Le Petit Brion and the Crozet Plateau

A short walk best saved for the off-season. This route allows you to explore this part of the southern suburbs of Grenoble, with a few views of the surrounding mountains. It is a very easy walk, following good paths that alternate between wooded and open areas.

Details

5211394
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.78 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,286 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,260 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,765 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 968 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
    Areas: Alps, Dauphiné
  • ⚐ City: Vif (38450)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 45.058292° / E 5.684543°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3235OT, 3236OT, 3236OTR, 3335OT, 3335OTR, 3336OT, 3336OTR
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

The starting point is at the end of the Vif bypass, at the start of Route de Reymure, just before the underpass beneath the A51 motorway: parking available.

(S/E) Go under the motorway bridge then turn right onto Route de la Santon.

(1) After about 500 m, turn right onto a path that runs between farmland (yellow markings). Continue along this path as it climbs into the forest, following the markings for about 1.5 km.

(2) Leave the marked path and follow a track to the right which heads north and climbs steeply. Before reaching the summit, the view opens up onto the Isles du Drac.

(3) Pass the summit of Petit Brion and begin the descent along a well-marked path.

(4) Continue the descent by turning right and rejoin the A-road. Cross it carefully and take Rue de la Merlatière opposite.

(5) After about a hundred metres, follow the path on the left which climbs steeply, passing under the motorway viaduct.

(6) Turn right onto a good track and continue further along the tarmac road until you reach a junction.

(7) Turn right and follow the road downhill until you pass under the second motorway viaduct. Turn sharply right and head back up the other side of the A51: the road becomes a track and leads to the Plateau du Crozet.

(8) Take the first left. 100 m further on, follow the most obvious path to the right, and 100 m further on, take a path on the left that follows a fence and continues downhill. This path enters the woods, crosses a bridge over the railway line and leads onto Rue du Bois du Gua.

(9) Turn sharp right, follow the street until you reach a ‘private property’ sign. Take a small path on the right with a few steps that leads back up to the level of the railway line. Follow this path, which leads onto Rue de la Merlatière, and turn left.

(5) Continue straight on until you reach the traffic lights. Walk along the left-hand side of Avenue de la Gare, cross at the pedestrian crossing to enter Rue du Truchet opposite and follow it.

(10) Turn right, pass the police station, and continue straight on until you reach the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 981 ft - Start of the Route de Reymure
  2. 1 : mi 0.4 - alt. 974 ft - Path on the right
  3. 2 : mi 1.46 - alt. 1,440 ft - Leave the marked path. View of the Isles du - Drac (rivière) - Drac Noir-Drac
  4. 3 : mi 1.77 - alt. 1,759 ft - Le Petit Brion
  5. 4 : mi 2.27 - alt. 1,207 ft - Turn right
  6. 5 : mi 2.51 - alt. 1,014 ft - Path on the left
  7. 6 : mi 2.81 - alt. 1,316 ft - Turn right
  8. 7 : mi 3.44 - alt. 1,302 ft - Junction, turn right
  9. 8 : mi 4.12 - alt. 1,299 ft - On the left - Plateau du Crozet (391m)
  10. 9 : mi 4.54 - alt. 1,030 ft - Rue du Bois du Gua
  11. 10 : mi 5.4 - alt. 1,001 ft - Turn right
  12. S/E : mi 5.78 - alt. 981 ft - Start of the Route de Reymure

Notes

Hike accessible by public transport.
1/ By train, take the Grenoble/Gap line, alight at Vif station, and walk to the starting point, approximately 400m from the station: start the route from this point (5).
2/ By bus, take the TAG No. 25 or 26, get off at the “Rivalta” stop, take Avenue du 8 mai 1945, then Avenue d’Argenson; the starting point is just under 100m past the roundabout.

Some paths may be muddy after heavy rain.

Worth a visit

In Vif, in the centre, the Maison Champolion is due to open in 2021.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
Stefdu38
Stefdu38

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A short walk between midday and 2 pm – the perfect time to be on my own.
Nothing particularly exciting, but still pleasant at the start of the rainy season.

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framcoise
framcoise

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

a route I first scouted out and then walked with a group
lovely walk
A lovely discovery despite the mud

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jacques.talbot
jacques.talbot

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Thanks for the walk.
We only did the northern circular route yesterday, Sunday.
Most of the time, on this section of the climb up Petit Brion, the view is obscured by the trees, which are leafless at the start of April, except for a 100-metre stretch thanks to the high-voltage power line.
So it’s recommended for those who enjoy a stroll in the woods. Quite a few motocross bikes and quads out this Sunday...

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polo381
polo381

Hello, if you’ve been following the walk using the app by tapping ‘Start this walk’, the app will track the route and, if I’m not mistaken, will also generate your own route, which is why you’ll see a live track at the same time. Please let me know if I’ve got that wrong...

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Emesse
Emesse

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk to get your legs going at the start of the season, with superb snow-covered views of the Chartreuse massif (the Dent de Crolles in particular) and the Vercors, even if the end of the walk is a bit of a tarmac stretch. Thanks for this route.

One downside: I had a problem ‘starting this hike’ because I kept coming across ‘active tracks’ even though I didn’t have any active tracks myself and have never created one! I don’t know why this happened? It disrupted the start of our hike a bit...

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