La Tête des Raisins

This route partly follows off-trail paths, allowing you to explore a mountain pasture that is often overlooked by hikers but is particularly interesting.
Important note: access to the car park via the Col d’Anon Forest Road is tricky and is not recommended for low-clearance vehicles.

Details

n°70255
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.61 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 2,605 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 2,612 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 8,655 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 6,129 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

At L’Argentière-la-Bessée, take the Vallon du Fournel road, then the Col d’Anon forest track. Park at the pass.

(S/E) Head slightly downhill along the track on the right, passing the Col d’Anon signpost, until you reach a hairpin bend to the left.

(1) Leave the track and turn right onto the faint path that climbs up through the meadow. Follow the GPS route indicated, as the path is barely visible, though it can be made out.

(2) On emerging from the forest, the path becomes more visible; follow it until you cross the Malafouasse stream.

(3) Leave the path here, turn right and head completely off-trail, climbing up through the mountain pasture towards the north-west to reach the ridge between the Têtes des Raisins and the Tête de la Lauzière.

(4) Then turn left onto the path leading to the Tête des Raisins, which is reached via a final, fairly steep ascent.

(5) Descend along the south-eastern ridge, veering off it when you see the large cairn to follow the small cairns leading to the Clot Saret hut, where you will quickly reach the junction with the Malafouasse torrent.

(3) Return along the same path as on the way out and reach the car park (S/E) either via the original route or via the alternative route mentioned; to do this, cut across the mountain pasture after the ‘Col d’Anon’ sign.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 6,214 ft - Col d'Anon (1891m)
  2. 1 : mi 0.33 - alt. 6,132 ft - Crossroads with a hairpin bend
  3. 2 : mi 0.83 - alt. 6,549 ft - Exit from the forest
  4. 3 : mi 1.33 - alt. 7,064 ft - Malafouasse Torrent
  5. 4 : mi 1.89 - alt. 7,933 ft - Ridge
  6. 5 : mi 2.33 - alt. 8,655 ft - Tête des Raisins (2655m)
  7. S/E : mi 4.61 - alt. 6,227 ft - Col d’Anon

Notes

Water point at the Clot Saret hut.
La Tête des Raisins is a superb vantage point offering a 360° view of the surrounding mountains: Vautisse, Pelvoux, Thabor, Chaberton, Rochebrune, Viso, Font Sancte and all those around them.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
J3er0m3
J3er0m3

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful off-trail hike with very few people (done on 21/09/21: no one in the mountains or mountain pastures, except for the shepherd we saw on the way down). There is no trail, in fact; sheep tracks tend to lead away from the summit. The GPS track is useful.
Access to the Col d'Anon by car via the Vallon du Fournel is tricky with a vehicle that is not raised (the underside of my old car scraped and bumped several times).
On the IGN map, you can see that a forest track climbs up from Freissinières, but it is closed (except to local residents) from Les Aujards onwards. What's more, the last few hairpin bends on this track (which you can see at the start of the hike at the Col d'Anon) appear to be impassable except by tractor or competition 4x4.
On the way down, I was able to admire a colony of vultures feasting on a carcass.

Machine-translated

Fly83
Fly83

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

The pedestrian route is interesting, but getting there via this very long, narrow forest road, which is currently in poor condition, is challenging, even in a 4x4! We had to get out of the 4x4 several times to push aside branches...

Machine-translated

duodiscu92
duodiscu92
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike that takes you off the beaten track, literally, as in some places there is no path at all. Admittedly, the elevation gain is modest, but don't be fooled: it's precisely the lack of a trail on the way up that makes it very tiring because, after crossing the Malafouasse torrent, you tend to climb along the steepest line through the pastures. When we did it, the ridge route connecting the head of Lauzière to the head of Raisins was obstructed by an electric fence designed to limit the grazing area of the sheep from the Cabane du Clos sheepfold. To stay on the ridge path, it was necessary to frequently cross this fence (do not hesitate to dig up a stake, provided you put it back afterwards). This fence also serves to protect the flocks from wolves. The shepherd of Les Clos explained to us that he lost 40 animals in 2018. The last 200 m of elevation gain are easy but tough, so take your time. The descent is straightforward. It follows the very discreet Trail markers. When you reach the 2170 m contour line, you need to make a sharp turn to the left and you will come straight to the sheepfold, which was hidden until then. The end of the descent, which follows the same route as the ascent, is entirely on a trail that is always very visible. I do not recommend this hike in foggy conditions as it will be difficult to find your way across these large pastures (GPS essential in this case).

Machine-translated

bernardino
bernardino ★

Hello
This hike is indeed off-trail and involves walking along many sheep tracks. In this case, as Visorando also recommends, it is important to have a map of the area so that you can find your way more easily.
Using a mobile app or GPS to track your route is also a good idea.
The big advantage of this route is its tranquillity.
Keep exploring the site to find great hikes.

Machine-translated

ÉloÉloÉlo
ÉloÉloÉlo

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, lovely mountain atmosphere, and reaching the summit is very rewarding! We just got a little lost at the beginning because we couldn't find the trail.

Machine-translated

bonnegraine
bonnegraine

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike. Some hesitation since the end of the road at the Col d'Anon. Many thanks to the person who placed a cairn at the start of the trail with "tête des raisins ->" written on a flat stone. It's reassuring and means you don't need a GPS! Otherwise, the route is obvious and very airy on the ridges, with a 360° panorama.

Machine-translated

marceldetouillon@gmail.com
marceldetouillon@gmail.com

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant and interesting hike, with just one drawback: access via the Col d'Anon trail is difficult for low-clearance vehicles.
Route recommended for SUVs or 4x4s.
Marcel

Machine-translated

artic1951
artic1951

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Read the description carefully before setting off...
Magnificent views, but to reach the car park you have to drive 8 km along a forest track that is not very suitable for passenger cars.
From point 3, even with a GPS, it wasn't easy for us to reach point 4 (off the trail, as clearly indicated).
But we have no regrets, especially as we didn't have to endure the crowds encountered on other, more popular walks.

Machine-translated

Britanicus100
Britanicus100
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 24, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful ridge walk with sweeping views from the summit.

A video with the names of the peaks shows the route and the atmosphere of the hike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnYcYnoh...

Machine-translated

patt825
patt825

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Route taken
Departure from Les Aujards, climb via Les Garcines, La Charance and then the southern ridge, all off-trail.
Descent via Tête de la Lauzière, Clôt du Seigneur and Col d'Ânon
Elevation gain: 1,100 m

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.