The Canal du Midi waterway from Montmaur

Half of this walk follows its route along theGR® 653 trail, which runs alongside the Canal du Midi, offering shade and coolness.

Details

6836298
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.88 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 73 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 73 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 266 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 199 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the large square lined with mulberry trees, after the castle and before the Montmaur school.

(S/E) Take the D1 road heading south-east.

(1) 400 m further on, turn right onto the road that descends to the cemetery. Continue along the wide grassy path that runs alongside it and climbs up to the left. A little further on, ignore the path that comes in on the right and join the Route de l'Encouch.

(2) Turn right and, after a short climb, descend towards the hamlet of Les Pagès. Ignore the path leading down to the right, which is not passable in its entirety and does not lead to the hamlet.

(3) After the first houses, take the road on the right (the second to last before leaving the hamlet), which turns left after 200 metres and climbs uphill. Follow it for 1.3 kilometres and turn left onto the road towards En Rivals.

(4) A few hundred metres after the last house on the right, leave the road and continue along the stony path that leads to the canal.

(5) Follow theGR® 653 trail up the canal. After crossing the Route d'Airoux, which climbs up to the hamlet of Les Pagès, and then the D1, which climbs up to Montmaur, you will arrive at the junction with the D58 (after following the canal for about 7 km).

(6) Leave theGR®, cross the bridge over the canal and take the departmental road on the left. Continue climbing after passing Fondrech and, 150 m after the big left-hand bend, you will reach an intersection.

(7) Ignore the first road on the left and leave the D58 a few metres further on to take the slightly uphill tarmac road on the right. After 500 m, it joins the old mill (a restored house with millstones).

(8) At the four-way intersection, ignore the road opposite, which appears to go straight to Montmaur, and take the road on the left. After a sharp right-hand bend, it crosses a housing estate and leads back to the village. Shortly before the car park, you will rejoin the D1, which you follow back up into the village to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 264 m - Place des Mûriers
  2. 1 : km 0.38 - alt. 247 m - Access road to the cemetery
  3. 2 : km 1.08 - alt. 249 m - Route de l'Encouch
  4. 3 : km 1.86 - alt. 227 m - Les Pagès
  5. 4 : km 3.89 - alt. 214 m - Fork after En Rivals
  6. 5 : km 4.26 - alt. 203 m - Canal ditch
  7. 6 : km 11.3 - alt. 204 m - Route D58
  8. 7 : km 12.48 - alt. 250 m - Intersection
  9. 8 : km 12.97 - alt. 259 m - Old mill
  10. S/E : km 13.88 - alt. 265 m - Place des Mûriers

Notes

No shade on the first half of the route.
Water point at the cemetery but very close to the start, nothing after that.
Alternative: to shorten the hike, at point (3) (hamlet of Les Pagès), you can go directly to the ditch by taking the road that descends to the left at the exit of the hamlet.

Worth a visit

Before point (4), an old restored house on the right at a place called En Rivals offers an incredible display of anemones in the right season!

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

4.5 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Olivier Bel Air
Olivier Bel Air

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 09, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I really shouldn’t be commenting on the criteria above, as I’m the one who created the walk, but I couldn’t find any other way to add a comment. Today, we did the walk again and I followed FRALA’s suggestion from 27/11/2023, namely to continue along the ditch at point 6 to reach point 8 via Les Graniès and La Pézégade, which avoids the climb back up the tarmac road via Fondrech and makes the walk more enjoyable. Thanks FRALA! The total distance is now 16.4 km (an extra 2.5 km) and the elevation gain is 150 m.

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Ludi
Ludi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A beautiful hike that leads to the stream and also offers a lovely view of the Pyrenees! Take the D1 on the left as you leave the car park, which descends to the cemetery. There are many sections on small tarmac roads, but they are not too busy with traffic.
This hike is best done when the weather is not too hot, as there is virtually no shade along the route except along the stream.
The village of Montmaur is very beautiful with its castle and church. It's a shame that you can't visit them!

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Fa54
Fa54

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice, the path along the ditch gets a bit tedious after a while, but in the shade...

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Frala
Frala

Perfect, and thank you again for this hike 👍

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Olivier Bel Air
Olivier Bel Air

Thank you for this suggestion! And if you find the hike too long with this change, you can shorten it from point 3 (Les Pagès) by taking the road that goes downhill (towards "la belle étoile") at the exit of the hamlet and returning directly to the ditch...

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Frala
Frala

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike that allows you to explore the little-known stream in the plain.
However, I agree with a previous comment: there is a bit too much tarmac. It's a shame because after point 6, you can go further north along the irrigation channel and exit at elevation 208 towards Les Granies and La Pezegade to reach point 8 without any tarmac. This doesn't make the route much longer and, in my opinion, is more interesting (I tried it today with no problems).

Thank you for the hike!

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iSenior
iSenior
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An easy hike in the Lauragais region with beautiful views of the Ariège Pyrenees to the south and the nearby Montagne Noire. The route follows the Rigole de la Plaine, which is shaded, and birdsong accompanies your progress.
The only downside is that almost half of the route is on tarmac, but fortunately these are small country roads with little traffic.

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petitbob
petitbob

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Here is a lovely, peaceful, family-friendly hike.
Along the peaceful stream in the plain, accompanied by birdsong, we were able to forget the few tarmac sections along the route. Cool. Petitbob

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Gefortin
Gefortin

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely way to discover the plain's watercourse. Thank you.

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jp11
jp11

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Only one drawback: the ballad is a bit monotonous.

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tehanie
tehanie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Lovely sunny walk, pleasant route, easy

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