Le Veyrier

This is a route on one of the most accessible 'mountains' around Lake Annecy.

⚠️ A decree issued by the municipalities of Annecy and Veyrier-du-Lac prohibits motor vehicles from accessing the Col des Contrebandiers and Pré Vernet.

Details

9306
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 816 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 809 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,225 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 449 m

Description of the walk

To get to the start in Annecy-le-Vieux, head towards Thônes (D916). At the roundabout, continue straight ahead towards Sur les Bois, then turn left onto Rue du Grand Essert and finally right onto Route du Plan de Sagran. Pass the antenna on your left and park just after the bend.

(S/E) Take the Tour du Mont Rampignon path, marked in yellow. Continue for about 100 metres and turn left. Pass two hairpin bends and continue along the mountainside. Pass a turning on the left and continue climbing until the next fork.

(1) Keep right; the trail goes around Mont Rapignon on the right and joins a road in a small wooded depression.

(2) Follow the road, go through three bends and reach a crossroads at Mont Rampon.

(3) Continue for a few metres opposite and take the path on the left that climbs up the slope. After a few hairpin bends, you will reach the Col des Sauts and the summit of Mont Veyrier.

(4) To descend, retrace your steps to the Mont Rampon crossroads.

(3) Keep left towards "Petit Port". Follow a steep descent to reach the first houses of Petit Port, ignoring the paths on the right and left.

(5) Continue downhill to the lake.

(6) From the lake, return by the same route to the fork at the edge of the forest.

(5) Turn left and follow the road that runs close to the foot of Mont Veyrier until you reach the ruins of Chez Rosset.

(7) Follow a dead-end road that continues as a footpath and join the car park almost at the foot of the antenna (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 651 m - Car park
  2. 1 : km 0.84 - alt. 750 m - Mont Rampillon crossroads
  3. 2 : km 1.6 - alt. 836 m - Route
  4. 3 : km 2.42 - alt. 918 m - Mont Rampon crossroads
  5. 4 : km 4.03 - alt. 1,224 m - Mont Veyrier
  6. 5 : km 7.39 - alt. 516 m - Petit Port
  7. 6 : km 7.71 - alt. 449 m - Small port
  8. 7 : km 8.81 - alt. 585 m - Chez Rosset
  9. S/E : km 9.56 - alt. 651 m - Car park

Notes

Be careful to follow the route. Given the number of paths, take at least the description and map with you.

There is no water on the trail, not even a stream.
This is a fairly busy walk, so you are likely to encounter other people along the way, but once you reach the summit, you will be fairly alone.

Worth a visit

Once at the summit, you can continue along the ridge to Mont Baron and the old cable car station.

Reviews and comments

3.7 / 5
Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.5 / 5
Route interest
3.9 / 5
CUOCCI
CUOCCI

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Meh

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husson jp
husson jp

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Tricky, because the access is incorrect: road access described but prohibited! (AM 2024). We manage anyway
Then there are numerous yellow markers along the route: it's the Rampignon tour! Nothing about Mt Veyrier
Inconsistency between the "Rampignon terrain" signage and the description --> get your facts straight!
On the way back, we discover the only signpost for Mt Veyrier, well hidden in the vegetation and invisible from the "yellow" trail.
Indeed, there are many confusing paths with no signs --> we had to guess
In short, we missed the summit, but it doesn't matter, we reached the ridge, the weather was fine, we may come back soon.
There were lots of people, experts, friendly, who sent us back to the right place.
This is the only route in the last two or three years that we've contacted you about that has disappointed us.
Thank you.

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ffrantz
ffrantz

Overall rating : 1.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

Disappointed by this hike:
Only one view of the lake, even though it is very pretty. The entire trail is in the forest, with steep, endless slopes. GPS is essential to avoid getting lost.
We went beyond the trail in the hope of a panoramic view, but there was nothing...
Without having to queue to go down to the lake, it took us 4 hours and 10 minutes to cover 11 km.

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Kikouwil
Kikouwil

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very good hike, terrain sometimes rocky, sometimes earth, grass and road.
Tip: we accidentally did it backwards and it was great because it avoided the unpleasant descent on the stony ground at the start.
Recommended.

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legolfeur
legolfeur

Hello,
We did this hike but on a different route using a hiking guidebook called "Around Lake Annecy".
This hike is superb. There are many viewpoints from the ridges. There are also many hikers.
I recommend it.

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Cpt_Aleks
Cpt_Aleks

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

As intermediate hikers, we enjoyed reaching the summit of Veyrier.

However, be aware that this hike is classified as "moderate" and is mostly on a narrow path that is quite technical for walkers of our level (scree, steep and rocky path). Don't be put off by the obviously experienced trail runners, climb at your own pace, the breathtaking view from the summit is well worth the effort!

The hike took 4 hours and 20 minutes, with a descent from the summit via the Creux du Loup forest path (an alternative to the suggested route), which is very steep but easier to walk down in our opinion. We followed the route using GPS rather than the signposts. With an up-to-date map, we didn't make any mistakes and the GPS track was accurate!

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Sosophiela
Sosophiela

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk
However, the return journey from Lake Annecy is not very well explained.

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FREDERICNICOLAS
FREDERICNICOLAS

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The description is too brief, the walking time is really tight, and above all, don't let people go down to the lake to get wet, or they'll have a hard time climbing back up the rocks in the afternoon!
A little disappointed compared to what you usually do.

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MCKEY39
MCKEY39

Yes, I had the itinerary and your map, but to no avail. I'm used to hiking in the mountains with hiking maps and IGN maps, and I think that's what I was missing.
It was a beautiful hike despite that.

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bibi
bibi ★

Thank you for your feedback. Please note that Visorando is not responsible for signposting on the ground, which is why the walks are described in detail to guide walkers. Did you have the description and map with you?
Kind regards

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MCKEY39
MCKEY39

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

The signposting for the hike is very poor. It is very easy to lose your way, which is what happened to us.

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Sab3007
Sab3007

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 12, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

An exceptional view! I'm from Annecy and I never tire of doing this route, starting from different points each time!
This route is fantastic and never boring!
I'm sold!

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collard2825therese
collard2825therese

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this walk on 9 July 2016, modifying it slightly. We set off from the telecoms tower to point 3, continuing to the Mt Baron orientation table, with beautiful views of the lake all along the ridge, returning via the Vernet meadow and Mt Rampignon on the right. The return route is also quite nice. We had a little trouble finding the right path back to the car, which was parked a little higher up than the tower on a path, but our instincts led us back to the car.

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gpelleti
gpelleti

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

We did it after it rained and the path was very muddy in places, so it's good to have shoes that you don't mind getting dirty.
The path is very pleasant to walk along when you don't have the whole afternoon! I think the signposting is perfect and the directions to the car park and the path are excellent. No difficulty following the route!

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Orange
Orange

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 26, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Based solely on the description of the start of the hike, I had a hard time finding the antenna near which to park the car. Then, as indicated in the description, there are paths everywhere. At one point, you walk along the mountain on a very pretty mossy path reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, but then it gets worse because the path becomes very steep and you spend your time staring at the ground to check where you're putting your feet and wondering which way the path, or rather paths, is going. In short, we didn't make it to the top but stopped for lunch below, on an esplanade overlooking the lake and snow-capped mountains. Beautiful view!
So, it was a rather difficult walk, mostly on the slope of the forest with no views.

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