The Cairn 2000 via the Lure ridges

This is a short hike along the ridge of Lure Mountain, with guaranteed 360° panoramic views, to Cairn 2000, which commemorates the transition to^{the third} millennium.
Even though this is a round trip, the advantage of a ridge is that the landscape is completely different on each side

Details

n°1517356

Creation:
29 Sep 2018

Last update:
11 Sep 2024

Last review:
22 Sep 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 10.37 km
Average duration: 4h 10
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 429 m
Descent: - 430 m
Highest point: 1,821 m
Lowest point: 1,567 m

Country: France
Areas: Alps, Monts de Vaucluse, Montagne de Lure
District: Saint-Étienne-les-Orgues (04230)
Start/End: N 44.118711° / E 5.802288°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3341OT
Hour-by-hour weather

Avalanche risk assessment bulletin

Discover Visorando Premium

Downloads

Open in the mobile app

Download GPX GPX

Download PDF PDF

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the summit of Lure, located below the antennas.

(S/E) From the car park, cross the road and start climbing, following the signs for the summit of Lure
At the first hairpin bend, continue straight ahead along a path towards the small antennas and reach them.

(1) Turn right and stay on the ridge, following the path shared by^{the GR®6}and^GRP® trails around the Montagne de Lure. The trail is marked in red and white.
Note: From this point onwards, the hike remains on the ridge.
Reach the place called Crête de Lure.

(2) Continue straight ahead on the ridge and arrive at the Pas de la Graille crossroads.

(3) Cross the tarmac road and continue straight ahead. You will see Cairn 2000 in the distance. Reach it and take the opportunity to read all the messages

(4) Return via the same route. Reach the first crossroads.

(1) Continue straight ahead to the antennas to reach the top of the mountain, then descend to the left to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,747 m - Car park at the summit of Lure
1 : km 0.65 - alt. 1,789 m - Petites antennes - Summit of Lure (1,825 m)
2 : km 1.83 - alt. 1,712 m - Crête de Lure
3 : km 3 - alt. 1,601 m - Pas de la Graille (1,599 m)
4 : km 5.09 - alt. 1,592 m - Cairn 2000
S/E : km 10.37 - alt. 1,747 m - Car park at the summit of Lure

Notes

There is no water along the route.

Note: (2) there is an alternative route at this point, following the direction of Creux de Chamois, then Les Chaumettes to reach the car park (S/E).

The Montagne de Lure remains a land of transhumance. The summit meadows of Lure welcome a flock of sheep for the summer season from June to October.
To ensure that everyone, from the flocks (with their guard dogs) to the hikers, has enough space, the GAEC de Lure provides some very interesting information on its website about the location of the flockhttps://www.facebook.com/gaecdelure

Worth a visit

Cairn 2000
Cairns are piles of stones arranged by shepherds or hikers. They mark a path or a summit, a pasture boundary or even serve as a landmark in bad weather. To commemorate the transition to^{the third} millennium, more than 60 trail markers from the Alpes de Haute-Provence Departmental Hiking Committee built a giant cairn on the Lure ridges at an altitude of 1,594 metres. It was inaugurated on 27 August 2000. A thousand hikers from eight different trails placed their stones at the foot of Cairn 2000. These stones, which came from all over the world (Peru, Nepal, Scotland, etc.), were added to the 12,000 already present. thirteen poems of hope for the year 2000 were placed in stainless steel tubes and embedded in the heart of the structure to leave a memory for future generations. Over 3 metres high and 2 metres in diameter, Cairn 2000 lives and grows every day as numerous hikers bring a decorated and signed stone.

Close to the antennas and up to the Pas de la Graille, there are small plaques on posts describing the planets: this is the planet trail that starts at the ski resort. It brings the distance between the planets down to the scale of the walk (5 km)... here the sky is clear and Saint-Michel l'Observatoire is not far away. In fact, the resort is home to the Marc Bianchi Observatory.
A word of advice: come on a Saturday to combine your hike with a public observation evening. Don't hesitate to check the dates on the SAML (Société Astronomique de la Montagne de Lure) website.
A very enjoyable evening with enthusiasts.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5

Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.9 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5

Route interest
4.6 / 5

User 14762073

22 Sep 2025 at 11:21 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful views; quite a few rocks, so make sure you wear good shoes! (We saw people wearing flip-flops...)

