La Pinouse

A lovely hike in the hills above Ancelle offering views of the Dévoluy and the Petite and Grande Autane mountains. For walkers, this is a good warm-up walk at the start of the week to prepare for longer routes.

Details

549492
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.65 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,211 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,224 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 5,600 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 4,416 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Cross the village of Ancelle towards the Col de Moissière. Just outside the village, park in the car park near the Bar des Taillas.

(S/E) Pass the Caisse des Taillas hut (from the Ancelle ski resort) and take a very stony forest path that starts uphill immediately. This path heads towards the Col de Moissière. After a while, cross the road and follow a military site until you reach the road again.

(1) Take the road on the left for about 300 metres, crossing Moissière.

(2) Leave the road and take a path that heads into the forest towards La Pinouse. The path climbs steadily with a few fairly steep sections. You can see the village of Ancelle from above with a superb view of Dévoluy to the west in the background.

(3) At the crossroads, leave the path that climbs to the right towards L'Arche. Go straight ahead and continue along the path, which descends slightly until you reach some mountain pastures where there is a wooden table where you can take a break. Then begin the descent along the path, which quickly turns into a forest road.

(4) At the crossroads (Pra Mia), turn left towards Ancelle village. The descent is quite steep but not dangerous.

(5) In the valley (Le Gourgeon), turn left onto the forest road, still heading towards Ancelle, and follow the Rouanne torrent along the left bank.

(6) On the outskirts of the village (Mestrinquier), there is a picnic area where you can take a break in the shade. Turn left onto a dirt road through the fields to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 4,498 ft - Les Taillas car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.78 - alt. 4,948 ft - Road on the left
  3. 2 : mi 0.92 - alt. 5,010 ft - Path on the left
  4. 3 : mi 1.7 - alt. 5,600 ft - La Pinouse
  5. 4 : mi 2.39 - alt. 5,325 ft - Pra Mia
  6. 5 : mi 3.06 - alt. 4,682 ft - Le Gourgeon
  7. 6 : mi 4.24 - alt. 4,416 ft - Mestrinquier
  8. S/E : mi 4.65 - alt. 4,498 ft - Les Taillas car park

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 28 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 10262455

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant route, shaded and cool thanks to the river.

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migar
migar

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

After yesterday’s thunderstorm, this walk was very pleasant. We decided to do it in the opposite direction. We were in the shade both along the river and on the climb. The ground was damp, which was lovely after the heatwave. We had a picnic on the meadow below La Pinouse. The climb back up was a bit of a struggle after our break and lunch. A very pleasant day.

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User 10262455

A shaded route, with no difficulty.

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randonneurAD
randonneurAD

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 16 August; 80 per cent of the route is through woodland, which is lovely when it’s hot. Steep but steady ascents and descents; a lovely picnic spot after the summit (if you set off from Moissière); not many views due to the trees, but you can’t have everything... ;-) The final stretch along the Rouanne is a bit less pleasant (stony track), with the climb up to Les Taillas. Let’s stay positive: it can be done in half a day!

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Christine_aix
Christine_aix

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk through varied countryside.
Between points 5 and 6, we took a small path closer to the riverbed, which I found more pleasant than the forest track.
Thank you for this route

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User 10262455

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

This route is best done in hot weather, as there is a lot of walking through the forest.

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Petit renard
Petit renard

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route with an uphill climb in the first half, ending at a pleasant picnic area in the mountain pastures. Moderate difficulty, good memories.

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godillot1
godillot1

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike to be done in hot weather, as almost the entire route is shaded.

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VCANET
VCANET

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike.

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Patrick 1492
Patrick 1492

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A beautiful autumn day, cool (we didn't linger for a picnic). Occasionally there was some confusion when the signs on the ground didn't match the directions in the description, but it wasn't enough to get lost as there were few possible turnoffs and it was often a straight path along the mountainside.
Along the river, a very pleasant snowshoe trail doubles the forest track from the first bridge and is a good alternative that leads to the right place.
The app, which we discovered on this hike, is great!

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Gilles 06
Gilles 06

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, but unfortunately the most beautiful part of the Balcon, in terms of views, is hidden by trees.
There should be a shortcut at the end to avoid having to make a 90° turn on the plain.

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CLAG
CLAG

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Please clarify that the Pinouse turn is not Pinouse; we would have liked to start closer to where we could, as we met a group leaving from the village of Moissière. For the return journey, a little more detail on how to get back to the starting point would have been useful; we met a runner who told us about a new shortcut to get to the Moulin park and back up to the Taillas car park

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BernardRdp13
BernardRdp13

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant warm-up, but a few short climbs that take your breath away at the start from the car park. I extended the hike with a short loop towards the Aiguille torrent (+3 km). Be careful, the ford is not very easy to access and requires some technical skill, with the use of your hands on the descent and ascent.

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idunane
idunane

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, mostly on the north-facing slope of a forest of larch trees; beautiful views

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did760
did760

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that combines forest, clearings and views of the Ancelle valley.

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