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Park in the car park behind the cemetery in Saint-Hippolyte-le-Graveyron.
(S/E) At the signpost for Saint-Hippolyte-le-Graveyron 170 m, with your back to the cemetery, take the road perpendicular to the Beaumes de Venise road (D21) on the left, towards Le Barroux. At the crossroads, take the road (Chemin de la Roque Alric) on the left, heading north. The fairly steep climb is steady, on a small, quiet tarmac road. You will come to an X-shaped crossroads at an elevation of 261 metres.
(1) Continue on the road (marked GRP®) which turns left, then right in a hairpin bend, becoming a forest track. The track continues to climb, offering magnificent views of Mont Ventoux and the Château du Barroux. At the signpost marked "Pied Laugier 285 m", climb to the left towards "Le Pontillard" until you reach a tarmac road.
(2) Continue left on Chemin du Pontillard (GRP®). This small road climbs up to a shed, then descends, offering superb views. At the T-junction, take the road on the right.
(3) At the Le Pontillard 347 m signpost, turn left onto the GRP® towards Beaumes-de-Venise, then right to continue downhill on the GRP®. (The fire in August 2021 caused devastation in this area and the clean-up and restoration work is not yet complete.)
Follow the balcony trail, which offers a magnificent view of the Comtat Venaissin plain and beyond, the Luberon and the Alpilles. Go around a farm on your left and you will come to a fork.
(4) Turn right onto the path (GRP® markings on a pine tree trunk). Keep left to reach a multiple crossroads.
(5) At the La Galinière 275 m signpost:
- you can make a round trip to the right towards La Galinière Nord for a view of the Dentelles.
- otherwise, follow the GPS track, climb the track opposite, then descend below the vineyard along a low stone wall. Look for a ridge path lined with pine trees.
(6) From there, you can make a round trip on the ridge path to the right. (Originally a simple path through a pine forest, it was widened after the fire.) Superb view of the Dentelles de Montmirail on one side and the Rhône valley on the other.
(7) At the end of the ridge, retrace your steps, as trees have fallen in the pine forest since the fire and make it very difficult to continue.
(6) Continue to the right on the marked GRP® trail, descending the southern slope. You will still have to go around a few fallen trees, but the trail is clearly visible. After skirting a vineyard, take a sharp left turn (yellow and red markings on a stone). The trail then turns right and continues over the rocks. At the crossroads, go down to the left.
(8) Turn right onto a concrete descent, then left onto Chemin des Bernardins.
Continue downhill on the GRP® trail, which turns right until it joins the small tarmac road at the foot of Rocher de Rocalinaud.
Turn right onto this road (Chemin de Rocalinaud) to go around the rock.
(9) Access the site on the left (traces of passages). You will arrive in front of a first cave dug into the rock. Go around the rock at the bottom, walk along the vineyard, then find a well-marked path that climbs to the left into the woods. Continue climbing, following the most obvious and passable path, which leads to the summit and passes over the rock in places (caution: surfaces may be slippery, especially in wet weather).
From the top of the rock, there is a superb view of the Dentelles to the north, Beaumes de Venise to the west and Mont Ventoux to the east.
Descend the rock, following the trail. When you reach a rocky plateau, turn around to admire the end of the rock, where caves and ancient steps carved directly into the stone can be seen.
The upper cave is accessible from above for those who are not afraid of heights (the path is visible as a balcony on the rock above the void).
Continue descending:
- either back down to the Chemin de Rocalinaud below, which then turns right.
- or follow the GPS track and walk through the woods above the Chemin de Rocalinaud (blue markings) to descend at the end of the trail onto the Chemin des Vigneaux Nord at an X-shaped crossroads.
(10) Leave thefirst Chemin de Rocalinaud on your left (yellow cross) and continue straight ahead, due east, on the Chemin des Vigneaux Nord, marked in yellow. At the next X-shaped crossroads, turn left onto the Chemin des Bernardins, then right onto the Chemin de Bel Air.
(11) Pass in front of a beautiful private estate with a chapel, Les Aplanats. Further on, at the Les Aplanats 184 m signpost, turn right towards Le Barroux on Chemin de Font Sante. Stay on this path, keeping to the left a little further on, and you will come to another fork.
(12) Continue straight ahead and at the La Loubière 237 m signpost, follow the road to the right towards Saint-Hippolyte-le-Graveyron. Cross the Vallat (spring water present). Then stay on Chemin du Long Serre until you reach the cemetery car park (S/E).
Everything is very well signposted and the Rocalinaud rock is magnificent, with a panoramic view of the Dentelles in the background that is not to be missed!
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