Paty lake and chapel via le Barroux

A hike against the backdrop of Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail, taking you through the village of Barroux to admire the castle and the beautiful views of the valley. The walk then continues past Paty lake and chapel.

Details

53238
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.16 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 418 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 409 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 461 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 186 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the village hall car park in Caromb.

No waymarks
(S/E) With your back to the car park, turn right onto Avenue Jean Moulin and then left onto Route de Beaumes de Venise (D21). Keep going for 400 m then take Chemin des Charettes to the right. Continue past the Chemin de Villeneuve on your right, and keep going until you reach a fork with the Chemin des Vayets.

(1) Stay on the Chemin des Charrettes, which forks off to the right. Continue until you reach the D13.

(2) Turn left along the road, taking care as the verge is not very wide. Shortly after, on your right, you will see the “Pré Fantasti”, a house in ruins, which legend says is haunted.
Continue along the road as far as the junction with the D938 (restaurant and potters opposite).
Turn left and cross the bridge over the Gourédon. Just after the bridge, turn right onto the road to the village of Barroux. Head towards the castle (via Chemin André de Richaud) and enjoy the views.

(3)Take Cours Louise Raymond on the right, then the first left (Rue des Ecoles). Continue uphill to Place de la Croix, then turn right along Rue de l'Eglise (paved). Go past the church to reach Place Philemont Piquet. Continue straight on past Impasse du Four and Rue de la Peratoure on your left, and then take the following lane, Chemin du Barry.
Follow the castle walls and bear right down the next road. At the next fork, ignore the lane to the porch on your left and continue to the Montée du Château. Turn left and then immediately right up the steps to the castle.

(4) Come back down the steps and then take the Montée du Château to the left, which leads to a view point with an information board. Continue on down to the left to reach Rue Marius Jouveau opposite the old hospital. Turn left onto this street which leads downhill. At the end of the cobblestones, continue straight on into Rue du Jubilé. On your left, after the fountain you will see a covered wash-trough. Keep going to n°65.

(5) Turn right to take the steps downhill, then cross the road to reach the Le Barroux footpath sign.

Red and Yellow Waymarks
(5) Follow the footpath straight on towards Malaucene - Le Rocher de Talon. Go down the steps to the D938. Turn right along the road, then cut across it to reach a path which starts at the parapet of the little bridge. Follow this path to the left alongside the stream.
Further on, ignore a path off to the left and begin to climb the trail until you reach the Rocher de Talon sign.
Turn right in the direction of Le Bois d’Hugues, and shortly after you will reach a large crossroads.

(6) At the sign for "Le Bois d'Hugues”, continue opposite, slightly to the right towards Lac du Paty - Font Mourèle, ignoring the wide paths off to the right and left.
The path is a little steep. Go past some vines, then the path heads back down to the signpost for Font Mourèle. Turn right towards Lac du Paty, go past the drive of a house and continue until you reach a crossing. Turn left on the track which joins a small road. Cut across it, continue alongside the car park, and follow the path to the lake.

(7) Turn left towards the amenities, continuing past the café and turn right over the footbridge. Just afterwards, take the footpath to the left. At the following crossing, ignore the two paths to the left and then at the next fork, turn right to climb up a steep, stoney path until you reach the signpost for la Madeleine.

(8) Turn left along the flat path towards Les Trois Termes, ignoring a path off to the left shortly after and continuing straight on despite the Yellow cross.

Yellow Waymarks
The path, which stays almost completely flat, takes you to a car park at the signpost for Les Trois Termes.

Red and Yellow Waymarks
(9) Turn right along the wide track towards Chapelle du Paty. At the signpost for the Aéropostale, follow the path to the left to reach the Chapelle du Paty. Leave the track to go and visit the chapel.

(10) After visiting the chapel, continue along the track to the left as far as the signpost. Continue straight on along this same track. Shortly after, on your left, there are two successive restored shepherd's huts. Continue downhill as far as the water reservoir. After a few hairpin bends, you will reach the D13 by the campsite.

No waymarks
(11) Turn left without crossing the road. At the roundabout, continue straight on down Avenue Charles de Gaulle, ignoring all the roads off to either side, until you reach the roundabout in the town centre. Turn right to return to Route de Beaumes de Venise and take the second left to the car park. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 195 m - Car park at the Salle des Fêtes in Caromb
  2. 1 : km 0.88 - alt. 210 m - To the right
  3. 2 : km 1.98 - alt. 229 m - D13 to the left
  4. 3 : km 3.07 - alt. 289 m - To the right Cours Louise Raymond
  5. 4 : km 3.62 - alt. 339 m - Château du Barroux
  6. 5 : km 3.89 - alt. 314 m - Stairs on the right
  7. 6 : km 5.1 - alt. 359 m - Le Bois d'Hugues
  8. 7 : km 6.47 - alt. 300 m - Lac du Paty - Brégoux (rivière)
  9. 8 : km 7.06 - alt. 386 m - La Madeleine, on the left
  10. 9 : km 8.48 - alt. 450 m - Les Trois Termes, on the right
  11. 10 : km 9.79 - alt. 396 m - Chapelle du Paty
  12. 11 : km 11.74 - alt. 222 m - D13, left
  13. S/E : km 13.16 - alt. 195 m - Car park at the Salle des Fêtes in Caromb

Notes

Much of the route is along tarmacked roads, which can be busy in places.
Variants
You can limit the tarmacked sections and shorten the route by 3 km if you park in the car park alongside the D13 between (2) and (10).

