Le Vieux Noyers and the Saint-Claude Chapel

Discover Le Vieux Noyers, home to the remains of a 13th-century castle, the ruins of the old village and the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bethléem et Sainte-Euphémie. A round trip to the Saint-Claude Chapel allows you to pass through other ruins and hamlets that were once attached to the village, and to enjoy a panoramic view of the site and the surrounding peaks.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.72 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 457 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 455 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 923 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 558 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Car park near the church in Noyers-sur-Jabron (other car parks are available in the village).

(S/E) From the car park (church on the left), follow the road and head towards the nearby EDF substation. Turn left shortly afterwards and follow the path towards Vieux Noyers.

Trail No. 5 signposting

The path climbs into the woods and then approaches the road. Turn left just before and continue climbing to rejoin the same road a little higher up.

Yellow markings

(1) Follow the tarmac road to the left. Pass the entrance to the "Les Bartavelles" property, then a second gate. 300 m further up, at the end of the tarmac road, ignore a path on the left (barrier) and continue climbing the road, which is now tarmac again. You will come to a wooden sign in a bend as you approach the village.

Red and white markings

(2) Continue left towards the village and the Church of Notre-Dame de Bethléem et Saint-Bevon.

(3) Cross the village via the main street, taking care when visiting the ruins. On leaving the village, take the path on the left (ignoring the one on the right leading to the cross) and, 20 metres further on, ignore the path on the left which leads back to the village. Continue straight on towards Chapelle Saint-Claude and follow the path downhill to the ruins of Lauche and its beautiful fountain.

(4) Continue along the stony path that runs along the hillside and leads to the ruins of Rivas.

(5) Follow the path, which gradually climbs up to the Chapelle Saint-Claude.

(6) Turn around, pass Rivas and Lauche again, and cross the Vieux Noyers once more.

(3) Reach the crossroads in the bend.

No more signposts

(2) Leave the path and go opposite to descend on a clear path (oratory 50 m below on the left) until you reach the road and the crossroads from the outward journey.

(1) Cross the road and take the path opposite to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 558 m - Noyers-sur-Jabron car park
  2. 1 : km 0.86 - alt. 688 m - Tarmac road junction
  3. 2 : km 2.77 - alt. 832 m - Wooden sign
  4. 3 : km 3.02 - alt. 871 m - Le Vieux Noyers
  5. 4 : km 3.42 - alt. 848 m - Lauche
  6. 5 : km 4.03 - alt. 846 m - Rivas
  7. 6 : km 4.77 - alt. 923 m - La Chapelle Saint-Claude
  8. S/E : km 8.72 - alt. 558 m - Noyers-sur-Jabron car park

Notes

  • There are several car parks in the village if there are no spaces around the church.
  • There is a fountain in the hamlet of Lauche, but the water is not monitored.
  • During the hike on 5 January 2020, herd protection dogs were parked between Vieux Noyers and Chapelle Saint-Claude.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
marceldetouillon@gmail.com
marceldetouillon@gmail.com

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A little-used route from Noyers to Vieux Noyers, which then becomes very busy. Done in splendid weather with limited visibility to the north, to the south over the Lure ridges, but to the east, the Estrop, the Couard, the Barre des Dourbes, etc.

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User 20932843

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A quiet stroll with my ten-year-old son. We enjoyed walking among the ruins. We were surprised to see one of the village houses being renovated; it looked like something from another world compared to the rest of the village.
Not very busy, I found my smartphone where I had dropped it on the way there, in the middle of the road, two and a half hours earlier...

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momi
momi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I think it's best to do this hike from April onwards (so that the broom is in bloom) but not in summer (because of the heat).

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vileufs
vileufs

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that wasn't difficult, even though we didn't make it to the end. You have to go on a day when there are no sheep and therefore no sheepdogs. We couldn't make it to the chapel because two of them strongly discouraged us from doing so.

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famille PIERRE
famille PIERRE
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

As noted at the end of the file, during our hike on 12/01, just outside the ruined village of Old Noyers, there was a flock of sheep guarded by five Patou dogs. We had a dog on a leash, which may have attracted them, but they all came right up behind the fence (two metres away from us...) barking in an unfriendly manner. We decided to turn back because the further we went (towards the ruins of Lauche), the more they showed their willingness to jump over the small electric fence.
Just before that, we had met three hikers without dogs who had passed by, and they weren't very reassured either.
It would probably be best to advise people not to go there with a dog (even on a leash) or to take a lower path that avoids the ruins of Rivas on the way to Saint Claude.

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