Le Pas du Riot and Gouffre d'Enfer starting from Rochetaillée

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A very beautiful, easy circular alternating between forest paths, magnificent landscapes and breathtaking views of the Château de Rochetaillée, the Roche Corbière (117 m high) and the Pas du Riot (1878) and Gouffre d'Enfer (1866) dams, whose surroundings have been converted into a very pleasant relaxation area for the end of this walk.

Details

n°11548663
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.32 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 528 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 527 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,093 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 727 m
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Photos

Stairs at Gouffre d'Enfer
Gouffre d'Enfer stairway
The Gouffre d'Enfer
Gouffre d'Enfer dam

Description of the walk

Park in the Echeneaux car park in Rochetaillée.

(S/E) Cross the D36 and turn left onto the Route du Mas, which climbs into the forest. Continue until you reach a hairpin bend.

(1) Leave the road and take the path at a right angle to reach the hamlet of Breuil. Here, leave the Route du Mas by turning right between the two houses, then immediately after the houses, turn left onto the path that climbs up alongside the forest on the right. Continue straight ahead, ignoring the forks in the road. You will reach a crossroads leading to the hamlet of Les Traversières.

(2) Cross the road, continue downhill along the forest path and you will reach a stream.

(3) Cross it and then start climbing to reach the hamlet of Salvaris.

(4) Take a sharp right turn around thefirst house. Continue to the edge of the woods at the paragliding launch site.

(5) Turn right onto the forest path and continue along a series of ascents and descents. You will reach a crossroads with several directions, where there is a designated area.

(6) Leave the forest path and turn right onto the trail. You will reach the hamlet of La Violette.

(7) Cross the road and continue straight ahead on the path that descends to the D8. Turn right and follow the road for about 100 metres, taking great care with the traffic, until you reach the bend.

(8) Leave the D8 here and turn left onto the path. Continue downhill to reach the Pas du Riot dam.

(9) Go around it on the right, without crossing it, and climb the path for about 100 metres. At the fork, take the path downhill to the left. Join the Ruisseau des Sagnols, then the Ruisseau du Furan. Cross the bridge over the Furan and turn right at the end of the bridge. Continue along the right bank of the Furon to reach the viewpoint above the Gouffre d'Enfer dam. Enjoy the view.

(10) Turn right onto the path and pass the Roche Corbière and Rochetaillée climbing site. Continue parallel to the road, pass the hamlet of Le Prix Fait and rejoin the road further on.

(11) Turn right and continue along this road to return to the Echeneaux car park in Rochetaillée (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 771 m - Echeneaux car park
  2. 1 : km 1.06 - alt. 837 m - Le Tailloux
  3. 2 : km 2.13 - alt. 965 m - Carrefour les Traversières
  4. 3 : km 3.11 - alt. 900 m - Ford
  5. 4 : km 4.24 - alt. 962 m - Salvaris
  6. 5 : km 5.04 - alt. 1,045 m - Paragliding area
  7. 6 : km 6.83 - alt. 1,056 m - Developed area
  8. 7 : km 7.54 - alt. 1,079 m - La Violette
  9. 8 : km 8.32 - alt. 1,016 m - D8 crossroads
  10. 9 : km 9.85 - alt. 856 m - Le Pas du Riot
  11. 10 : km 12.83 - alt. 784 m - T-junction to Belvédère du Gouffre d'Enfer - Furan (rivière)
  12. 11 : km 14.63 - alt. 739 m - Road junction
  13. S/E : km 15.31 - alt. 771 m - Echeneaux car park

Notes

(6) Picnic tables
(10) Recreation and leisure area at Gouffre d'Enfer

Worth a visit

(9) and (10) 2 dams from the time of Napoleon III,
(10) Two via ferrata routes, including one for children at Gouffre d'Enfer
After (10) Climbing site at Roche Corbière.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 14 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
User 20814802

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike, thank you for sharing!

