with a GPS to follow the route, but that's also part of the charm of the hike.

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grosseteub
grosseteub

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Well done up to the mountain.
Nice descent.

Between points 9 and 10, follow the trail carefully using the map and GPS, as the path is not very well marked.

Between points 11 and 12, the path is no longer marked. It's a matter of intuition, map reading and bushwhacking (bring a good stick to avoid scratching the car body)

However, the elevation gain is close to 1,000 metres.

Enjoy your hike!

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for your comment.

problem accessing Causz password

In this case, please ask your question using the link below:

https://www.visorando.com/forum-randonnee...

Kind regards

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miloumoi
miloumoi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

visandro is good except for the password access issue. Otherwise, it's great. Thanks to them

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grandin
grandin ★

Thank you for your comment. Neither Visorando nor the authors are responsible for the signposting. Signposts are often included in the descriptions when they are present on the ground, but they can disappear, so it is best to rely on the description and the map. That said, you find the description "average". Can you give us any suggestions for improving it?

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arpinou
arpinou

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful place, but it was very difficult to follow the instructions, even though we are used to hiking. The signposting wasn't great either. At one point, we wanted to follow the purple signpost because we had lost our way and couldn't find it, even though it was marked on the maps there. five kilometres later, some hikers told us that the marker no longer existed... In the end, we walked 37 kilometres instead of the planned 20. Fortunately, we have strong legs. I recommend it for the magnificent views, but not for the instructions, which are not easy to follow.

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calou40
calou40

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a very beautiful hike, but when I reached point 9 and followed the description, I got lost and ended up walking an extra 2 or 3 km. However, I found the bridge at the Castelli trail (the description says to follow to the left of the white pillar, but I only saw a large white concrete marker). No big deal, it was good exercise!

i'll do it again next year during my holidays

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aliensce
aliensce

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike with stunning views of the Estérel mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.
As I didn't have a GPS, I would have added two points (points where I took the wrong path...). The first between points 5 and 6: When you reach the heliport track, take the track on the left that goes up to Mont Vinaigre. The second between points 10 and 11 to mark the crossroads: Walk to a crossroads and then take a barely visible path that goes up to the right (do not take the Castelli track).
Thank you for this beautiful route, which allows you to make a large circular loop in the Estérel massif.

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jl1309m
jl1309m

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A fairly rugged route with beautiful views of Fréjus Bay.
Between points 1 and 13, there is no path, but you can descend towards the small lake.
The arrival from point 14 is a bit long on the track, but there is no other option.
Elevation gain (1,000 m) and 22 km
A hike to be recommended.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, specialrando
This is what happens when we talk too much. We don't pay attention to the description and we get lost
If you have any ideas for improving the description, please do not hesitate to let us know.

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specialrando
specialrando

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

we did this hike with four experienced hikers and got lost right from the start. Fortunately, Mt Vinaigre is clearly visible. We made it to the top without any problems, but the return to the car park was done by feel and not at all on the route planned by the map. It was on an unmarked path that we happened to meet some Italians who were filling their van with eucalyptus branches. I don't know if it's allowed, but the guys seemed very shady to me. Apart from that, the walk was superb.

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