The Col de Tençon

Pleasant circular route starting from Voreppe, which passes through Pommiers-la-Placette and the Col de Tençon at the foot of the Rochebrune summit.

Details

n°961088

Creation:
04 Feb 2018

Last update:
29 Jul 2022

Last review:
25 Nov 2024

Activity: Walking
Distance: 8.42 km
Average duration: 3h 35
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 413 m
Descent: - 413 m
Highest point: 625 m
Lowest point: 251 m

Country: France
Areas: Jura mountains, Alps, Chartreuse, Dauphiné
District: Voreppe (38340)
Start/End: N 45.299129° / E 5.638466°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3233SB, 3235OT, 3334OT, 3334OTR
Hour-by-hour weather

Avalanche risk assessment bulletin

Discover Visorando Premium

Downloads

Open in the mobile app

Download GPX GPX

Download PDF PDF

Description of the walk

Park in the car park above the church in Voreppe.

(S/E) Cross the Roize via the bridge and follow the D520a, taking care as traffic is heavy, until you reach the junction with the road that crosses the Roize again. Stay on this road to reach the small dam on the Roize.

(1) Continue along this tarmac road and, after crossing the Roize again, take a wide path on the right. Begin a short climb which ends at the hamlet of Le Buissert.

(2) Continue straight ahead and cross the hamlet. At the crossroads, turn left then right at the corner of the town hall and descend slightly to reach the junction with the D520a.

(3) Cross this road with great caution, climb slightly to take the wide path on the left. Begin a long but easy climb. Reach the houses of Les Barniers. Keep to the right on the tarmac road, cross the houses of Les Côtes and continue on the wide track to reach the Col de Tençon.

(4) Take the path on the left, following the sign for Voreppe, and descend quite steeply in places to reach the Arbre Fourchu crossroads.

(5) Continue downhill to rejoin the D520a. Cross it with great caution and walk along the barrier. You will soon find the downhill path on the left, marked by a sign.

(6) Follow the yellow markings to rejoin the D520a.

(7) Cross over to take the lane opposite and follow it to the D520a, crossing it opposite the pharmacy. Cross the Roize on the footbridge and head left to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 263 m - Parking near the church in Voreppe.
1 : km 1.26 - alt. 349 m - Dam - Roize (cours d'eau) - Affluent du canal de Vence
2 : km 2.72 - alt. 514 m - Le Buissert
3 : km 3.74 - alt. 501 m - D520a Pommiers la Placette
4 : km 5.65 - alt. 623 m - Col de la Tençon
5 : km 6.53 - alt. 500 m - Arbre Fourchu
6 : km 7.26 - alt. 370 m - D520a sign
7 : km 7.64 - alt. 307 m - Alleyway
S/E : km 8.42 - alt. 263 m - Parking near the church in Voreppe.

Notes

Be careful when crossing the D520a and on the paths running alongside it. This is a busy road and vehicles travel at high speed.
Also be careful in winter, as the trails remain muddy.

There is no water on this route.

Worth a visit

You will be able to admire (or rather regret) the effects of the box tree moth. In the summer of 2017, almost all the box trees in this area were destroyed following a massive invasion of this caterpillar.

(Between 5 and 6) A small viewpoint on the right offers a magnificent view of the motorways in the valley, which also allows you to see that noise pollution is particularly high.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5

Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5

Route interest
4.7 / 5

JuKaWi

25 Nov 2024 at 09:18 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice walk. Crossing the road was not a problem for us.

Machine-translated

MAREVA

28 Oct 2024 at 20:20 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very good hike.
Superb views.

Machine-translated

jacques.pulou

23 Oct 2023 at 13:26 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Please note that the route between points 4 and 5 towards the Belvédère des Maquisards is closed.

Machine-translated

ardechio

14 Oct 2019 at 17:34 7200

not yet done.

Machine-translated

Marie-O.

02 Apr 2019 at 14:02 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We parked in the Randonneurs car park (Route de Chalais) and did this route in the opposite direction to the one indicated: the contour lines indicated a fairly steep descent between points 5 and 7, which would have been hard on the knees... whereas the descent in the other direction is much gentler. In addition, to avoid walking along the D520 again, which is really very dangerous (the road is in very good condition, there are lots of straight stretches and lorries drive at breakneck speed!), we crossed the Roize "below" point 2 and passed through La Rigonnière, Racin, St Nizier, then the Randonneurs car park.
A very good day in the sun...
Thank you to the "visorandonneurs" who post their discoveries...

Machine-translated

Pasqualito38

16 Apr 2018 at 10:47 7200 • Edited: 16 Apr 2018 at 10:48 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello

Thank you for this hike, which was very well presented.

However, we did it in the opposite direction to the one suggested, as we thought it would be better to do the steepest part first and uphill. The views are excellent!
The descent from the Col de la Tençon to Voreppe is then very pleasant.

The only downside is that the D520 road crossings require great caution, especially near Voreppe.

The possibility of extending the circular route, for example by going to the Belvédère des Maquisards viewpoint, is an interesting option.

Best regards

Machine-translated

bernardino

25 Feb 2018 at 09:20 3600

Hello and thank you very much for this review of the Tençon Pass circular route.
In hiking, as in life, there are choices to be made, and in the case of this circular route, our guide (yes, it was a group hike) chose to do it anti-clockwise. It is undoubtedly more pleasant to do it clockwise, as you point out. We will probably do it again later in that direction.
As for the potential for discovery, particularly the view of the Voreppe cluze, readers will find the following sentence in the "Things to see" section:

(Between 5 and 6) A small viewpoint on the right offers a magnificent view of the motorways in the valley, which also allows you to see that noise pollution is particularly high.

And finally, to conclude, note that this disappointing description allowed me to reread it carefully and, frankly, I really don't see where a hiker could get lost, as evidenced by the fact that the previous comment is rated Very Good.
Conclusion: I am not changing anything in this description.
And as we are very attentive to people's opinions, I invite you to suggest some outings so that our friends can benefit from your talent.
Have a good day.

Machine-translated

gazok54

24 Feb 2018 at 18:22 3600

Thank you, jcmichal. I can see your point about the potential interest of doing the hike in the other direction and the fact that there are more sights to see along the way. However, I don't understand how you can rate a description as disappointing when you didn't follow it in the right direction. Perhaps you should have put "Disappointing" in the "Interest of the route" section.

Machine-translated

jcmichal

24 Feb 2018 at 17:36 3600

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

For pedestrian safety reasons, it is preferable to hike in the opposite direction. Starting from the hikers' car park and then descending La Roize along trail No. 3 avoids traffic and minimises pedestrian risk on the return journey, as cars are coming from the opposite direction.
It's a shame not to take advantage of all the possibilities this route has to offer, particularly at the Fouchu tree (still well marked), where you can admire the panorama from the Maquisards viewpoint, which allows you to see the Voreppe cluse and the barrier that stopped the Germans in June 1940.

Machine-translated

salvideo

16 Feb 2018 at 10:04 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 20, 2009
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Previously done in reverse
Video: http://www.matvpratique.com/video/3706-t...

Machine-translated