(8) It is possible to reach the Chapelle du Paty directly 100 m away by turning right.

Worth a visit

Visit the village of Barroux and its castle.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 83 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
7PB
7PB

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk with reliable description

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BéFiT84
BéFiT84

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A beautiful hike, but be very careful between 6 and 7 on the way to the lake. You have to pass in front of a house below with dogs running loose, and the owner couldn't care less about you. One of the two dogs is a malamute, known for its friendliness and legendary obedience. I therefore advise you to continue straight ahead on the road for about 5 kilometres and follow the signs for Lac du Paty, which will take you even further downhill.
Otherwise, with a few breaks, including a longer one for lunch, and with people of all levels, it took us 4½ hours.
Our four-legged friends are welcome (although they must be kept on a lead at the lake... it's up to you ).

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rando843063
rando843063

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike. Except for the beginning and end, which involve a bit of road walking. Using the app makes the hike very easy. I recommend stopping for a picnic at Lake Paty. Beautiful views of the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux. I highly recommend this hike.

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Ma Mie
Ma Mie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We took the time to visit Caromb and Le Barroux.
We met a member of the local council who explained to us that the wreckage of the plane had disappeared - we'd been looking for it too - and that there was only one stele, currently unmarked.
A pleasant day, with a view of the lace behind the château du Barroux and Le Ventoux.

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Roland84
Roland84

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A diversion to the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Le Barroux is in order.
A short climb up to Lac du Paty, then after a lunch break, a 2nd climb up to Chapelle du Paty.
On the way back down to Caromb, you can take 2 short diversions to discover the drystone shelters.
There may also be an Aéropostale wreck ... ? ? ?

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Jean-Luc H
Jean-Luc H

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. At Lac du Paty, you can take the footbridge and the path is then very well signposted with recent markings.

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jcdussart@orange.fr
jcdussart@orange.fr

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful walk with magnificent views. A visit to the Château du Baroux is well worthwhile.
A must in the Vaucluse with the possibility of swimming in the lake.
Thank you for this route

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emmaamandine
emmaamandine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A bit of road at the start and finish of the walk, but it wasn't too bad. Forest path and big path to get to the Paty chapel.
We had a very pleasant day.

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SHERMAN69
SHERMAN69

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk that takes in the eastern part of the Dentelles de Montmirail and the Ventoux. An original route, even if there is a fair amount of tarmac. The passage towards the Lac du Paty and the heights is a change of scenery.

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CCL Michel B
CCL Michel B

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Difficult to find a parking space in Caromb, gps essential, quite a few tarmac roads on the way to Barroux. Barroux is well worth a visit, with its beautiful castle.
There's a picnic table at the Lac du Paty, good progress in the heights, an easy return along a wide path and a visit to old Caromb.
I'd recommend this walk, which we did for 15.5 km and 550 m of ascent.

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vaxou
vaxou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

hello

pleasant route with a parish specific to Brittany but a lot of tarmac

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Tomase
Tomase

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk, the weather was fine despite the 45-minute snack by the lake. However, my GPS indicated 550 metres of positive difference in altitude...... For those who wish, you can cut off after point ten at the cistern to avoid the road.

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Pbubu
Pbubu

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

To avoid the tarmac on a busy road, we set off from the village of Le Barroux at point 3, rather than from Caromb. We then did the loop up to point 11, before returning to the car park in the vallon du Paty (where we are on the road) and then I retraced the circuit to take a path from this car park towards the lake, turning before it and we found ourselves between points 2 and 3, before returning. total height difference: 456 m. length: 12.3 kms duration: 3h 34 min with normal walking. A lot less tarmac and a pleasant walk. No particular difficulty.

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JODIDO
JODIDO

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice little winter hike, done with a friend.
Discovered the village of Le Barroux and its castle, as I'd never stopped there before.
Beautiful views of the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux.
We stopped for lunch at La Madeleine.
Total walking time: 4 hours 15 minutes. No difficulties to report in terms of description or terrain.

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xavierfritz84
xavierfritz84

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk, easy and accessible to all, in a sumptuous setting.
A great family outing with teenagers.

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