Le Grand Brion

A lovely hike to enjoy in any season, offering a chance to discover the Grenoble region, the Drac Valley and the eastern cliffs of the Vercors (Pic Saint-Michel, Deux Sœurs, etc.).

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.24 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 2,566 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 2,575 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 3,087 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,007 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
    Areas: Alps, Dauphiné
  • ⚐ City: Vif (38450)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 45.051825° / E 5.671371°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3235OT, 3236OT, 3236OTR, 3335OT, 3335OTR, 3336OT, 3336OTR
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

The route starts in Vif; you can set off from the community hall, for example, which is located next to the bus stop for line 17 to the park-and-ride car park.

(S/E) Take the small road opposite the community hall and walk for about 500 metres (private road sign).

(1) Turn right onto a small path that climbs up to the railway line and overlooks the hamlet of La Rivoire; after a short descent, you’ll reach the tarmac and another path that climbs quite steeply to the right. You’ll pass under the A51 motorway viaduct and then reach the end of this climb (about 600 metres long).

(2) Turn right to continue almost level, heading west towards the hamlet of Le Croset along a small tarmac road. You have already climbed over 100 metres in altitude and covered nearly 2.7 km.

(3) After a short descent through the centre of the hamlet, turn left between houses no. 6 and no. 8; the serious climb begins. You must cross the small railway line of the “Grenoble/Gap” route and head into the woods of Grand Brion. The climb is steep in places, with very few spots to rest and catch your breath, and you’ll reach a flat section, but this isn’t the summit yet; you’ll need to pay close attention as the path is poorly marked in the middle of this forest. The path begins a new, relatively short but steep ascent; you pass between rows of holly and emerge at a site hut, where the path widens and becomes almost level again.
Above all, do not follow the yellow markings, which can be misleading; the route crosses a meadow before descending slightly.

(4) You reach a junction; take the path on the left, which climbs steeply to reach the summit ridge. This ridge is undulating, with the altitude varying between 926 metres and 942 metres. To your right lies the Gresse valley with Vif and the village of Le Gua; to your left, the Drac valley and the Notre-Dame de Commiers dam. Above this valley rise the Connex and Peyrouse massifs.

The descent that follows is steep; take care not to slip. At the bottom of this first descent, you’ll join the path that climbs from the hamlet of La Merlière to reach the hamlets of Rossinant and Chabotte.

(5) Turn left and, after a slight climb and another descent, head towards Rossinant. Once you reach this hamlet, you’ll join the small tarmac road coming from Vif.

(6) Turn left and follow this road for about 4.5 km. Note that this small road overlooks the River Drac, where, with good binoculars and a bit of patience, you may spot beavers.

(7) Before starting the descent, the route turns left onto a barely visible path that joins the railway line via a short but very steep climb. You follow the railway line for a while before rejoining the original ascent route.

(2) Head down towards Vif. Once past the A51 viaduct, continue straight down the hill to reach the hamlet of La Rivoire.

(1) Turn right, then left at the traffic lights, and continue to the roundabout.

(8) Turn left onto Boulevard de la Résistance and return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,030 ft - Community hall
  2. 1 : mi 0.61 - alt. 1,017 ft - Path on the right
  3. 2 : mi 0.98 - alt. 1,316 ft - At the end of the climb, turn right
  4. 3 : mi 1.82 - alt. 1,263 ft - Croset, on the left
  5. 4 : mi 3.97 - alt. 2,753 ft - Crossroads, turn left.
  6. 5 : mi 5.19 - alt. 2,395 ft - Path, on the left
  7. 6 : mi 5.79 - alt. 1,709 ft - Tarmac road, on the left
  8. 7 : mi 8.73 - alt. 1,201 ft - On the left, a barely visible path
  9. 8 : mi 9.91 - alt. 1,014 ft - Boulevard de la Résistance, on the left
  10. S/E : mi 10.24 - alt. 1,027 ft - Community hall

Notes

The description has been corrected and updated, as has the route map (April 2018).

The general profile of the hike is 900 metres of elevation gain and just over 15 km in length, which is approximately a 5-hour walk, excluding breaks. The highest point is 942 metres at the summit of Brion.

Water is available in the hamlets along the route; as with any hike, make sure you have good walking shoes, a supply of water, etc.

Worth a visit

Visit the little church in Bourg de Vif to see its magnificent frescoes and murals; the oldest parts of this church date back to the 11th century. 13 km away, visit the Château du Connétable de Lesdiguieres in Vizille, with its Museum of the Revolution and its magnificent park and pond.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.7 / 5
Route interest
3.3 / 5
User 186627

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Living in Vif, we wanted to climb the Grand Brion. That was the main attraction of our hike! For the views, we’d recommend other hikes, such as the one to La Peyrouse, where the views are unobstructed and magnificent.
As mentioned in other reviews, the climb is steep, the descent is steep too, and the section on the (narrow) road isn’t very interesting.
Without the details provided by previous hikers, we might have got lost from point 5 onwards, as there are no markings and the paths are barely visible or not at all (thanks to the ‘hunting’ sign, which is an excellent landmark). As for point 7, we never found the marked path (“short but steep”) before the descent (perhaps you need to go down a little to reach a path shown on the map?), and we had to make our own way through the brambles and trees

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EtienneF38
EtienneF38

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

It’s hard to find any positives about this hike. The forest is beautiful, the path along the ridge is pleasant, the route is quiet (not a soul in sight!), it’s easy to get to from the Grenoble area, and there’s the surprising sight of a railway line running right through the forest.
Otherwise, the climb is tough, as is the descent, there are few clear views of the surrounding mountains, and the return journey along the tarmac on the eastern side is long and arduous. The reward for the effort isn’t great.
At elevation 721, between marker 5 and marker 6, there is a signpost indicating the direction of Le Paquier, perhaps the only one on the entire route. It’s a shame this isn’t specified in the description and that it suggests taking the small path branching off to the left 50 metres further on (hunting sign).

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Yves Claix
Yves Claix

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A nice, easy walk with no real difficulty, apart from the path being a bit overgrown in places; it’s a shame to have to go back onto the road, but the scenery of the Drac Valley makes up for it

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ademonte@club-internet.fr
ademonte@club-internet.fr

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

An average walk, nothing more.
I think the duration of the walk needs to be adjusted; 6 hours 50 minutes seems excessive even for a slow walker – I’d say it’s closer to the truth if you count 2 hours less.
At point 5, be careful to head towards Le Paquier, then a little further on take a path that branches off to the left at the hunting sign.
Even in spring, before the vegetation has grown, the view remains quite obstructed.

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72_rando_38
72_rando_38

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

A challenging but enjoyable hike. The approach is quite long and the path to the summit is steep. Once at the top, you can enjoy a walk through the woods with little change in elevation.
A slight disappointment: the view is rather limited due to the trees.
Take care on the way back, especially in wet weather, as the ground is slippery and can be treacherous. The return route through the Drac Valley takes you through magnificent scenery.

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jcb38
jcb38

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

There’s a problem with the elevation gain. It says over 1,000 m, but the summit is only 940 m and we’re starting at around 350 m.
Otherwise, everything’s fine.

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britdan
britdan

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

We did this route (in part) on 16 March 2017.
We set off just by the level crossing in the hamlet of Le Crozet.
The climb was very steep in places.
At the summit (943m), we descended towards the hamlet of La Merlière, from where we climbed back up to the beautiful clearings at an altitude of 885m.

For this slightly shorter version of the original route, we covered 785m of elevation gain over 10km in 3 hours 30 minutes (not including stops)

Finally, a lovely hike near Grenoble.

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