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anne ubrig
anne ubrig
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful route and a most enjoyable hike, even if the signage in the Pilat Regional Nature Park threw me off a bit. I was also a little disappointed that the Gouffre d'Enfer dam was empty!

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gilbert421
gilbert421

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb scenery and a very pleasant route

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abouamine42
abouamine42

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Stunning scenery with breathtaking views of Saint-Étienne.
Thank you for this lovely 4-hour walk, during which we were able to enjoy the beautiful views.
⚠️BEWARE⚠️ of construction work until the end of November at the dam.

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erythro
erythro

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, peaceful hike. I didn't meet anyone, but it was a weekday and it was raining. It took me 4 hours 45 minutes to 5 hours, as I got a bit lost trying to find my way around the roadworks/diversion.
Beautiful views.
No particular difficulties except for the poorly signposted diversion due to roadworks. Fortunately, the roadworks are due to be completed by the end of the year

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TotoB
TotoB

Good evening,
Apparently, the Loire FFRando has finally put in place alternative signage from Pas du Riot to Gouffre d'Enfer (between points 9 and 10), which will remain in place until the end of the works (end of November 2024, in principle...).
Have a good evening.

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dominiquedu42
dominiquedu42

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We couldn't find the fork in the road at the hamlet of La Tuilière. So we set off on the wrong route, but managed to reach the Pas de Riot dam. The GPS coordinates could have helped us, but it turned out that we had no mobile phone reception at that location.
Otherwise, it was a very nice walk

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TotoB
TotoB

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike (a bit challenging but nothing prohibitive) in Pilat.
Downsides to the hike:
- at 5, where is the paragliding base?
- in 6, there are no picnic tables. In 6, they are at the intersection between the path passing through 6 and the GR42, east of point 7!
- GR 42, incidentally, is more of a logging track than a GR trail. Clearly, the Pilat park is Natura 2000 when it suits...
- between 9 and 10, the path is not the right one due to work on the Gouffre d'Enfer dam (which began in 2019, well before this hike was published...). However, once again, you only find this out after having walked a total of nearly 2 km extra on two detours! Apparently, it was too difficult to indicate this at the relevant intersections...
In short, a very nice walk but a bit "annoying".

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Rascasse7
Rascasse7

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk with no particular difficulties.
Be careful at point 6, as tree felling is underway and the start of the path on the right was completely (temporarily?) blocked.
We chose to cut through the woods on the right after the logging site, where the vegetation was low. Otherwise, continue along the path to join the GR42, then turn right to reach point 7 (the detour is not long)

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Patbern69
Patbern69

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very accessible hike that can be completed in 5 hours. Alternating between open panoramic views and forest trails. Very pleasant in warm weather.
Slight difficulty before point 9 where the path is not well marked. Follow the GPS track carefully.
The route between points 8 and 9 runs alongside the magnificent River Furan. I highly recommend it

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Kenji
Kenji

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike through flowering broom and woods, then along the River Furan.
Quite busy from Pas du Riot onwards.
Note that trees block the path between points 6 and 7. We therefore took the left-hand path to reach point 7.

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jrf
jrf

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike in Pilat with a visit to the Gouffre d'Enfer cave and all the hydraulic structures built under Napoleon III, the Planfoy via ferrata and Rochetaillée Castle. Please note: there is no bakery in Rochetaillée.

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Babeth 07
Babeth 07

I think it would be a shame not to go down to the dam in 9 because the view is nice and the detour is negligible (2 x 100m)

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Babeth 07
Babeth 07

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, varied route starting from Planfoy, with beautiful paths and stunning views.
We saw mushroom pickers and sports enthusiasts at Roche Corbière, but few hikers.
We saw the table in 6 but not the paragliding launch site in 5, just a beautiful herd of cows!
A real pleasure

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edwz69
edwz69

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thanks for the info. Very pleasant hike and not difficult at all.
i didn't see any tables at point 6.
You shouldn't go down to the dam at point 9, but continue downhill and you'll come to a bridge a little further on.

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