Le Pradon

A beautiful hike on the southern slopes of the Luberon and along the ridge paths.

Details

n°52594

Creation:
23 Feb 2014

Last update:
21 Jul 2023

Last review:
10 May 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 23.65 km
Average duration: 8h 50
Difficulty: Difficult
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 727 m
Descent: - 726 m
Highest point: 704 m
Lowest point: 116 m

Country: France
Area: Luberon
District: Cheval-Blanc (84460)
Start/End: N 43.759425° / E 5.156816°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3142OT, 3143OT
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Description of the walk

Departure from the Régalon car park located at the start of the gorges of the same name.

(S/E) From the car park, take the road that climbs to the left towards Oppède le Vieux (yellow markings) for a good kilometre.

(1) At a crossroads, leave the road and take the path on the right towards Les Mayorques.
At the Barrié crossroads, turn right towards Oppède le Vieux/Les Mayorques. The path climbs through the forest to reach a plateau and the Ferme des Mayorques.

(2) Turn right then left to go around the farm on the right towards Oppède le Vieux/Montagnas. Follow the track, then the markings cut across a bend to rejoin the track further on. You will arrive at a crossroads of tracks.

(3) At the Montagnas crossroads, turn right towards Vallon de la Galère/Oppède le Vieux.

(4) When you reach the Vallon de la Galère crossroads, turn left towards Oppède le Vieux/Le Pradon, following the^GR® (red and white markings).
Continue along the track for 400 metres and look for a large cairn on the left.

(5) Leave the track and turn left, still following the GR^®. The path climbs and heads towards the ridge road, on a path that is quite steep in places but offers magnificent views.

(6) Once you reach the ridge road, at the Pradon crossroads, turn left onto the tarmac road towards Vidauque/la Jassine (yellow markings).
Pass La Jassine and continue straight on the same road towards Les Aires de Bedoin.
Stay on this road for almost four kilometres and continue towards Vidauque/le Jas de Ferland.

(7) When you reach the Jas de Ferland crossroads, turn left towards Trou du Rat.

(8) At the four-way crossroads, continue right towards Trou du Rat to reach the refuge of the same name.

(9) Continue straight ahead on the same track towards La Roquette/Le Régalon and turn right 150 metres after the refuge.

(10) After 2 km, follow the markings on the left-hand track for 600 m.

(11) The yellow markings indicate that you should leave the road and take a path on the left that leads into the forest. Keep a close eye on the markings, as the path is sometimes invisible.
Continue downhill to the Roquette crossroads.

(12) Turn left towards Régalon, pass in front of Barrié and rejoin the path you took at the start.

(1) Continue straight ahead on the road you took on the way there to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 116 m - Parking - Gorges du Régalon
1 : km 1.18 - alt. 172 m - Crossroads towards Les Mayorques
2 : km 2.78 - alt. 310 m - The Mayorques
3 : km 4.35 - alt. 368 m - Carrefour Montagnas
4 : km 5.16 - alt. 325 m - Carrefour Vallon de la Galère
5 : km 5.53 - alt. 358 m - Cairn GR6 GR97
6 : km 8.63 - alt. 704 m - Bastidon du Pradon
7 : km 12.96 - alt. 556 m - Jas de Ferland crossroads
8 : km 15.9 - alt. 397 m - Crossroads of the 4 paths
9 : km 16.83 - alt. 354 m - Le Trou du Rat
10 : km 19.32 - alt. 209 m - Fenouillet
11 : km 19.98 - alt. 200 m - Pierre Feu
12 : km 21.49 - alt. 130 m - Carrefour La Roquette
S/E : km 23.65 - alt. 116 m - Régalon car park. Near the - Canal de Carpentras

Worth a visit

It is possible to take a different route through the Régalon Gorges at the start of the walk when access is not prohibited.

