The Sornin Plateau from Le Fournel

A very pleasant walk on a plateau well known to Grenoble residents and enjoyable in all seasons.

Details

n°106050

Creation:
10 Mar 2015

Last update:
07 Jan 2025

Last review:
06 Jan 2025

Activity: Snowshoeing
Distance: 7.15 km
Duration according to the author: 5 hrs
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 668 m
Descent: - 668 m
Highest point: 1,593 m
Lowest point: 925 m

Country: France
Areas: Alps, Vercors, Dauphiné
District: Engins (38360)
Start/End: N 45.192438° / E 5.619359°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3235OT, 3334OT, 3334OTR
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Description of the walk

Park in the hamlet of Fournel in the commune of Engins, in the car park on the right after the turning point (S/E). Start opposite on the steep tarmac road before joining the wide path.

(1) Take it to the right heading north; this path leads to the plateau's mountain pasture. Stay on this trail marked with the colours of the Vercors, i.e. JV (Yellow Green), before reaching the mountain pasture hamlet of Sornin.

(2) Then head north-northeast and, before the edge of the woods, northwest. Go around the woods and, at its western end, you will see the Cabane du Berger. Continue to the hut.

(3) Change direction and head south-west through the deciduous wood. You will come out onto an alpine pasture. Continue south until you reach a rocky ridge.

(4) Go around this barrier on the left and arrive at the Sornin chalets.

(2) Then retrace your steps to return easily to the Fournel car park (S/E).
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Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 925 m - Car park in the village of Fournel.
1 : km 0.27 - alt. 969 m - Trail junction
2 : km 2 - alt. 1,368 m - Sornin chalets
3 : km 3.45 - alt. 1,538 m - Shepherd's hut
4 : km 4.62 - alt. 1,541 m - Rocky ridge
S/E : km 7.15 - alt. 925 m - Car park in the village of Fourne

Notes

No water in winter, fountain at the Sornin chalets.
Snowshoes required in winter.
This description complements two other routes in this area (search keywords: Sornin and Molières).

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

ENS de la Molière et du Sornin - more information

Worth a visit

The entire Vercors plateau with its ski resorts and leisure facilities: Villard de Lans, Corrençon, Lans en Vercors, Saint Nizier du Moucherotte and, of course, nearby Autrans.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5

Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.9 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5

Route interest
4.7 / 5

Dinli

06 Jan 2025 at 23:07 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice walk

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bebert38

26 May 2022 at 17:20 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route starting from the MOLIERE car park, descend towards SORNIN via FOURNEL, then return
to DENT DU LOUP, then head towards La Molière, then towards La Sure, take Plénouse and finally return to the La Molière car park. 12.8 km, elevation gain 633 m, time 3½ hours, varied landscape, shaded route taken during the week, not too crowded.

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Mimizen38

23 Jan 2022 at 20:15 3600 • Edited: 24 Jan 2022 at 20:44 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful panoramas, but I strongly advise against the descent if snow conditions are not good and you don't have a minimum of experience and equipment... you could easily end up in a small wooden box if you start sliding... but then again, you do what you want...
In any case, this is clearly not a "medium" level snowshoe hike if you follow this trail.
Once you reach the point (4), for the descent, I recommend retracing your steps towards the point (3) to pick up the path that goes around the rock on the lower west side... Admittedly, the path is longer, but at least it's safe.
Also, on the way up, I recommend taking a short detour via the Dent du Loup: it doesn't add much distance and the view is nice.

The route I recommend: https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-/187...

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SILEX38

22 Nov 2021 at 18:18 3600

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Start with a 2 km climb, when you arrive at the sheepfold, pay close attention to the signs on both sides as the information on the back is different. Lots of fog, so no views.

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Mazette

12 Feb 2019 at 18:14 3600

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

From the shepherd's hut, we didn't know where to go. There were signs pointing to La Molière and La Dent du Loup, but back towards the village of Sornin, there were no tracks, the snow was very good but it camouflaged the terrain... no tracks???
We didn't dare venture out and/or take any risks.

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bernardino

12 Feb 2019 at 11:42 3600

Hello
Is it because of the snow and reduced visibility that you rated the description and route as moderate?
However, I see that you appreciated the guidebook since it warned you about the rocky outcrops.
Have a nice day.

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Mazette

11 Feb 2019 at 21:41 3600

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I did this hike in heavy snow and poor visibility. There were no tracks, so when we arrived at the shepherd's hut, we didn't do the circular route because of the rocky outcrops shown on the map.

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titi3842

04 Feb 2019 at 17:25 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely snowshoe hike, short and without any particular difficulties.

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sven.oehm

14 Jan 2019 at 10:46 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
A very beautiful snowshoe hike yesterday, 13 January 2019. Even with the snow on the plateau (which didn't seem like a real plateau to me, but rather hilly...), it was very easy to find my way thanks to the trail and especially the satellite map, which helped me a lot. I made a small adjustment on the plateau by going to the Dent du Loup. It was too beautiful.
The only difficult part was the descent before returning to the hamlet of Sornil. It was quite steep and slippery with snow, so I struggled a bit to avoid slipping. I imagine it would be better with more snow.

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Grandesballades

20 Nov 2017 at 11:40 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

HELLO
I live in St Nizier du Moucherotte and have a house in Gresy sur Aix. I used to do this hike 30 years ago on a mountain bike. Now I'm part of the MPT 4 montagnes de Villard de Lans. We do three of these walks a week.The people who accompany us don't need a map. They even know some lesser-known variations. What's great about your files is that they can be archived (as a reminder). GPX and Alpinequest allow you to navigate in all weather conditions at a lower cost. It's perfect.
For your information, for 2018, the Sornin Engins will be a long and short route, that of the Vercouline 2018. At MPT4, we are in the process of identifying these two routes. After that, we will need to request authorisation from the owners and the municipalities. The Vercouline (raclette with Bleu du Vercors cheese) will take place in a hall in Engins.If you are interested, could you please include information in your Nouvelles Randonnées newsletter giving the dates and IGN details of the two easy and long hikes? You must register two weeks in advance and pay €15-20 to cover costs. We are all volunteers, even the cook. Kind regards.

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Deuxpattes

02 Feb 2017 at 20:34 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Nice hike (no snowshoes needed today as there wasn't enough snow); the elevation gain is not noticeable as it is steady throughout the route.

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moulinon

19 Sep 2016 at 14:11 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

As a native of this region, I can only encourage hikers to try this route. I didn't do it on snowshoes but on foot (as with other routes in the Engins region).
History buffs will be interested to know that this plateau (Sornin) served as a base camp for the Resistance (1943/1944). My grandfather supplied them with provisions...
Until the 1970s, a shepherd named Andréïs took his sheep there to graze all summer long.

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buss38

09 Nov 2015 at 13:55 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 09, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very well

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