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Park in Saint-Paul-en-Jarez, in the Post Office car park.
(S/E) From the post office car park, go to Rue Basse, turn left to go up towards the village centre. Turn left onto Rue de la République to pass in front of the church and continue.
(1) Turn left onto Rue Henri Tronel (D36). Continue straight ahead. Don't miss the Renaissance well on the right in a small square.
(2) Turn right onto the D7, which is the least pleasant part of the route. Drive carefully up this road, admiring the old wall on the right, made of vertically stacked stones. After the cross (on the left of the road), continue straight ahead along an enclosure.
(3) At the end of the wall, take the perpendicular street on the right towards La Joanna, then 50 metres further on, turn left and continue straight ahead. You will pass behind the Bessy farm, then under the power line and down towards the valley, before climbing back up the Route des Châtaigniers to the hamlet of La Bruyère. Continue along the path that extends the road. There are lovely views of the Dorlay valley and the Pilat mountains on the way up. At a cave-shaped oratory with a statue of the Virgin Mary, the path joins a road. Continue straight on to the hamlet of Combe.
(4) After the first buildings in the hamlet, climb up to the right along the rural path. Continue uphill when this path joins another. At the top, on the plateau, there are lovely views to the north over the Gier valley and the Monts du Lyonnais. You can see Chagnon, Génilac and Saint-Martin-la-Plaine. To the south, there are views of the Pilat mountains. Continue along the path that veers left into the woods. When you emerge from the woods, there are more beautiful views of the Pilat. Continue straight ahead. The path joins another larger path that climbs up from the valley on the left. Turn right to finish climbing to the pass.
(5) At the Col de Trente Sous, there is a bench where you can take a short break at the end of the climb. Turn left, heading south. Continue straight ahead. There are views of the Pilat mountains on the left and the Gier valley, Saint-Chamond, Sorbiers and the Jarez hills on the right.
(6) At this crossroads, turn right. The path quickly disappears into the undergrowth. It then passes behind the hamlet of Bayolle-le-Haut. At point 567, there is another bench where you can take a break. From here, you will find information panels along the path explaining the landscapes, hamlets, their history, legends, etc.
(7) : Turn left and go down the path that first crosses a grove and then runs alongside the orchards. On the right, you will reach the hamlet of Bayolle-le-Bas (where fruit and honey are sold). Continue along the road that goes around the reservoir and then joins the D36.
(8): Turn left onto the D36, then immediately right onto the path. Continue to the hamlet of La Revolanche. Go to the bottom of the hamlet.
(9): Turn right and follow the road.
(10): At the entrance to the hamlet of La Rossary, turn right.
(11): Turn right onto the Caramentran road (tarmac), which crosses a stream and continues uphill. The tarmac quickly gives way to a proper track. At the top of the hill, continue straight ahead. Follow this path to the Grange Merlin farm and castle. Continue along the road, then turn left to reach the centre of the village of Saint-Paul-en-Jarez via Rue de la Croix Blanche. Continue along Rue de la République and Rue Basse to reach the Post Office car park (S/E).
A pleasant surprise 
The views are as exceptional as ever. The climb is worth it. We discovered other curiosities that we hadn't seen the first time. Maybe we should do it the other way around? Thank you for this description and the directions. The most difficult part is point 4: "After the first buildings..." I would say "After the last building in the hamlet..." If you miss this passage, you miss the beautiful views, the little passage through the undergrowth, and you end up on the tarmac rather than the paths. Which is what hikers are looking for. The route is not marked in any way. It is essential to follow the description or the tracks on the Visorando app, having downloaded the GPX map beforehand.
Visorando member
Easy 
Difficult 
