The Goulet Forest from Prévenchères

Park in Prévenchères in the car park on Rue du Dévézou, just before the bridge.

(S/E) Set off with your back to the river along Rue du Dévézou, then Rue du Prieuré to reach the D906.

(1) Turn right onto the small road towards the campsite (it runs alongside the D906). Follow it for 3 km on a gentle incline, with first the Chassezac and then the Ruisseau des Gouttes flowing on your left. Just after the bridge, you’ll reach a junction with a hiking marker (Bois de Puylaurent).

(2) (see practical information). Take the path that winds sharply to the left. After a sharp bend to the right, you’ll look down over the Chassezac valley (beautiful views of the dam and reservoir). You’ll reach the road and follow it to the left towards the hamlet of Puylaurent and its beautiful church. Continue along the road until you find a path branching off to the right.

(3) Follow this yellow-marked path (markings are faint at the start) to reach a junction, Valat d’Entillat marker 1062 m.

(4) Continue straight on to reach the hamlet of "Les Gouttes" (water source on the left, drinkable?). Just past the hamlet, join a small road, Les Gouttes marker 1088 m.

(5) Follow it to the right and pass a hairpin bend. About 50 m further on, you’ll find a path on the right (very grassy in early July 2025).

(6) Take this unmarked path. At the^first Fork in the road, turn left and reach a^second Fork in the road.

(7) Take the ascending, somewhat overgrown path on the left. At the next junction, keep left and reach the ridge in the mountain pasture area. Continue along the path, which is now in very good condition, and reach a junction at the edge of the forest.

(8) Continue straight ahead along the wide farm track which winds downwards to a low point (altitude 1045m), offering magnificent views.

(9) Take the hairpin bend to the left to cross the Ruisseau des Maurines. Continue along the wide track until you reach a Fork in the road.

(10) (see practical information). Stay on the wide track until you reach a T-junction.

(11) Turn right to join the D906 at "La Molette" and the GR®72.

(12) Cross (take care) and take the GR®, marked in white and red, opposite; you will arrive a hundred metres further on at the junction marked by the La Molette 996 m signpost. Leave the road to stay on the GR®. A lovely path through the woods, often over rocky slabs. At the Fork in the road, take the right-hand path and join a small road (signpost Tas de Graviers 978 m).

(13) Follow the road to the left; this is still the GR® for about a hundred metres before reaching the Roucheiroux marker (970 m). Keep to the right, running parallel to the road, and join it shortly afterwards.

(14) Leave the path and head left (the GR® is well signposted, but you need to be careful). Continue due south-west along a wire fence until you reach the main track.

(15) Leave the GR® to follow this path on the right and immediately reach a Fork in the road (information sign for Prévenchères and its inn). Follow the lovely path on the left (mountain bike markings) which winds down gently towards Prévenchères. You’ll reach a crossroads just before the railway bridge.

(16) Continue straight on, go under the bridge and follow the small road to the car park on Rue du Dévézou (S/E).

The paths are relatively easy, but you should wear suitable footwear and a walking stick can be very useful.

At point (2), you can continue along the road and pass a hairpin bend to the left. About a hundred metres further on, you’ll find a path that winds sharply to the right (yellow markings). Take this path, which climbs steadily (with the babbling stream now on your right) through the undergrowth to reach a junction, marked by the Valat d’Entillat signpost at 1062 m. Then head right to reach the hamlet of Les Gouttes. This alternative route saves you a good kilometre.

At point (10), in late May 2026, I took the path on the right, which had been freshly cleared. A good descent leads to an ‘esplanade’. Then head left up a steep climb. At the fork in the road, take the left-hand path, which continues to climb steeply, to reach the wide track and rejoin the route by turning right. This alternative route is more rugged, and the paths are quite difficult, but the route shown on the map is accurate.

(S/E) Prévenchères, the beautiful church and the square with the old lime tree and the cedar. You can have a meal at the Auberge du Vieux Tilleul, where the food is good and reasonably priced (remember to book).

Puylaurent Church.