The Col des Prés de Fromage

This forest and mountain pasture trail offers a fascinating glimpse of the valley and some of Europe's highest villages, including Saint Véran.

Details

10141
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.76 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 720 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 712 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,253 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,705 m

Photos

Description of the walk

At the Ville Vieille crossroads, head towards Saint Véran. Park in the car park on the left of the road in the village of Molines.

(S/E) Start the hike by crossing the road, then descend along the track and cross the stream on the footbridge.

(1). Stay on this track, which climbs very steeply, until you reach the table and benches (built by hunters in 2004). The track levels out and joins the path climbing up the Rua.

(2). The path is now markedPR®® (yellow). After a hairpin bend of almost 180°, you will reach a crossroads marked by a sign.

(3) Turn left to reach the Clot Henri hut.
The path turns right and joins theGRP®® (red and yellow markings) at the Col des Prés de Fromage.

(4) Continue left on theGRP®® to reach the Saint Simon Chapel.

(5) Head towards La Chalp (signposted), first through the forest and then across mountain pastures, until you reach the long descent that leads to La Chalp. Cross the road and turn left at the Sainte-Agathe chapel.

(6) Continue on the GRP®®. Enter the Bois des Amoureux and continue to the village of Pierre Grosse.

(7) Turn left at the Pont du Moulin and join the D 205. Stay on this road, paying close attention to traffic. Then turn left, take two consecutive hairpin bends and you will quickly reach the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,740 m - Parking in Molines en Queyras
  2. 1 : km 0.29 - alt. 1,705 m - Footbridge over the - Aigue Agelle (rivière) - Affluent du Guil
  3. 2 : km 1.86 - alt. 1,927 m - Junction with the path that climbs up from the Rua.
  4. 3 : km 2.75 - alt. 2,073 m - Fork in the path for Clot Henri.
  5. 4 : km 3.57 - alt. 2,144 m - Junction with the GRP. - Col des Prés de Fromage (2150m)
  6. 5 : km 4.54 - alt. 2,190 m - Chapel of St-Simon.
  7. 6 : km 7.92 - alt. 1,762 m - Fork in the path at the Chapelle Ste-Agathe after the - Aigue blanche
  8. 7 : km 9.95 - alt. 1,877 m - Mill bridge. - Aigue Agelle (rivière) - Affluent du Guil
  9. S/E : km 11.76 - alt. 1,739 m - Parking in Molines en Queyras

Notes

There is no need to carry too much water as there are springs along the trail.
Clot Henry's hut, renovated by the inhabitants of Molines, is still open. It is equipped for cooking and has four beds. It is free to use. It is remarkably well maintained and must remain in this condition for the enjoyment of hikers.

Worth a visit

This circuit is part of theGRP®® Tour de la Dent de Ratier. In Queyras, there are manyGR®® or GRP®® marked trails. Two years ago, responsibility for signposting was transferred from the Regional Park to the CDRP05. The departmental signposters have therefore inherited this task. The gift is 250 km of trails to signpost. To complicate matters, some routes that were previouslyGR®® have becomeGRP®®.
This explanation of the signposting system will allow you to spend weeks in Queyras following theGR®® orGRP®® trails, for example:
- the Queyras tour and its variants,
- the tour of the Dent de Ratier,
- the Font Sancte tour,
- and, of course, all the other trails you will discover by consulting IGN maps or guidebooks and, of course, Visorando.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 24 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Davidh
Davidh

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike with interesting passages through mountain pastures

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monal
monal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike on 05.08.2025. To add to the comments made on 09.08 by michelebl, we knew that there was a sign prohibiting access to the path due to a landslide at the mill bridge. The second sign is there, but it is on the ground and not very visible from the side of the trail. The Saint-Véran tourist office, which we contacted before setting off, was surprised to learn of the existence of these signs. So there is no need to worry about taking this trail.

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michelebl
michelebl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 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 on 1 August 2025. Thank you for maintaining the trails. It was perfect. Don't miss the Clot Henri refuge, which is a little gem.
Two comments: a sign indicating the pass has been reversed at point 2034 (downhill, when you need to go uphill!). When we arrived at the Moulin bridge below Pierre Grosse, we were surprised to see a sign indicating that the path was closed due to a rockfall, when there was no indication of this on the way up.

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MARTIN Xavier
MARTIN Xavier

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Hello,
A very beautiful hike in October.
Between points 1 and 2, forestry vehicles have severely damaged the path.

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bernardino
bernardino ★

Hello, thank you very much for this information. I have modified the path accordingly from (7).
All the best

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emmaamandine
emmaamandine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike
Good GPX track except at point 8 after crossing the Moulin bridge and going back up the D 205, the path opposite no longer exists (fence)
Return to the car park via the road

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bernardino
bernardino ★

Thank you for your message, which perfectly confirms the beauty of this place. But you have to come back in summer, it's just as beautiful then.
Have a nice day and enjoy your walks

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sergio083
sergio083

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

hike completed at the end of May, with snow still covering the peaks, making for sublime landscapes.
Well marked, it starts off gently. Follow the signs. The climb is more gradual.
A hike that I recommend

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Mac Baf
Mac Baf

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

The trail leading to point 2 is not particularly interesting. Recently refurbished (thanks to European funding), it is very wide and easy to walk on, but not very interesting. However, the St Simon chapel and its surroundings are very pleasant. If you sit on the benches under the trees, you can watch the marmots that live on the opposite side of the field. We did this hike in mid-June on the Chemin de la Chalp. It was a veritable festival of colours, with so many different flowers and insects: a treat for photographers. The difficulty level is as advertised.

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visorandojpp
visorandojpp

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

magnificent autumn colours of the larch trees

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Philou26
Philou26
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike. The climb to the top of the bucher is definitely worth doing (no difficulty) to enjoy a beautiful panorama

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Richard1329
Richard1329

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike that is worth extending (30 to 40 minutes round trip) to the summit of Bûcher.
We did this by first heading towards Pierre Grosse to avoid the very steep climb between La Chalp and La Chapelle St Simon: that said, the descent was also a bit tough on the legs!

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lililagardeadhemar
lililagardeadhemar

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, a bit long towards the end. Varied landscapes and very beautiful nonetheless.

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mdajl
mdajl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

In fact, we combined this hike with the Bucher summit hike. The start in the forest from Molines is really tough, but the rest is very pleasant.
For the return trip, we followed the stream (the start at La Chalp is a bit overgrown).

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Lederhose
Lederhose

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

It's a great way to start a week of hiking. There's a tiny problem with the GPS route at Pierre Grosse. You have to go back up the road a little to find the path. I agree, the Bucher summit is a must-see and very easy to reach.
Thanks for this lovely hike.

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