The Maclas hills

A route between hills and foothills, between forests and orchards.
Some sections are on roads, which are unavoidable but not very busy.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.40 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 443 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 433 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 811 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 394 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the car park at Maclas cemetery.

(S/E) Go up the road to reach Le Buisson.

(1) Turn left onto theGR®65and reach the last houses in the hamlet.

(2) Turn right onto the path leading up to Véranne, leaving the GR®. Continue straight ahead until you reach the church. Turn left and cross the village (towards Colombier). At the exit, turn right onto the Cubusson road. Pass the hamlets of La Serve and La Grange.

3:: In the hamlet of La Tronchiat, turn left onto the small road leading to the hamlet of La Camière. Continue along the (theoretically) marked path that goes into the woods and goes around the summit of Crêt de la Camière. You will reach the end of a small road coming from the right, forming a crossroads with three paths. This crossroads is marked with a cross.

(4) Continue along the path opposite and follow this fairly wide track to the hamlet of La Terrasse.

(5) The track turns left and descends to the hamlet of Plode.

(6) Turn right, cross the hamlet of Plode, and continue straight ahead on the main path. After the last isolated house, at the fork (elevation 720), take the left path. Descend into the woods.

(7) Cross the D34 with caution and follow the path opposite. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and at the fork, 100 m further on, turn left. Continue until you reach a road.

(8) Walk a few metres to the left on the road, then turn right onto the small road towards the hamlet of Le Rouet. Do not go to the hamlet, but at the bend in the road, continue straight ahead on the path, then descend to the right into the woods until you reach a road.

(9) Turn right onto the road to descend to the hamlet of Chez Cellard, continue straight ahead until you reach the road where theGR® 65 passes. Cross the road and continue along the path opposite. Cross the hamlet of Chardonne and continue to the village of Choron. Turn left onto the D 503 and cross the village.

(10) At the village exit, at the fork in the road, take the right-hand road, which is very short. At the fork, take the right-hand path and continue straight ahead, ignoring the paths leading off to the right. Join the road coming from the left from Guillot. Continue straight ahead to reach the D19, a larger road.

(11) Turn left onto the D 19, then take the path on the right after the bridge. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead until you reach the star-shaped crossroads.

(12) At the crossroads, take the second road on the left. At the next crossroads, take the path on the left. Cross the D19 and continue straight ahead. Cross the D503 with caution and continue along the road opposite. Walk along the industrial estate.

(13) Turn right and continue straight ahead on this path. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead, walk along the pond and return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 421 m - Maclas cemetery car park
  2. 1 : km 0.49 - alt. 466 m - Arrival on the GR 65
  3. 2 : km 0.71 - alt. 476 m - Turn right onto the Véranne trail.
  4. 3 : km 2.88 - alt. 642 m - Hamlet of La Tronchiat
  5. 4 : km 3.94 - alt. 787 m - Crossroads with a cross
  6. 5 : km 4.93 - alt. 811 m - La Terrasse hamlet
  7. 6 : km 5.51 - alt. 711 m - Hamlet of Plode
  8. 7 : km 6.51 - alt. 677 m - Crossing the D34
  9. 8 : km 7.37 - alt. 634 m - Road leading up to Les Alouettes
  10. 9 : km 8.37 - alt. 536 m - Road junction
  11. 10 : km 9.52 - alt. 433 m - Exit Choron, on the right
  12. 11 : km 10.61 - alt. 395 m - Junction D19
  13. 12 : km 11.14 - alt. 394 m - Star-shaped crossroads
  14. 13 : km 12.37 - alt. 444 m - Corner of the industrial estate
  15. S/E : km 13.4 - alt. 422 m - Maclas cemetery car park

Notes

At point (9), you can make a round trip to the Bazin reception area, which is very pleasant and shaded, for a picnic break if you wish.

Worth a visit

Village of Véranne: 19th-century church with stained glass windows by Mauvernay, including the marriage of the Virgin Mary before the Menorah (a seven-branched candelabrum, rare in a Catholic church).
(4) The cross is the subject of a beautiful legend. It is said that the inhabitants of Véranne once wanted to retrieve the statue of Saint Sabin from its chapel and bring it down to their church. But the statue became heavier and heavier, so much so that the villagers had to give up and return the statue to its chapel. They erected the cross to mark the spot.
Between (13) and (S/E) Maison du Camier or des Camiers, a beautiful fortified house.

