Sainte-Victoire: the Pic des Mouches with a return via the Pas du Clapier

An energetic loop in Sainte-Victoire leaving from the Saint-Ser car park. The climb up goes via the east of the Bau de l'Aigle and the descent back down is via the 'Pas du Clapier'.

Details

223952
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.50 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 5 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 910 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 906 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,010 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 404 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park your vehicle at the Saint-Ser car park situated on the D17 between Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon and Puyloubier.

Red Waymarking

(S/E) On leaving the Saint-Ser car park, go straight ahead on the path, which is well waymarked in Red, heading towards the Saint-Ser Chapel. After about 500 metres, you will meet a path waymarked in Green which heads off on the right.

Green Waymarking

(1) Follow this path which is no very longer well waymarked. No entry to this path was allowed for a time following landslides so a bit of caution is still required.
The path will climb for about 2km towards the ridges over a lot of scree in order to reach the ridge at Garagaï de Cagoloup where it meets the GR9.

GR Waymarking Red & White

(2) Once you've arrived at the ridge, take the GR to the left and follow it. After 500m, the GR passes by the Pic des Mouches (the highest point of the Sainte-Victoire massif) and its orientation table.

(3) Continue on the GR and go along the ridges for about 4km until you reach the path to the Pas du Clapier. The start of the path is not very visible - it is located between two cairns at the cliff edge. (see photo)

Green Waymarking

(4) Take the path on the left - it is still not very well waymarked, but the general direction is clear enough.
"Descending the Pas du Clapier is quite challenging, in just under one kilometre you will reach the path which goes along the bottom of the cliffs"

Brown Waymarking

(5) Once at the bottom, take the path on the left which goes along the foot of the cliffs - this path is not really very difficult - before climbing up towards the Baudino refuge.

(6) Go around the building and cross the rocky scree to continue on the path. Go gently downhill for about 2km towards the Saint-Ser Chapel.
You will reach an intersection just before the Saint Ser Chapel (the Brown path comes to an end), take the Red path on the right (opposite you will see the start of the path leading to the Saint-Ser Chapel).

Red Waymarking

(7) Go down this path for about one kilometre until you reach the crossroads again (1), then take the same path as the outward leg to return to the Saint-Ser car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 405 m - Saint-Ser car park
  2. 1 : km 0.46 - alt. 465 m - Carrefour AR
  3. 2 : km 2.11 - alt. 969 m - Garagaï de Cagoloup
  4. 3 : km 2.5 - alt. 1,009 m - Pic des Mouches
  5. 4 : km 6.44 - alt. 986 m - Ridge to Pas du Clapie
  6. 5 : km 6.87 - alt. 762 m - Pas du Clapie
  7. 6 : km 8.5 - alt. 791 m - Refuge Barthélémy Baudino
  8. 7 : km 10.3 - alt. 610 m - Carrefour > - Ermitage Saint-Ser
  9. S/E : km 11.5 - alt. 404 m - Saint-Ser car park

Notes

Very difficult hike with high sections, and climbing up and down steep scree slopes.

"Attention", from 1 June to 30 September, access to the massif may be controlled. For further information, please visit: http://www.bouches-du-rhone.gouv.fr/Actu....

Worth a visit

(7) The Saint Ser Chapel
The Saint-Ser Chapel, dedicated to a hermit, stands a few hundred metres from the intersection. Many edifices have been built on this site since the 11th century.

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 39 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
ed102
ed102

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A physically demanding hike; you mustn't be afraid of heights on the way back. Very pretty view once you reach the ridges. Some doubts about the elevation gain and distance, though.

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User 11122468

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, but bear in mind its length. It took us over 7½ hours with very few breaks.
There are a few climbing sections, but nothing insurmountable (if you don't suffer from vertigo)
Make sure you bring enough water

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climbingpoussin
climbingpoussin
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Apologies for the message above, I posted my review in the wrong section

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climbingpoussin
climbingpoussin

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, for several reasons:
- very technical both on the ascent (easy climbing passages) and on the descent (technical scree slopes)
- physically demanding
- With superb scenery

My girlfriend and I (both climbers, so fairly sure-footed) completed the loop in 7 hours. Including a lunch break, that makes it a 7.5-hour day.

