La Galaube and Ramondens

de fr

This is a forest walk where you’ll often find yourself between state-owned and privately-owned woodland, resulting in a variety of trees on either side of the path. Beech and coniferous trees share the space. You’ll always be on fairly wide paths.
Forestry work often alters the course of the paths. Don’t worry if the route doesn’t follow the map’s markings exactly. As long as you keep heading in the right direction, you won’t get lost!

Details

n°561185
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.98 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 312 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 302 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,470 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,277 ft
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

Ramondens Castle.
Arrival at the Ramondens holiday camp.
Junction with the Ramondens track.
Forest track

Description of the walk

Access: You need to reach the village of Lacombe via the D53 or the D253. In the village, head towards La Galaube. Drive through the village and take the first left. After about one kilometre, stop at the entrance to a track that crosses the road.

(S/E) Take the tarmac road on the left for 50 metres, cross the bridge and continue for a further 50 metres.

(1) At the junction with another road, climb slightly up the embankment on the left to take a narrow path. This will turn into a fairly wide track which used to be passable by vehicles but is now only suitable for large vehicles. Continue along this track until you reach a major junction.

(2) Carry on straight ahead in the same direction. At the first Fork in the road, keep right onto the main track.

(3) At this second Fork in the road, veer off to the right again. Follow this track until you reach a well-maintained road, which you take to the right. Pass over a large, round, open area that was developed for a project as yet unknown. You’ll arrive at Ramondens, which is a holiday camp rather than a village. Walk alongside the buildings along the road, which has now become tarmac.

(4) Immediately after the last house, turn right onto a path and head round to the rear of the buildings. Walk alongside them and you will pass behind Ramondens Castle. The path turns into a forest track, but carry on straight ahead.

(2) Return to this crossroads and turn left onto the same track as on the way there. About 150 metres further on, leave this track to climb the embankment on the left and find a small ditch marking the boundary between the beech forest and the coniferous forest. You’ll notice that the ditch follows a green line on the map. These green lines mark the boundary between state-owned and private woodland. Follow this ditch, which is sometimes blocked by fallen trees, but which you can easily get round. When you reach the tarmac road, cross it. Continue along the track opposite.

(5) At the first junction, turn right and carry on until you reach the road, where you turn right.

(1) At the junction on the left, you’ll find yourself back at the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,283 ft - First left after La Galaube. Near the - Rougeanne (rivière)
  2. 1 : mi 0.08 - alt. 2,287 ft - A narrow path on the embankment to the left
  3. 2 : mi 0.63 - alt. 2,454 ft - Major junction, go straight on
  4. 3 : mi 1.02 - alt. 2,418 ft - At the fork in the road, take the right-hand path
  5. 4 : mi 2.16 - alt. 2,448 ft - Ramondens
  6. 5 : mi 3.48 - alt. 2,408 ft - Take the first right after the road and the river
  7. S/E : mi 3.98 - alt. 2,287 ft - Starting point

Worth a visit

Between points (3) and (4), enjoy the blueberry bushes that grow in abundance along this path.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 2 reviews
Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Entre2o
Entre2o

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Please note: the signposting isn’t always very clear and there was no mobile signal for quite a while.
Otherwise, we did manage to spot a fawn.

Machine-translated

adalen
adalen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very easy and relaxing walk
The forest is currently being logged, so in a while this route won’t be quite as appealing

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Walking La Rigole via La Galaube

Visorando Member
La Rigole par la Galaube
↔4.56 mi ↗+299 ft ↘-315 ft ◔2h 20 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Lacombe (Aude)
The Rigole de la Montagne again. But this time you won’t be walking alongside it. You’ll go round it on a route that’s shaded all the way. The return along the road is a bit long, but you can walk on the verges if you don’t like tarmac.

Walking La Rigole via the Prise d'Alzeau

Visorando Member
La Rigole par la Prise d'Alzeau
↔3.76 mi ↗+144 ft ↘-144 ft ◔1h 50 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Lacombe (Aude)
The walk is always in the shade and sheltered by very large beech and oak trees. There is practically no elevation gain as you follow the water.

