La Madone - Croix de Pars

Half-day hike with very varied landscapes. Variations are possible to shorten the route.

Details

42986238
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.62 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 342 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 349 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 895 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 710 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Plateau d'Yzeron car park.

(S/E) With your back to the buildings at Le Plat, continue right on the road that descends towards the village of Yzeron.

(1) Turn left onto the path that descends towards the lake, turn right to cross the dyke, then follow the departmental road on the left to the crossroads about 150 m further on.

(2) Turn right onto the D113 (Route des Crêtes) for 450 m and pass the Bruyères farm. Once at the crossroads, turn onto the path that runs along the left-hand side of the road for 200 m.

(3) Turn left onto a steep path and follow it to the Madonna: statue of the Virgin Mary and zip line departure point.

(4) Continue along a wide path towards Saint-Clair and join a road.

(5) Turn opposite and follow this road carefully for 1 km until you reach a crossroads with several paths.

(6) Leave the road and take the path furthest to the left towards the Croix de Pars. Stay on this path, ignoring the paths branching off to the left and right, until you reach a small road at Le Cazot.

(7) Continue along this small road to Col de la Croix de Pars.

(8) Turn left to carefully cross the D25 and take the path opposite towards Margarat.

(9) Cross the D489 with caution and take the small road opposite. Pass the pumping station, then turn right towards Le Pilon.

(10) Turn right onto the path that climbs for 400 metres, then follow the path downhill to the left. Just after the farm below, turn left again. At the next junction, continue to the right and join theGR®7.

(11) Continue left to Col de Brosses.

(12) Leave theGR®7and take the path on the left that descends towards Yzeron. Then turn right to return to the Plateau d'Yzeron and the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 780 m - Plateau d'Yzeron car park - Parking du Plateaud'Yzeron
  2. 1 : km 0.87 - alt. 723 m - Path on the left
  3. 2 : km 1.54 - alt. 719 m - D113, on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.1 - alt. 753 m - Path on the left
  5. 4 : km 2.54 - alt. 856 m - La Madone - Fantasticable departure point
  6. 5 : km 3.17 - alt. 816 m - Road to Saint-Clair
  7. 6 : km 3.99 - alt. 832 m - Leftmost path - Chapelle Saint Clair
  8. 7 : km 5.38 - alt. 837 m - Le Cazot
  9. 8 : km 6.1 - alt. 812 m - Crossing the D25 - Col de la Croix de Pars (812m)
  10. 9 : km 6.96 - alt. 820 m - Crossing the D489
  11. 10 : km 7.8 - alt. 847 m - Path on the right
  12. 11 : km 8.92 - alt. 870 m - GR°°®°°7 junction
  13. 12 : km 9.36 - alt. 871 m - Leave the GR®7, on the left - Col des Brosses (866m)
  14. S/E : km 10.62 - alt. 780 m - Parking du Plateaud'Yzeron

Notes

Water fountain and toilets in the Plateau d'Yzeron car park (S/E).

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

4.6 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Patatras
Patatras

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Long months without hiking, and then this one
in the cold and wind
under a blue winter sky
and what scenery

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LT from Lyon
LT from Lyon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

beautiful route with several viewpoints, on the Alps side and the Pilat side, beautiful sunshine on the autumn leaves, very peaceful (no quad bikes or hunters). Thank you for sharing!

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pauline43
pauline43

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this hiking suggestion.

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Sylber
Sylber

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice route with a beautiful view.

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Debeugny
Debeugny

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, the 700-metre climb to La Madone is a little steep, but the route is easy. Avoid doing it in cold, windy weather as it is often exposed on a ridge.

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Plateau d'Yzeron
Plateau d'Yzeron

Thank you, pgrange, the route has just been changed.

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pjgrange
pjgrange

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A change must be made: at the PILON farm (after No. 10), do not go down into the field (fixed barrier, cannot be opened), but continue to No. 11 by following the path for 200 metres until you reach a cross, then turn left to reach No. 11.

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Setie
Setie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route to do in warm weather. Lots of tree-lined paths. A nice climb at the start, but a walk without too many hills.

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Plateau d'Yzeron
Plateau d'Yzeron

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback on this hike. Regarding the route between points 10 and 11, it does indeed avoid the Pilon farm. At point 10, you need to take a wide path that climbs up to the right.

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olivierBJ
olivierBJ

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with beautiful views.
The only problem, as mentioned by other hikers, is that the path is closed between points 10 and 11. And there's no question of walking past the farm, as the owner asked us to turn back. She clearly doesn't like hikers...
Please change the route!
So we climbed up to the cross and enjoyed a magnificent view!

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HélèneetFrançois
HélèneetFrançois

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful walk with varied and hilly landscapes.
Already a little busy for us, who prefer solitude!
It is also possible to start from the car park near La Roche residence or from the lake.
Between points 10 and 11 at Le Pilon, access to the path is fenced off. So we turned back at the right-hand fork and had the opportunity to see the Croix de Badoil without adding much to the length of the walk (< 1km). Enjoy your walk!

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manuel.fonseca
manuel.fonseca

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk through woods and fields in the Monts du Lyonnais. Beautiful, easy trails (except for the slightly steep climb to reach the Crêt de la Madone "Ntre Dame D'Yzeron"), where a 1-kilometre-long zip line will thrill thrill seekers.
There are some lovely spots, such as the Ronzey lake, the Saint-Clair chapel with its view over the city of Lyon and the Alps, the Croix de Pars, etc. There are many other viewpoints offering beautiful views of the rolling countryside of the Monts du Lyonnais.
NB: at around km 6.9 at a place called Le Pilon, I continued straight on along the path that climbs for 255 metres, then at the crossroads "there is a cross" I turned left to rejoin the tour at the GR junction.
Thank you for the walk.

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