Margeride and its hamlets

Starting from the village of Grandrieu, this hike allows you to discover the small Margeride massif (formerly Gévaudan) and its typical granite villages. The route described was completed in half a day by young people (aged 7 to 11) from the Sentiers en Margeride hiking club. Difficulty: E2/T2/R1 (according to FFrandonnée classification).

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.63 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 142 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 136 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,240 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,136 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking at the Grandrieu Tourist Office.

(S/E) Turn right and then right again onto the street that leads down to the campsite and the lake. Cross the Grandrieu stream via the small bridge where the water retention mechanisms are located. Continue straight on to the chalet.

(1) Go behind the chalet, turning right, and follow the path along the fence. Continue along this path until you reach an intersection.

(2) Leave the path that climbs to the left and go straight ahead through a chicane. Continue on this path which runs along the bottom of the Grandrieu. On the right, you can see a ditch which is an old canal that once fed a mill, of which no trace remains.

(3) Go through the chicane and take the path that climbs up to the left towards the south. This path climbs straight up and arrives at the D60 road.

(4) From this point, turn right and walk along the road for about 50 metres. Turn right onto the tarmac path that leads to Malarèche, then right again onto the dirt track. Continue along this path, which gradually descends towards the stream, until you reach a small house (an old mill).

(5) Turn right to cross the small bridge and head up towards the hamlet of Aldeyrès. When you reach the D985 road, follow it to the left towards the south.

(6) Cross over and take a path just after the last house on the right. Continue straight ahead until you reach an intersection.

(7) Turn right and head up towards the hamlet of Chabestras. Enter the hamlet.

(8) At the cross, head north, behind the houses on the tarmac road, and turn right onto a dirt track. There is a green signpost.
Follow it straight ahead, leaving the path that returns south. From there, the path is marked in yellow and red as it follows the GRP® Tours en Margeride route to Grandrieu.

(9) Leave the path and turn right under the trees onto a small trail that leads to the hamlet of Belviala via an old path lined with stone walls. To enter the village, pass under a farm on the left.
Cross the village on the right, heading east.

(10) On leaving the village, after the cross, take the path on the right. Follow the red and yellow markings to Grandrieu, crossing the D5 road. Pass a few houses and take the small street on the right (Rue Haute) which descends and leads to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,164 m - Car park at the Grandrieu Tourist Office
  2. 1 : km 0.42 - alt. 1,140 m - Chalet, on the right
  3. 2 : km 0.87 - alt. 1,152 m - Chicane, straight ahead
  4. 3 : km 1.25 - alt. 1,146 m - Chicane, on the left
  5. 4 : km 2.65 - alt. 1,197 m - Junction with the D60, on the right
  6. 5 : km 3.74 - alt. 1,173 m - Old mill, on the right - Grandrieux (rivière)
  7. 6 : km 4.22 - alt. 1,185 m - Entrance to the trail
  8. 7 : km 4.92 - alt. 1,179 m - Intersection, on the right
  9. 8 : km 5.63 - alt. 1,222 m - Croix de Chabestras, straight ahead
  10. 9 : km 7.22 - alt. 1,197 m - Fork in the road, take the right-hand path
  11. 10 : km 8.07 - alt. 1,188 m - On the right, after the Croix de Belviala
  12. S/E : km 9.63 - alt. 1,164 m - Car park at the Grandrieu Tourist Office

Notes

In Grandrieu, there are several shops: two bakeries, a mini supermarket, a butcher's, a cheese shop and farm produce. Cafés, restaurants, hotel. Medical centre.
A stopover lodge. Newsagent (IGN maps and guidebooks).

Worth a visit

Things to see in Grandrieu: the old fountains, Saint-Martin Church and the "Roman bridge". In all the hamlets you pass through, houses built of granite, some dating back to 1800. The Margeride landscape.
Numerous hiking trails starting from Grandrieu (topoguide ®) maintained by the local club: Sentiers en Margeride.
A hiking trail following the route of a Roman road: Via Agrippa en Margeride.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
fouta djalon
fouta djalon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A well-rated route (medium difficulty), perfect for getting to know the landscapes of the Margeride plateaus.

Starting from a village that is itself very interesting.

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ANMATROM
ANMATROM

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant circuit.

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fabricelozere48
fabricelozere48

Thank you for your feedback, Danielinu. We will try to improve the description. This year, the very dense growth of grass has made some sections difficult to navigate and has caused hikers to lose their way.
We look forward to welcoming you back to our Margeride trails.
Best regards,
Fabrice.

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danielinu
danielinu

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, varied, bucolic and often shaded hike, perfect for summer and without any major difficulties. Be careful at the beginning, after the Grandrieu lake, you have to walk straight ahead for quite a long time and go around the hill, and do not turn right before you have gone around it.

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reboussier
reboussier

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with varied landscapes.
just before point 10, at a place called Belviala, you have to go around the farm because there is a private property sign and dogs!

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Eric81300
Eric81300

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful scenery. Lovely walk.

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aixois
aixois

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very pleasant. Lots of variety in the landscapes. Note that the tourist office is located down the road opposite a bakery

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papou26200
papou26200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, varied hike with stunning scenery, beautiful houses and lovely woodland trails – in short, it was fantastic. Just a quick note: Sunday is market day, so forget about parking! Don't panic, just keep going towards the lake and you'll find somewhere to park near the rubbish bins or the playground. Thank you to Fabrice for this suggestion.

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ipharra
ipharra

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

very nice hike.

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rahierchristian
rahierchristian

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

1. At the start, please note that the lake was empty
2. At point 4, "From this point... metres," turn right onto the dirt track; do not take the tarmac road that leads to Malarèche

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slinky
slinky ★
• Edited:

Hello and thank you for your message.
I have just looked at the description, and it seems to me that your comment must have been about the distance indication at (4).
It is correctly noted

From this point, turn right and walk along the road for about 50 metres. Turn right...

...which is consistent with the map.

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lili12
lili12

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely, pleasant walk.
At first, the lack of signposting is confusing, but overall the route is easy to follow.
At one point, it says to walk 50 metres along the road, but in my opinion it's closer to 500 metres.
This must be a typing error in the text.
Thank you.
:-)

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pauline43
pauline43
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A pleasant, undemanding route.
At point 7, I deviated slightly from the route because the field was flooded. I followed the field on the left until I reached a path that led me to the GRP Tour de la Margeride, turning right.
Thank you for the walk.

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tipie
tipie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

This is a lovely route around Grandrieu, from hamlet to hamlet. Perfect for exploring the area.

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CyrilRando34
CyrilRando34

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk in glorious weather.
The trail winds through rolling hills and green meadows, allowing you to discover charming hamlets.
The route description is reliable and accurate.
I highly recommend it

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