The Rocher de la Garde

Park in the car park on the right as you leave Saint-Étienne de Crossey on the D520 towards Saint-Laurent-du-Pont.

(S/E) Cross the D520 – which is a fairly busy road – with the utmost care to reach the start of the Chemin des Chèvres opposite the car park, heading towards Saint-Étienne-de-Crossey and the Gorges de Crossey. The path climbs gently through the woods. You will reach a spot called ‘Au-dessus des Gorges’.

(1) Turn left towards the Rocher de la Garde, signposted as 1 km away. Follow the path, which is marked with yellow stripes and climbs a little more steeply through the woods.
You’ll arrive at the point marked ‘Sous le Rocher’.

(2) Turn left to reach the Rocher de la Garde and its cross in no time.
Caution: the summit is dotted with numerous sharp limestone pavements, some of which are very deep. Take great care, especially with children and in wet or snowy weather.
From the summit, admire the view over Saint-Étienne-de-Crossey, which lies below, and, on the other side, the Grande Sure.

Head back down to the previous crossroads: Sous le Rocher.

(2) Then turn left towards Plantimey. You’ll very quickly reach the spot known as La Garde.

(4) Pass the path on your left marked by an arrow – this is the route you’ll take on the way back. Turn right onto the path that winds its way down through the woods in wide hairpin bends. You’ll reach another junction.

(5) Take the path on the left, despite the presence of a Yellow Cross. You’ll then come to another junction with a signpost showing two arrows. Head left uphill to reach another junction further up.

(6) Turn left again, following the yellow markings. When you reach the spot known as Plantimey, turn left towards La Garde. Walk through a lovely forest of majestic pine trees. A few hundred metres further on, there is another sign for Plantimey. Continue to follow the signs for La Garde, turning left. Climb a short section secured with cables, which presents no particular difficulty. The path then descends again to rejoin the junction you passed on the way there.

(4) Turn right to reach the spot known as La Gard and, a little further on, Sous le Rocher.

(2) Then follow the same path you took on the way there to head back down to the car park (S/E), taking great care once again when crossing the road.

There are no particular difficulties on this walk.
The car park has several picnic tables.
In winter, the walk can be done on snowshoes if there is plenty of snow.

Chocolatier Bonnat’s production workshop has been based in the village of Saint-Étienne de Crossey since 2020. The shop is still located in Voiron, 7 km away.