The Gorges du Régalon are located in the Luberon State Biological Reserve and National Geological Nature Reserve. This site is extremely fragile and difficult to access.
The Gorges de Régalon suffer from the negative impact of increased visitor numbers. In order to help protect them and the endangered species that live there, it is strongly advised not to visit between January and September.
Contact a nature guide for an accompanied outing to the Régalon Gorges, outside the nesting period (October to December) here.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5

Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.9 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5

Route interest
4.6 / 5

coxiflowers

10 May 2025 at 13:20 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The first part of this superb hike takes you through the Régalon Gorges to the bastide village of Le Pradon, with a beautiful climb. There are lovely views of the ridges, but the second part is on tarmac and is rather long and less interesting. There is an alternative route from the Trou du Rat refuge if you want to get back on rocky terrain!

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CLOLI84

29 Sep 2019 at 10:41 7200 • Edited: 10 May 2025 at 13:40 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

this is a route that allows you to admire Mont Ventoux, the Alps and the mountains of Vaucluse along the ridge path. I recommend this route even though there is a long stretch of tarmac from Le Pradon
at point 11!

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FENJIROU

18 Apr 2019 at 20:15 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent hike up to the Pradon climb, even if it is a bit physically demanding. After that, you mainly stay on tarmac roads, which reduces the appeal of this walk.

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hervevisorando

16 Oct 2017 at 08:13 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, the climb to Le Pradon is a bit physically demanding at times. The section on tarmac road (largely closed to vehicles, so no cars or motorbikes) offers beautiful views of Mont Ventoux and the Durance plain and allows enthusiasts to enjoy the pleasures of brisk walking or even Nordic walking.
Thanks again to Slinky and Visorando.
See you soon!

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hervevisorando

16 Oct 2017 at 08:12 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

A very beautiful hike, the climb to Le Pradon is a bit strenuous at times. The section on tarmac road (largely closed to vehicles, so no cars or motorbikes) offers beautiful views of Mont Ventoux and the Durance plain and allows enthusiasts to enjoy the pleasures of brisk walking or even Nordic walking.
Thanks again to Slinky and Visorando.
See you soon!

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hervevisorando

16 Oct 2017 at 08:11 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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hervevisorando

16 Oct 2017 at 08:11 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

A very beautiful hike, the climb to Le Pradon is a bit strenuous at times. The section on paved road (largely closed to vehicles, so no cars or motorbikes) offers beautiful views of Mont Ventoux and the Durance plain and allows enthusiasts to enjoy the pleasures of brisk walking or even Nordic walking.
Thanks again to Slinky and Visorando.
See you soon!

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hervevisorando

16 Oct 2017 at 08:10 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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hervevisorando

16 Oct 2017 at 08:10 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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Claudine CAILLEAU

27 Jan 2017 at 14:03 3600

Before choosing my hike, I look at the IGN map in detail, so I ruled this one out because, as mike1369 says, there are too many tarmac roads between points 6 and 10.
That's a deal-breaker for me.
It's a shame because, in principle, many of the routes suggested by Slinky are nice and can be used for inspiration.

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mike1369

11 Apr 2016 at 11:06 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 10, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We did this hike under a beautiful blue sky, which allowed us to really appreciate the different views (Ste Victoire, Les Opies, Étang de Berre, and from the Cedar Forest, Mont Ventoux, etc.).

The first part, from Régalon to the Cedar Forest, is truly magnificent.
This section represents about one-third of the route.

However, the remaining two-thirds are almost exclusively on tarmac roads, which spoils the fun and hurts your feet. Even though the view is still pleasant, it's clearly not interesting for hikers.

I would therefore recommend turning back once you reach the cedar forest (point 6), or finding an alternative route from this point to return to Régalon.

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slinky

11 May 2015 at 19:44 7200

Good evening, mediage,

Thank you for your comment.
It's true that this route is well suited to trail running, with the second half on tracks.

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mediage

11 May 2015 at 19:31 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

we did a fantastic trail run (running + walking) in glorious sunshine. The site is magnificent, with stunning views, lush vegetation, beautiful trails and wonderful scents. It was very quiet at that time of year. I highly recommend it. If you plan to eat, stop off at Bastidon du Pradon, where you'll find a lovely spot in the shade!

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Author

slinky
227 Walks

Visorando member

District: Portes-lès-Valence (26800)

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