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In Saint-Genès-Champespe, park near the church, where there are several spaces available. Note the statue of a cow. The trailhead is on the street behind the church and below it, opposite the entrance to the municipal campsite. Balirando sign for the Lac de la Créput hike, which is the hike I followed.
Please note that many of the paths in the woods are not shown on the IGN map.
Green markings along the entire route, lines and smallPR®® (Balirando) signs
(S/E) Facing the sign, turn left, passing in front of the town hall, and continue along the street to the war memorial. Turn left onto Rue du Monument. Join a road and follow it to the left.
(1) Turn right onto Chemin de Charlut and follow this small road to the hamlet.
(2) At the entrance to the village, turn right onto a path, then immediately left onto a grassy path and join a street, which you follow until you reach a crossroads. Turn right. At the fork in the road, turn right onto Rue sous le Château. Further on, the tarmac disappears, giving way to a wide stony path.
(3) Walk along a pond, then turn right, ignoring the path that branches off to the left behind the pond. Note the extremely ferruginous spring on the right-hand side of the path. At the hiking sign, follow thePR®® to the left, ignoring the alternative route via Lac de Laspialade. Further on, ignore a path on the left. You will come to an intersection with aGR®® marked path coming from the left.
Green markings + red and whiteGR®® markings
(4) Follow the path to the right. Ignore a path on the right, pass the Lac du Taurons signpost, and arrive at an intersection at a small power station on Lac du Taurons.
(5) Follow the path to the right, and at the fork shortly after, keep right. Pass an EDF sign, take the path to the left, then cross a footbridge and arrive at a road near a picnic area.
(6) Make a round trip to the left to the bridge for a view of Lac de la Crégut, and to walk a few metres in the Cantal, then retrace your steps to the picnic area.
(6) Take the path on the left that runs alongside Lac du Crégut on your left. Further on, wade across a stream.
(7) Pass the end of the lake and ignore a path on the left. Further on, ignore a path on the right and keep left at the fork in the path. Then ignore a hairpin bend on the right and keep right at the next fork in the path. At the T-junction, follow the path on the left, then ignore a path on the left. You will arrive at a logging area near a small road, at a crossroads of several hiking routes.
(8) Turn right onto a path that runs along Lac du Tact on your left. Pass a picnic area on a small peninsula.
(9) Go through a gate to enter a pasture area occupied by donkeys, continue along the lake and exit the pasture.
(10) At the T-junction, at a leat feeding a small EDF dam, follow the path to the right. Further on, ignore a path on the left, cross a stream and ignore a path on the right. Pass a historical information panel at a place called Les Maisons, then arrive at an intersection with a wide path at a logging area.
(11) Turn right. At the intersection with the Lac de Laspialade sign, turn left to cross the hamlet of Laspialade on a small road. Ignore a path on the right and then a road on the right.
(12) The tarmac disappears at the end of the hamlet. A hundred metres further on, let the path turn right and follow a path straight ahead. Pass a footbridge, then a barrier further on.
(13) At the intersection with a forest road, first turn left then right. Further on, cross a stream and pass the Nadeil sign. Cross another stream and arrive at a T-junction.
(14) Follow the path on the left, which quickly turns into a road at a nice little restaurant. You will come to a wider road. Follow it to the right to reach the village of Saint-Genès-Champespe. At the intersection at the foot of the church, turn left onto Rue Sainte-Marguerite, then turn right to return to the car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Easy 