I strongly advise against this hike for those who are not comfortable descending scree slopes (it's slippery) and those who are afraid of small climbing steps (even easy ones) that require a certain amount of confidence.

Note: we had approach walking shoes (with toe caps for climbing), which helped...

Note 2: at the end of the hike, my watch (which is fairly accurate) showed 1,421 metres of elevation gain and 20 kilometres.

Céline and Bruno.

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adrien2vil
adrien2vil

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that allows you to discover Sainte-Victoire between peaks, ridges and cliffs. The descent from the clapier is challenging, but it was also one of my favourite parts! Remember to bring plenty of water and a hat, as there is little shade along the route.

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User 3790678

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

please note that this hike is physically demanding with some slightly exposed sections (I'm afraid of heights, so I'm not the best judge)
This is my second time doing this hike
You need to be fit and allow 5 to 6 hours without a break
Be careful of the heat. We started at 6 a.m. and by 10 a.m. it was already very hot
The markings are not always very clear, especially in the scree slopes halfway up after the chapel
That said, it's definitely worth doing

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Fannyf
Fannyf

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Beware, this is a very difficult hike. We unintentionally hiked in the opposite direction to the one proposed by this route and we have no regrets There is a climbing section and the ground is very slippery. Depending on the season, part of the walk is closed to protect natural species, with the risk of a fine... What's more, the hike is much longer than planned... It took us 8 hours and on strava it says that we did 1000m of d+ and 16km in total...

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ley31
ley31

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A physical and slightly technical walk, but a very pleasant one.
The green markings for the first 2 km are hard to follow, and the route easily merges with game tracks or small scree slopes that form the base of the mountain. Remain vigilant and don't hesitate to turn back, as marks are frequent.
The route is magnificent and offers great views, but I found it a little technical: quite a lot of handholds on the way up, climbing and scree on the way down.

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JB13920
JB13920

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike on Saturday 8 June.
Reminder: the green trail no. 17 - Relais de St Ser / Pic des mouches via the Tine valley
and the black trail no. 15 - Chapelle St Ser / Col de Vauvenargues are closed from 1 February to 15 July.
We took the red path no. 16 towards the Col de Ser and at the junction we followed the dotted red line towards the Pic des Mouches.
Very pretty chapel of St Ser with a small group of wild goats.
The climb is very steep but not difficult. Watch out for scree from any walkers (or goats) above.
The whole route is very well signposted.
The Pas du Clapier is also well signposted on the ridge between 2 cairns with a green marker and its name.
The descent seems vertiginous but simple, with some risk-free de-escalation (at least for those who are not afraid of heights and are comfortable on rock).
The path is very well marked with clear green tracks.
Then back along the brown trail.
There were 2 of us - Total time: 6h20 / Travel time 4h00 - 13 km / D+ 990

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boubbou.com
boubbou.com

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Warning: the Vallon de la Tine is closed until 15 July. We were obliged to climb up via the brèche du col de St Ser above the chapel; be careful on this route to take the correct path down to the pas du clapier (point 4) as we made a mistake and the application took a little time to point it out to us and we could no longer climb back up!
exceptional views from the top

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Pep 64
Pep 64

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice walk, with a magnificent viewpoint

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jmdexter
jmdexter

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

The green BRAMEFAN path (the first big climb) was closed.
As an alternative, and because I knew the way, I climbed the very steep path above the Ermitage de St-Ser.
This route is currently closed from 1 February to 15 July.

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Devils
Devils

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An easy start from the car park. You follow the route and the green markings... but after 2 km... nothing. :-(
We had to turn back even though we were just a few metres from the summit. It's a shame we had to go back and forth.
On the other hand, the view is magnificent!

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EB
EB

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's true that the start of the route is quite complicated in terms of markings, but fortunately a few cairns are there to remind us of the waymarkers. And the return journey was the same, brown markings are not ideal on dirt tracks 🤣
But in no way is this Visorando's fault 👍
Really top hike with good difficulties, breathtaking views. It took 4.5 hours to complete.

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EB
EB

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Indeed the start of the route is quite complicated in terms of markings, fortunately a few kerns are there to remind us of the markings. And the return journey was the same, brown markings aren't ideal on dirt tracks 🤣
But in no way is this Visorando's fault 👍
Really top hike, breathtaking views. A leisurely 4.5 hour walk.

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