The surroundings of Fontanès, south-east side

A beautiful walk with views of Pilat and Saint-Etienne.

Reviews indicate that a GPS is very useful for following this hike.

Details

214311
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.65 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 260 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 262 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 864 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 633 m

Description of the walk

Park in the motorhome car park (area for cars provided), free parking.

(S/E) Head north for about 30 metres, then turn right onto the path that passes to the left of the fountain and climbs up alongside the wash house (on your left). Cross the D3 and continue straight up to the hamlet of La Grande Grange. Take the dirt track that continues on and continue straight on to the Croix des Hommes Morts.

(1) Follow the D6 straight ahead for about 400 metres, take the first path on the right and continue straight ahead until you reach a communal path. Take this path on the left and, after a few dozen metres, take the road on the right and continue straight ahead until you reach a crossroads.

(2) Continue on the road opposite and, before reaching a farm on your right, take the path on the left. Cross a valley and climb towards a farm. Continue opposite the farm on your right and reach a new crossroads at the top.

(3) Continue on the path on the right, keeping straight ahead for the most part at the top. The path makes a wide right turn before reaching the stream. Cross the stream, ignore the path opposite and take the path on the left that runs alongside the stream. Cross the stream again and take the path opposite, which climbs straight up to the road.

(4) Take the road on the right and cross the first hamlet. Stay on the road until you reach another hamlet where you will come to a T-junction, facing a cross.

(5). Take the road on the right and continue along the path that extends beyond the last houses on your right.

(6) Continue to the right and keep climbing. When you reach a plateau, ignore the path on the left, go straight ahead to the hamlet of La Viria and turn left onto the path that runs alongside tall fir trees. Pass between the buildings and continue straight ahead until you reach a crossroads at Crêt des Alouettes.

(7) Turn right until you reach the first dirt track on your left, which you should follow for about 100 metres.

(8) Turn left to descend to the hamlet of Laurisse. Cross the hamlet; there is a fountain on the left.

(9) Before reaching the D3, take a street on the right at a right angle between two houses to join the D6. Continue left to the large crossroads of the D3 and D6.

(10) Take the small road on the other side of the D3 and follow this road for 200 m: you are now back at the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 826 m - Motorhome parking
  2. 1 : km 0.77 - alt. 845 m - Croix des Hommes Morts
  3. 2 : km 1.67 - alt. 832 m - Road junction
  4. 3 : km 2.94 - alt. 825 m - Crossroads
  5. 4 : km 5.11 - alt. 651 m - Hamlet of Côte Reymond
  6. 5 : km 5.92 - alt. 691 m - La Côte Couzon
  7. 6 : km 6.28 - alt. 742 m - Crossroads towards La Viria.
  8. 7 : km 7.92 - alt. 831 m - Crête des Alouettes
  9. 8 : km 8.45 - alt. 846 m - Crossroads towards Laurisse
  10. 9 : km 9.11 - alt. 826 m - Laurisse
  11. 10 : km 9.37 - alt. 829 m - RD3
  12. S/E : km 9.65 - alt. 826 m - Motorhome parking

Notes

Moderator update on 19/05/2020: Please note! This is an old hike, so the situation on the ground may no longer correspond exactly to the description!

In the last hamlet you pass through, there is a drinking fountain called Le Bondon.

Worth a visit

In the village of Fontanès, you can also stroll through the castle grounds and follow a path that will introduce you to the park's flora and fauna.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.6 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
JM42330
JM42330

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Not marked, but easy to follow with GPS if you pay close attention at each crossroads. However, if you are not used to hiking with GPS, it can be confusing. A beautiful hike during which we follow various existing markings (red clogs, white clogs, etc.). The temperature was cool but there was no rain, so it was very pleasant. The scenery was very nice but a little overcast, so the views were less spectacular.

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Mado42
Mado42

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike with beautiful views. I took a wrong turn on a small path, which added half an hour to the walk. The trail was not marked, but it was still enjoyable.

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Durand Jean-Yves
Durand Jean-Yves

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike with 360-degree views (Alps, Pilât and Monts du Forez).
However, to follow this hike, you absolutely must have a GPS as there are no markings.

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SECRETSECRET
SECRETSECRET

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hike along the ridges of the Monts du Lyonnais with beautiful 360° views (Alps, Monts du Forez, Pilat, etc.)
but you absolutely must have a GPS as there are no precise markings.

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claudemarche
claudemarche

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We only did part of this route and an additional loop following the map, but it was a beautiful hike. All the paths now have names.
It would be useful, especially at the start, to provide a description with the names of the paths indicated on the street signs.

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teedom42
teedom42

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Although the view from the trail is magnificent, the lack of signposts significantly slows down progress along the route.
The lack of distance markers in the description confused us somewhat and made us question the direction we were taking.

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Momoretraite1349
Momoretraite1349

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, magnificent views in good weather.

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HD3D
HD3D

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Description difficult to understand on the ground. Use of GPS was necessary. Pleasant walk.

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grandin
grandin ★

Thank you for your feedback. Perhaps the author could update this entry?

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TREVYHYNAD
TREVYHYNAD

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The start of the route needs to be reviewed, as there are many intersections without clear signage... We were unable to reach point 3 due to the unreliability of the information provided and had to turn back...

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Clovisramboz
Clovisramboz

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 01, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Not interesting, which is a shame. We go around in circular motions to justify the kilometres, and the only point of interest is having a peripheral view, but without enjoying the pretty landscapes and paths under the trees like on neighbouring hikes.

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bibi
bibi ★

Thank you for your comment. How can we modify the description to make it clearer for future visitors?
Kind regards

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Jcbaud
Jcbaud

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A little lost in the explanations... the map made up for the inaccuracies in the description. But no worries, the hike was beautiful and we made it back to our starting point!

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aveuzgaga
aveuzgaga

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 01, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

It was a very beautiful hike, varied and very accessible. If there had been more sunshine, we could have fully enjoyed the magnificent landscape.

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