Machine-translated

gbg

02 Sep 2024 at 11:22 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, peaceful little hike. On the way back, we rejoined the road at the Crête de Lure sign, crossed the valley and ended up opposite the ridge in sheep pastures (don't follow the track, follow the path). It was beautiful

Machine-translated

Lalie

14 Jun 2021 at 09:32 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Although it was a round trip in clear weather, it was fantastic! Exceptional views all along the way.
I highly recommend this route, which presents no significant difficulties.
It's impossible to get lost because there are signs and not millions of possible paths.
I did it in hiking-running mode.
Thank you

Machine-translated

FrancoisAnnie30

07 Jun 2021 at 13:41 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Recommended to take the shorter route on the way back

Machine-translated

pugnierea

20 May 2021 at 14:15 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Splendid panoramic views from the summit of Lure Mountain and along the ridges. A very beautiful hike despite the strong wind (which must blow frequently). Highly recommended

Machine-translated

mitawa

26 Oct 2020 at 14:06 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike with superb views of the Alps, the valleys, Mont Ventoux, etc. A must-do!

Machine-translated

Camille7

19 Oct 2020 at 08:28 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

it's a shame to make us go via the summit of Lure Mountain, which isn't interesting because there are too many antennas
the best option would be to take us directly to the 2000 cairn

Machine-translated

AABouvet

16 Sep 2020 at 17:16 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

More difficult than expected, with lots of ascents and descents over rocky terrain. Superb 360° views of the Alps and the mountains of southern Provence.

Machine-translated

PJC saint Georges

09 Sep 2020 at 19:22 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

magnificent views, beautiful climbs in the rocky terrain

Machine-translated

pvja83

16 Jul 2020 at 18:59 7200 • Edited: 16 Jul 2020 at 19:00 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike, great weather, magnificent views and ideal temperatures for this time of year (14°C at the start and 19°C on the way back)

Machine-translated

dauphinois

14 Jul 2020 at 17:23 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk with superb views. One thing to note: it seems that on Monday mornings in July and August, the road is closed between the Lure summit area and the resort (reserved for bicycles). This means that the car park indicated here is not accessible from the south; you have to arrive via the Pas de la Graille.

Machine-translated

FabriceLL

29 Jun 2020 at 23:11 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An easy route with little elevation gain, offering rare panoramic views throughout. Admittedly, it's not circular, but at the end we cheated a little by leaving the ridge and returning to the car park via the path below without going all the way to the antennas. Even though we started the hike at 11 a.m., it was very pleasant with a refreshing breeze even during the hottest hours of the day...

Machine-translated

Cathyzen

22 Jun 2020 at 18:21 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this beautiful hike on the first day of summer... 14°C in the morning around 10am with lots of wind. A very beautiful hike with magnificent views of the snow-capped Alps and the Durance valley. Lots of flowers and butterflies...we suggest taking the Creux des Chamois trail on the way back to get to the car park without having to climb back up to the antennas.

Machine-translated

ericdu84

07 Oct 2019 at 10:21 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The route is well marked and, as it follows the ridge, it's hard to go wrong! The path is often stony, so wrap up warm in windy weather during the cooler months! Beautiful 360° views in many places

Machine-translated

glaciers

20 May 2019 at 08:56 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike with magnificent views of the Alps.
The Cairn 2000, perched on a hilltop, is moving with its messages from all nationalities.
Our group of 15 people left their inscribed stones...
We took the alternative route on the way back.
Thank you for this description of the beautiful Montagne de Lure.

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.

Author

Franck D
49 Walks

Visorando member

Machine-translated walk - Original version

Walk map

Bigger map and chart