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The village of Saint-Genest-Malifaux is located a short distance from the road leading from Bourg-Argental to Saint-Étienne via the Col de la République. Head to the centre of Saint-Genest-Malifaux and park in the car park on Place du 19 Mars 1962. The hike starts from this point.
(S/E) Leave the car park and head towards the village church via Rue du Velay. Continue along Place Foch, passing the village shops. After crossing the square, keep left and head towards Planfoy. Continue along this road for about 50 metres, then take the first street on the left (Rue de Saint-Rambert). Continue straight ahead on this street, ignoring Rue des Jonquilles on the right. You will come to a multi-way intersection where you should take the first right (Rue de l'Étang) and arrive at a fork.
(1) Turn left, uphill (Chemin de la Rousse) then, after a few zigzag bends, continue straight ahead until you reach the end of the tarmac road. Continue straight ahead on the dirt track. Ignore the paths on the left and you will reach a tarmac road where you should turn right (Route de la Gamponnière).
(2) At the first intersection, turn left and go uphill. At the next intersection, turn right and continue straight ahead (Chemin de la Croix Verte). Pass by a small park with picnic tables. After passing the small park, leave the paved road and take a dirt road on the left.
(3) Pass the Croix Verte hiking signpost and continue straight ahead on the dirt track. When you reach an intersection with a house opposite, turn right, leaving the dirt track for a tarmac road. Ignore the first intersection with a road on the left and continue to the second intersection, where you should take the dirt track on the left. Continue straight ahead into the woods.
(4) When you reach a crossroads and a hiking signpost, continue straight ahead into the woods, ignoring the paths leading off to the left or right. You will arrive at the D501.
(5). Turn right, walk about ten metres, then cross the road carefully to take the dirt track that continues opposite (be careful, this is a busy road). Continue straight ahead through the woods. After crossing the woods, you will reach a crossroads. At this crossroads, turn left. Walk about fifty metres, then turn right. Continue straight ahead, along the edge of the woods, until you reach a fork in the path, where you should turn left.
(6) About 50 metres after this fork, pass under a power line and near a rusty pylon on the right. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead, ignoring a path on the right. Cross a crossroads, continuing straight ahead. You will come to a tarmac road where you should turn left and, quickly passing in front of a house, reach an intersection with another road.
(7) Take this road on the left. Continue along it for about 60 metres, then turn right downhill. The road becomes a dirt track and, shortly after crossing the river (La Semène) on a small bridge, you will come to a crossroads. Take the leftmost path, then continue uphill through the woods. Continue straight through the woods until you reach the Château des Bois (La Diligence).
(8) After walking alongside the castle building, cross the road and continue opposite on a dirt track.
Pass the hiking signpost called Le Seuve, then arrive in the hamlet of Le Seuve.
Cross the hamlet, keeping straight ahead. Near the last house in the hamlet, turn left, ignoring the path on the right. Then, after passing this last house, you will come to a fork in the road. Take the right-hand path at this fork. Continue straight ahead on this path, across the fields. You will come to another fork in the path, where you should keep to the left. You will arrive at a crossroads where you will find a signpost for the La Condamine hiking trail.
(9) Continue to the right. The path will then join a tarmac road. Follow this road straight ahead, ignoring the paths branching off to the right and left, for about 50 metres, then take the dirt track that descends to the left. Follow this path straight ahead, ignoring the paths on the left and right. You will then reach a tarmac road and turn right. You will soon come to a fork in the road where you should turn left. At the next intersection, turn left downhill to reach the hamlet of La Scie de la Roue. Go straight through the hamlet, ignoring a road on the left where you will see the first signpost for the La Scie de la Roue hike.
(10) You will come to a second signpost, also called La Scie de la Roue. At this point, leave the road and take a dirt track on the left that runs alongside the River Semène. Follow this track, which in places is a succession of short tarmac sections alternating with dirt sections, keeping straight ahead and ignoring all turnings on the right and left. The path will take you to the hamlet of Le Sapt.
(11) Cross the hamlet, first going straight ahead, leaving the hiking signpost called Le Sapt and the path leading off to the left on your left, then, a few metres further on, turn right between the houses. Follow this street, which becomes a downhill dirt track. You will reach the D501, where you will find the Auberge du Sapt on the other side of the road.
(12) Cross the road towards the inn and follow this road to the right for about 100 metres downhill , taking care (busy road). After covering this distance on this road, leave it by taking the dirt track on the left towards the lake, passing close to the hiking signpost. Now follow the path along the lake, staying on the main dirt track. When you reach a fork, stay on the dirt track, turning right and ignoring the road on the left.
(13) Go through a wooden forest barrier designed to restrict vehicle traffic on the path and continue along the main path along the lake. Ignore any paths branching off to the left, as well as the small secondary paths leading to the lake shore, which do not always have an exit. Continue until you reach the Sapt dam. Ignore the paths branching off to the left and descend towards the Semène river, below the dam. Cross the Semène via a small bridge.
(14) Pass a hiking signpost called La Boëla and head back up towards the dam.
Follow the path that runs along the lake on the opposite bank.
(15) At this point, leave the path along the lake and take a path that climbs uphill. Be careful not to miss this turn-off as it is not marked on the map. Continue along this path, which winds its way uphill. Cross a short stretch of tarmac road and continue along the dirt track opposite, alongside a property with a house below. At the end of the climb, the path joins the D22.
(16) Cross it carefully and continue along the dirt track opposite, turning right before entering the driveway of a property with a house. Continue along the uphill dirt track. After a flat section, the path joins a paved section going downhill. Continue straight ahead, ignoring the turnings on the right and left, until you reach a main road (Route du Velay).
Turn right onto this road, heading towards the village centre and the church tower. Stay on this road for about 50 metres, then continue straight ahead and take the small lane opposite before the road begins to curve to the right. Continue along this lane, called Montée de la Calade.
At the bottom, you will arrive at a roundabout where, on the left, you will find the car park where the hike starts (S/E).
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Easy 