Walking Between the forest and the Montagne Noire drainage ditch

Visorando Member
Entre forêt et Rigole en Montagne Noire
↔7.58 mi ↗+774 ft ↘-784 ft ◔4h 10 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Lacombe (Aude)
A refreshing walk in the Montagne Noire from the small village of Lacombe (11310) to the Ramondens national forest (Tarn) with a picnic stop near the retaining dyke of the St-Denis basin. Return via the right bank of the Alzeau and passage at the Prise d'Alzeau, source of the Canal du Midi, before climbing back up to Lacombe. Walk checked on 18/06/23. A few details have been added by the author

Walking In the footsteps of Pierre Paul Riquet's "Rigole d'Essai"

Visorando Member
Sur les traces de la "Rigole d'Essai" de Pierre Paul Riquet
↔1.73 mi ↗+292 ft ↘-289 ft ◔1h 05 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Lacombe (Aude)
360 years ago, Pierre Paul Riquet had the trial trench for the Canal du Midi dug. The official purpose of this small diversion canal was to prove that large quantities of water could be brought from the Montagne Noire to the Naurouze threshold, where the planned navigation canal would have its "dividing point", its highest watercourse. However, for Riquet, the stakes were much higher: he also wanted to prove that he was fully capable of managing a project as large as the gigantic structure he had planned. To convince Colbert and the commission responsible for examining the feasibility of the project, he offered to finance the test canal himself and only be reimbursed if the objectives were achieved... Theoutcome proved this stubborn man right! This walk takes you on a journey of discovery to find traces of this "Rigole d'Essai" in the Alzeau valley, starting from the village of Lacombe. Parking is available opposite the town hall.

Walking The Bois de la Serre Haute

Visorando Member
Le Bois de la Serre Haute
↔6.54 mi ↗+738 ft ↘-735 ft ◔3h 40 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Lacombe (Aude)
Walk along forest paths towards the Bois de la Serre Haute and the Forêt Domaniale de la Loubatière from Lacombe, stopping at the source of the Canal du Midi, the Prise d'Alzeau, before following the left bank of the Lac de la Galaube. The route is marked locally (yellow line). It is taken in the opposite direction to the description with a few modifications for greater comfort (descent at the end of the route).

Walking En forêt de Ramondens

Visorando Member
↔6.55 mi ↗+610 ft ↘-636 ft ◔3h 35 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Arfons (Tarn)
Balade vers le Parc éolien d'Arfons-Sor, situé sur la commune d'Arfons, depuis le château de Ramondens, qui a été un temps la propriété de P.P Riquet, et siège maintenant du CCAS d'EDF qui y organise des colonies de vacances pour les enfants. Le parcours, sans balisage (ou presque), se situe entièrement dans la Forêt Domaniale de la Montagne Noire, au Nord du torrent de l'Alzeau, "frontière" naturelle entre Aude et Tarn, à deux pas de la célèbre Prise d'Alzeau. Après l'arrêt à une ancienne cabane de pisciculture, réaménagée par l'ONF, le retour s'effectue par le vallon de Bergnassonne pour retrouver le château de Ramondens.

Walking The Lampy Neuf Reservoir as seen from Ramondens

Visorando Member
↔9.00 mi ↗+692 ft ↘-719 ft ◔4h 45 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Arfons (Tarn)
From Ramondens Castle, follow in the footsteps of P.P. Riquet as you discover the ingenious water supply system for his “Canal des Deux Mers”, established over four centuries ago in the Montagne Noire, before reaching the Lampy Neuf Reservoir, subsequently created to provide the extra water needed for the Canal de Jonction, the link between the Canal du Midi and the Canal de la Robine in Narbonne. Please take care on a section of the route that goes off the beaten track (further details in the description)

Walking La Galaube, Cals and Prat d’al Rei

Visorando Member
La Galaube, Cals et Prat d'al Rei
↔3.89 mi ↗+430 ft ↘-410 ft ◔2h 10 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Lacombe (Aude)
A short, leisurely walk, always on fairly wide paths and well sheltered from the wind that is common in our region. In spring, the undergrowth is strewn with daffodils, dog’s-tooth violets and small comfrey plants. In 2016, the foresters felled a great deal of timber and left the undergrowth in a sorry state. Let’s hope that, over time, the forest will regain its usual appearance. But that doesn’t spoil the walk.

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.