The Champ de Mars and the Col des Quatre Vios

The Champ de Mars is a superb viewpoint over the Ardèche mountains. Easy to access, it offers a 360° panoramic view with an orientation table allowing you to see all the surrounding mountains as far as the Vercors.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.87 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 468 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 460 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,342 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 901 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the church car park.

Yellow-red and white-yellow markings. At the start of the route, follow the yellow-red markings. Until you reach the top of the Champ de Mars, follow the tracks indicated by the "Champ de Mars .. km" signs.

(S/E) Turn your back on the church entrance and follow the road for about 100 metres. At the crossroads, take the road on the right until the next crossroads, where you will find a "Le Village" hiking signpost.

(1) Take the road on the left, following the signs for "Champ de Mars 5.8 km" for about 1 km. When you reach La Feuille, ignore the road on the left.

(2) At the crossroads just after, take the tarmac road on the right towards "Champ de Mars 4.8 km". The markings are yellow-red and white-yellow.

(3) Cross the D22 with caution and take the forest track opposite for more than 2 km.

(4) At the Bois de Rousset track junction, an unnamed hiking signpost invites you to continue straight ahead on this track towards "Champ de Mars 1.7km" for about 400m.

(5) At the Bourlateyron crossroads (unnamed hiking signpost), leave the track and take a path on the left marked in white and yellow towards "Champ de Mars 1.1km". It runs alongside a fence and winds its way through rocks and copses. You will arrive at a T-junction.

(6) Turn right towards Champ de Mars, as indicated by the wooden sign. You will then quickly reach the summit.

(7) Champ de Mars: 360° panoramic view, information board. Discover all the surrounding mountains, as far as Vercors, then return to the T-junction.

(6) Go straight ahead towards "Mauras 3.9km - Saint-Julien du Gua 11.7km". Now follow the white-yellow markings on the trees, as the trail zigzags through the forest between the trees and eventually arrives at a DFCI-type forest track.

(8) Turn left. After a few hairpin bends, you will reach the D22. Follow it carefully to the right for 200m to reach the Col des Quatre Vios.

(9) Descend via thefirst gravel track on the left. After the first hairpin bend, continue for about 50 metres, halfway between the previous bend and the house visible in the next bend.

(10) Descend to the right along the path and enter the forest. Shortly before reaching elevation 900, the descent becomes steep and the path gives way to a hiking trail. Join a farm track.

(11) A wooden sign points towards "Champ de Mars 7.9km" and invites you to turn left.

(12) At the "Private Property" sign, take the path on the left that climbs between two low walls. Climb through the forest for about 2km. This path widens at the end and joins a forest track at the top.

(13) Turn left to return to the Feuille crossroads and the starting point.

(2) Turn right towards "Mézilhac Le Col 1.8km". The road is gravel for a few metres, then tarmac until you reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,139 m - Church car park
  2. 1 : km 0.18 - alt. 1,144 m - The Village
  3. 2 : km 1.2 - alt. 1,174 m - La Feuille, crossroads of the circular
  4. 3 : km 1.8 - alt. 1,165 m - D122
  5. 4 : km 4.11 - alt. 1,283 m - Bois de Rousset crossroads
  6. 5 : km 4.48 - alt. 1,291 m - Bourlateyron crossroads
  7. 6 : km 5.26 - alt. 1,322 m - T-junction
  8. 7 : km 5.4 - alt. 1,342 m - Summit of the Champ de Mars
  9. 8 : km 6.34 - alt. 1,233 m - Forest track
  10. 9 : km 7.31 - alt. 1,150 m - Col des Quatre Vios
  11. 10 : km 7.7 - alt. 1,114 m - Descent into the forest
  12. 11 : km 8.8 - alt. 902 m - Farm track. Follow the - Glueyre (rivière)
  13. 12 : km 9.32 - alt. 940 m - Private property sign
  14. 13 : km 11.16 - alt. 1,151 m - Forest track
  15. S/E : km 12.87 - alt. 1,139 m - Church car park

Notes

The first part of the route (Mézilhac - Champ de Mars) is not difficult. It is very easy and accessible to all if the aim is simply to make a return trip. It can be a very pleasant, leisurely afternoon hike.

The second part, entirely in the undergrowth, is much more physically demanding. It is more difficult and requires attention. When crossing the forests, you must follow the dense white-yellow markings on the trees (every 3 to 5 metres between (6) and (8) and after (10)), which should prevent you from getting lost. The trail (often just a trail of footprints left by hikers) winds and zigzags between the trees: the path is not always very visible due to the carpet of leaves on the ground, especially in autumn (particularly between (6) and (8)).

Worth a visit

Orientation table in Mézilhac located just outside the village, on the road to Marcols-les-Eaux. Park in the church square.

Lachamp Raphael: the knoll de Montivernoux (panoramic view), the Bourlatier farm (memorial site) towards Mont Gerbier de Jonc.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 10304248

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

nice hike

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Philippe et Valérie
Philippe et Valérie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike in the middle of August. It is almost entirely in the shade, passing through superb beech forests. Only the final climb before point 13 is sunny (and steep!). Even in the middle of August, the streams were still flowing. The view from the Champ de Mars is extraordinary and well worth the effort, even more so than the view from Gerbier or Mézenc!
We had no problems with the route, the path through the woods is very well marked and we did not encounter the problems mentioned in last year's comments.
The descent between 10 and 11 is steep, so we were glad to have our walking sticks.
The hike took six hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., including a long picnic break, long breaks for picking flowers, and we stayed a good while at the Champ de Mars to explore the 360° view.

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Sabaton René
Sabaton René

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

It is difficult to follow the route at one specific point, but this is not the fault of the person who suggested this route. In fact, the fault lies with the forestry operators who have complicated and confused the network of tracks and paths during logging operations. That said, the walk is very pleasant, especially in this scorching summer, thanks to the many shaded areas.

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jesuisenrandonné07
jesuisenrandonné07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Varied trails with beautiful views

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elianedaniel
elianedaniel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Superb site, orientation table and local names of the 5 winds appreciated; very well marked route, and even more complete than your information (for example, the names of the hiking posts), map and information easy to read: no trouble finding your way, very informative details provided (e.g. private property).
All the best for the future.

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MEGUI
MEGUI

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very well-explained hike. Shady trail and magnificent forest.

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michel.dussere@gmail.com
michel.dussere@gmail.com

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Beautiful view of the green and fresh Mézenc

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Aaron
Aaron

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb walk!!! We started out with our feet in black ice, then the entire climb up to Champ de Mars was in snow! A real pleasure! The descent from the pass was peaceful, with a thick layer of leaves underfoot. The final climb was long (we were tired by then) but magical. We didn't see anyone else (no surprise with weather like that!). The return journey by road was in the snow, with low snow clouds beginning to surround us on all sides!
Thank you for this hike!

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