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Fournier A.
Fournier A.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike. Beautiful autumn colours. Pleasant paths away from tarmac, but on small, quiet roads and an easy route to follow.

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Elizabeth
Elizabeth

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

•A delightful walk in Maclas and Véranne, and thank you to the author for introducing us to these trails!
•Thank you for thinking about heritage (it's the "carrot" that keeps me going: when there's heritage to see, even if I'm tired, I instantly regain my strength!), especially the Camiers fortified house: i had hiked from Malleval to Maclas, passing very close by, but without seeing it!
•The landscape changes with every kilometre, horses, donkeys, trees of all kinds, the beautiful sweetgum tree in Maclas, the beautiful stones of the houses, little surprises everywhere.
•The weather was wonderful: sunny, but not too hot!

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arderchois
arderchois

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Alas, asphalt roads at the start, lots of asphalt

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rdouzal
rdouzal

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Maclas is the starting point for our hike on 29 June 2023. The first 4 kilometres are a slow but fairly steep climb, mainly due to the heat of the day. This is followed by a route through the hills and a long descent through forests, fields and orchards. The walk is pleasant but nothing more, especially in the last part, which is a slow approach to the village of Maclas. A total of 14 kilometres, the last few of which are somewhat difficult due to the oppressive heat!
Watch the video on Les randos d'Evelyne & Rémy:

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JLJ#cONSTANT#
JLJ#cONSTANT#

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

70% tarmac, not a very interesting walk, especially when you consider that there are lots of really nice walks in the area, so in my opinion, this walk is not worth doing.

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Patberpilat
Patberpilat

I made it clear that this path was theoretically marked. The markers tend to disappear, some fade away naturally, others are removed by grumpy people who don't like to see hikers passing in front of their homes.
There is more and more tree felling at the moment in various parts of Pilat. Each time, the path becomes a logging track, sometimes widening it and making it more passable, but sometimes the opposite happens.
Every route lives and evolves, in one way or another.

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vissenty
vissenty

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

This new description is much better than the previous one, and the new route after the house in the hamlet of La Camiére to Plode offers a beautiful view of the Rhône Valley and the Alps. However, the path leaving La Camiére is not marked; it is currently a logging track.

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Patberpilat
Patberpilat

I have modified the route and completely rewritten the description, so no one should get lost anymore.
For your information, La Selle is just a place name; you shouldn't have expected to find anything there. That section was tricky, so I've removed it from the route.

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Evisabelle2
Evisabelle2

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The entire description of this hike needs to be rewritten.
The directions are either incorrect or obsolete because nature has reclaimed its rights...
Just one example: "At La Selle, turn onto the path leading downhill, etc." La Selle does not exist, as it is a place in the middle of the forest. In short, we spent our time getting lost.
Anyway, in the end, the walk is very pretty, but please rewrite the guide!

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4668968487
4668968487

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant and easy route. We got lost a few times, as we're not map experts! But let's focus on the positive: it allowed us to extend our hike (22 km), discover even more of the area and meet some very welcoming people! Unfortunately, we weren't able to admire the stained glass windows in Véranne (the church was closed). We also enjoyed very favourable weather. It was a beautiful day, and we'll definitely be back!

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gali69
gali69
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very varied route that allows you to discover the different aspects of the Pilat foothills. We took the alternative route suggested by hiker38. The hamlet of Plode is really marred by this accumulation of rubbish of all kinds.
I used the Visorando app for navigation, so there were no orientation difficulties.
Thanks to the author of the route.

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hiker38
hiker38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful spring day.
Alternative route: at point 4, do not turn left but continue straight ahead on a small, barely marked path which then widens at La Selle, near the ruined house. After crossing the stream, at the entrance to the hamlet of Plode, you will find the largest scrap metal depot in the Pilat Regional Nature Park. What a shame!
This shortcut also avoids the descent down the road and the climb back up to the hamlet of Plode.

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Georges Tholence
Georges Tholence

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Landscapes of western Pilat, with beautiful views of the Rhône Valley on one side and the Pilat mountain range on the other. The Bazin rest area, recommended for a picnic halfway through the hike, is very pleasant. The description is a little brief, but the route on the app makes it easy to find your way around.

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michel1941
michel1941

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful hike, beautiful views, we will do it again in September. The Little Wolves

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