Circular route around the lakes of the Matheysin plateau and Pierre Percée

Head to the hamlet of Petichet via the A85 (Grenoble–Gap) and, at the traffic lights, turn left (if coming from Grenoble) onto Route de la Fayolle. Drive for about 300 m and park in the car park (with toilets) on the left, below the Olivier Messiaen viewpoint.

(S/E) Leave the car park and head to the orientation table at the Olivier Messiaen viewpoint, just a stone’s throw away, for a stunning view of the Grand Lac de Laffrey and the peaks of the Chartreuse emerging in the distance.
Return to the road and follow it to the left. At the crossroads a little further on, leave the tarmac and continue straight on along the Sentier des Crocus (signposted). This path rejoins the road a little further on; continue to the hamlet of La Fayolle.

(1) At the Pont de la Fayolle, take the path opposite (signposted), towards Lac de Pierre-Châtel. Walk along the right-hand side of Lac de Petichet and continue along the path to a car park, then carry on along the path which becomes loosely tarmac-surfaced. Continue to the hamlet of Les Théneaux.

(2) At the crossroads (sign on the left), turn left towards Les Théneaux and enter the hamlet. At the end of Route des Mouettes, follow Rue du Four straight ahead, pass the chapel (on the left) and at the Stop sign, turn left onto Route du Villard (D115). Follow this for about 350 m until you reach the start of a dirt track, slightly to the right (sign), level with the last house.

(3) Continue along this track, which runs alongside Lac de Pierre-Châtel for about 1.2 km, until you reach a turn-off to the right almost at the end of the lake.

(4) Leave the main track and turn right. Walk for about 80 m and take the path on the right to reach the lake shore. Follow it to the left until you reach the large picnic area. Please note, some areas may be quite wet depending on the season! Cross the area to the end, following the bank more or less closely, to reach the prohibition signs on the boundary wall of the Château du Lac (not worth seeing!). Follow the wall to the left to the car park, then on to the road (sign).
Turn right and, after a rough parking area, take the path on the left that follows the stream and is signposted “Chemin d’accès au lac”.

(5) Follow this path, go under the A85 and come out onto a cross-road (Route Napoléon) which runs through the village of Pierre-Châtel.

(6) Turn left and, at the next junction, take the Route de Picardon which climbs to the right, then 50 m further on, turn left onto the Voie Charvet.
Follow this road for about 500 m until you reach a crossroads.
Turn right onto Route Saint-Pierre de Feyteny and continue to the church, whose bell tower is visible from a distance. Walk up to its entrance porch at Place de la Croix du Plâtre, and continue straight on along the small road leading up to the cemeteries.

(7) Pass between the two cemeteries and continue straight on, following the wall of the cemetery on the left (sign at the start of the dirt track). Follow this track uphill to a three-way junction with a bench and a sign.
Turn left onto the fairly steep path that winds its way up to the ridge.

(8) Once you reach the highest point of the path, head towards the Pierre Percée, situated slightly to the left below.

(9) Walk around it and admire the view of the Matheysine and the Obiou (opposite) and the Vercors to the west.
Return to the highest point.

(8) Continue straight on (signposted) into the forest, heading due north. Keep heading north for over 3.3 km, staying on the main path which winds along the ridge of the hill. The route is regularly marked with yellow lines and there is a sign at almost every junction, pointing towards Laffrey.
At the end of the journey through the woodland (lined with beautiful views of the lakes to the right), you’ll reach the road (D113b).

(10) Follow the D113b to the right, go over the small pass with the first hairpin bend on the right and head straight down to the second hairpin bend on the left (junction with the Chemin des Berlioux).
At the exit of the hairpin bend, take the path on the right (signposted) and descend to the first houses of the hamlet of Les Gonthéaumes.

(11) At the tarmac road, follow it uphill to the left. About 300 m further on, at the entrance to a wide hairpin bend to the left, take the path leading down to the right (signposted). Ignore a turn-off to the right a few metres further on and continue to the end of Chemin de la Chapelle (signposted and chapel on the left) to reach the RN85.

(12) Turn left and stay on the left-hand pavement until you reach the traffic lights.
Cross the RN85 and continue straight ahead along Route de la Fayolle to the car park beneath the Olivier Messiaen viewpoint (S/E).

There is no water along the route apart from the fountains in the villages.
Lake Pierre-Châtel is entirely private; apart from looking at it, almost everything is forbidden there!

And for those who can’t stand tarmac, 1 or 2 km of the 14-km route are on small country roads (so with very little traffic) or through villages!

In summer, the area is very touristy! Swimming in the lakes where permitted!

The Prairie de la Rencontre (Napoleon) in Laffrey - Saint-Honoré 1500 and its unfinished building - La Mine-Image in La Motte d’Aveillans (anthracite mining museum) - The little train at La Mure (in season) - Bungee jumping at Pont de Ponsonnas - And to savour, the Matheysine tart, available in all the good bakeries in La Mure!

A big thank you to everyone who maintains the Matheysine hiking trails for the quality of the signposting and route markings! An example to follow!