Le Serre des Bidaux and the Vallon de Fontenouille

This hike, alternating between passages in the woods and wide open spaces, will take you to the highest point of Gras de Vogüé, where you can enjoy a 360° view of the entire plateau.
Many routes have already been described in this area. The chosen route takes less well-known paths, some of which are not marked on the IGN map (see practical information). This allows you to discover new paths, new viewpoints and encounter fewer people, especially in summer.

Details

17653666
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.63 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 131 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 131 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 331 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 197 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking is available at the roadside in the hamlet of Les Chazes.

(S/E) Head north-east along the road between the cross and the well. The start is marked in white and yellow. After the first houses, leave the road and take a track slanting off to the right. Join a tarmac road and leave a road on your right.

(1) Leave the road and the markings and turn left onto Chemin des Petits Cailloux. After 150 m, the path turns right at a right angle (not marked on the IGN map), leave another path on the left and continue straight ahead on a path going up the hill.

(2) At the top of the hill, turn right and walk along a meadow with a small pond on your left. At the three-way junction just after, turn right again. Continue to a wider path, again marked in white and yellow, which you take to the left. Note the karstic cave de la Baume du Bois on the left of the path. Be careful, as it is a deep hole with no barrier. Shortly after the karstic cave, you will come to a four-way crossroads. Turn right towards Lavilledieu. Continue to follow the markings for about 600 m.

(3) At a T-junction, leave the markings that go to the right and take the path on the left. You will arrive at the edge of the woods on a clear space where you will find a wide track. Take this track on the right. After a bend to the left, you will reach a dirt road.

(4) Turn right heading north for about 200 m, then leave the road and take a path on the left going up the hill. At the top of the hill, turn left onto the path and continue on a wide track following the ridge in a south-westerly direction.

(5) When the track ends at a small wall, do not be tempted to take the path down the eastern slope. Instead, take a less visible track slightly to the right that follows the ridge. Pass near a corner of the wall. You will arrive at the end of the hill, on a flat area where the vegetation is a little sparser, just in line with a path climbing the hill on the other side of the Vallon de Fontenouille. Descend the western side, trying to find the best route (there isn't really a path). A little further down, veer left to cross a small wall and arrive on a wide path at the bottom of the slope.

(6) Take this path to the left. At the next junction, turn right and descend towards the bottom of the valley.

(7) Just before crossing the Ruisseau de Fontenouille (always dry), leave the path and take a trail on the left between two dry stone walls, the remains of an older, wider path. When the trail becomes impassable due to trees growing in the middle, go around the bottom of the valley by crossing the wall on the right. At the confluence with another valley on the left, climb diagonally up the left bank to join a path that you take to the right.

(8) Before crossing the stream, take a path on the left (not shown on the IGN map) that goes into the woods, following the left bank. Continue to a T-junction and turn right.

(9) Turn left onto the Traverse de Saint-Cerice. Turn left at the next junction. This joins a white and yellow marked route, which you follow to the finish. Turn left at the first junction. At the next junction, turn left and then immediately right. Once again, the IGN map is a little misleading, so follow the markings carefully. Then descend via the Sentier des Gras, which leads back to the hamlet of Les Chazes (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 200 m - Les Chazes hamlet
  2. 1 : km 0.5 - alt. 209 m - Chemin des Petits Cailloux
  3. 2 : km 0.95 - alt. 233 m - Fork in the road
  4. 3 : km 2.13 - alt. 261 m - Fork in the road
  5. 4 : km 2.85 - alt. 278 m - Dirt road
  6. 5 : km 4.69 - alt. 306 m - End of the wide track
  7. 6 : km 5.19 - alt. 278 m - Path on the left
  8. 7 : km 5.64 - alt. 257 m - Fontenouille stream
  9. 8 : km 6.34 - alt. 237 m - Path through the woods
  10. 9 : km 7.13 - alt. 216 m - Crossing Saint-Cerice
  11. S/E : km 8.63 - alt. 200 m - Les Chazes hamlet

Notes

Update - August 2022: Between points (4) and (8), this hike crosses the area that was burned in the fire on 27-07-2022. The paths are passable and the landscape is still as beautiful as ever, but the immediate surroundings are completely charred.

There is no point in looking for Serre des Bidaux on a map. As the route passes over the top of a long hill (a serre) above Combe des Bidaux, I thought this name would be a good title for the hike.

Apart from the return journey from the point (9), most of the paths taken are not marked and some are not shown on the IGN Topo map. The OpenStreetMap base map is more complete and accurate.
Two slightly tricky sections, after (5) and after (7), justify the classification of this hike as moderately difficult, although it is easy overall. For these two sections, GPS tracking with the Visorando app may be useful, particularly when using the IGN satellite map background, which allows you to see the landmarks on the ground clearly. Don't worry, though, as these two sections are in open terrain, so it's impossible to get lost.

Worth a visit

During or after the hike, don't forget to visit the village of Vogüé.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
papou26200
papou26200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk with varied landscapes. Like some others, we lost the trail between points 5 and 6, but there are enough paths to get back on track without difficulty. At point 8, we left the trail and continued along the path to the Chapel of St Cerice to enjoy the view of Vogüe and visit the old quarries, where we had a picnic sheltered from the wind. We then rejoined the route at point 9 and finished the hike. We took the opportunity to stop at St Germain to visit the village and see the milestone, the Roman bridge (which no longer exists but the banks of the Auzon are pleasant) and the bridge of the fusillés. Thank you for the hike.

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Luhu
Luhu

Today we set off for the second time in very high temperatures (over 30°C) and were once again delighted by the beautiful and varied route. We can only reiterate the importance of taking enough water with you. We didn't meet a single person the whole way. It was very relaxing and entertaining. We can confirm that it was not always easy to follow the path at some points. However, despite a few minor deviations, we always found our way back to the right path quickly.

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peyreg
peyreg
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thanks for the update.
No one on the route in April.
A superb walk, our ancestors used to farm in places that are now completely abandoned!
Beautiful views, pretty stones, rocks, sharp limestone pavement.

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Kwiss07
Kwiss07

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A hike with beautiful views and no difficulty.
As already mentioned, you do need to follow the GPS route between points 5 and 6, but it's easy to see that you need to rejoin the path below. Walking along the low wall also works.
Thank you to the person who suggested this hike, as we discovered some new trails even though we regularly walk in this area.

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selima26
selima26

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Difficult end to the hike as there were no visible tracks... except for following deer!

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var740vir
var740vir

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, everyone.
A very beautiful hike, which I modified slightly, as I started from Vogüé station.
Some of the access points along the route have been slightly modified to facilitate access for firefighters during the July fire.
As mentioned, part of the route goes through the burnt area on the Gras plateau, but the view is splendid.
It's not easy to follow the small path along the ridge at point 5 in the burnt area, but you'll still reach the track perpendicular to the path a little further down.
A very pretty route steeped in history.
Thank you.

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Luhu
Luhu

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike without any difficulties. Countless footpaths criss-cross the terrain, so you can extend or shorten the tour as you wish. It is always quite easy to find your way back to the original route. Despite the short length of the hike, you should definitely take enough water with you on hot days.

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Shalva
Shalva

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

As mentioned in the description after point 5, there is a section with no visible trail in the bushy, thorny grass. You really need to follow the route on the map to find a visible trail.

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MIJALUDANS
MIJALUDANS

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk with no particular difficulties
to do with children

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