La Grande Abeille

This route, on the Criel plateau, is usually tackled starting from the Petite Abeille circular loop. Setting off from Criel school, it follows the Route du Marais Fleury, where, on the right-hand side, an old bread oven is still used for festive events. Then, a farm track will take you through orchards, walnut groves and pastures, along a path through the woodland.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.51 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 32 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 36 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 392 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 360 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
    Area: Dauphiné
  • ⚐ District: Renage (38140)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 45.332751° / E 5.499961°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3233SB, 3235OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the former Criel school.

(S/E) With your back to the school, turn right and follow the Chemin du Marais Fleury for about 300 m: note the hamlet’s bread oven along the way, which is still used during festive events. At the junction, turn right onto Rue Alexandre Raphaël and walk for about 150 m.

(1) Take the farm track that branches off to the left of the road (Chemin des Allières) and follow it to the junction with a tarmac road. Turn left until you reach the bend, then take the farm track opposite which leads to a walnut grove.

(2) Facing the grove, follow Chemin du Rompet to the right; it is clearly marked along the irrigation system of the walnut grove. Walk for a long time in a south-south-westerly direction, ignoring the side paths. Pass under two high-voltage power lines and continue to a clear gap in the vegetation where a gas pipeline passes through, indicated by yellow double-sided signs.

(3) Then turn left and head uphill. At the T-junction that appears shortly afterwards (view of the Vercors), turn left. Pass under the high-voltage power lines again: views of the Vercors and the Chartreuse. Head north-north-east, ignoring the side paths, and emerge onto the Route de Chougnes. Turn left and follow it to the junction about a hundred metres further on: a cross, views of the Grésivaudan, the Vercors and the Chartreuse.

(4) Turn left onto the Route du Marais Fleury and follow it straight on to the car park of the old school (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 369 m - Criel School car park
  2. 1 : km 0.42 - alt. 360 m - Entrance to the Chemin des Allières
  3. 2 : km 1.41 - alt. 370 m - Walnut grove, on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.36 - alt. 378 m - Gas pipeline junction, turn left
  5. 4 : km 3.5 - alt. 361 m - Crossroads, turn left
  6. S/E : km 4.51 - alt. 370 m - Criel School car park

Notes

Hiking on our trails is an outdoor activity and involves some risks: you may slip and fall, or find yourself in the path of a mountain bike or a falling branch… Please be careful. Please note: global warming is affecting the vegetation. Trees are weakened and may uproot unexpectedly. Do not venture into the undergrowth in windy or stormy weather.

Walking with poles is recommended.

Keep an eye on your children and stay on the path.

Worth a visit

  • On the Chemin du Rompet, a clearing on the right-hand side of the path offers a view of Parménie Hill.
  • At the top of the Saumoduc trail, there is a panoramic view of the Isère valley, the Vercors and the Chartreuse.

Other walks in the area

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