The Crêtes d'Aucelon

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After a long climb, a 360° view awaits you on the ridges.

Details

n°3382563
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.64 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 856 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 851 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,458 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 682 m
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Photos

A 180° view that will delight you.
Serre de l'Eglise
Le Dévoluy
The Aucelon ridges

Description of the walk

Park in the car park along the D 140.

(S/E) Continue on the D 140 towards Col de Pennes.

(1) At the first hairpin bend, before crossing a small bridge, take the path on your right (yellow markings). Follow the Ravin de Coucourdier, keeping the ravine on your right. After 35 to 40 minutes of climbing, you will reach a crossroads.

(2) Head north by turning completely to the left. Leave the yellow markings behind, overlooking the uphill path. The path becomes a track and joins another wider track in a left-hand bend at around 1,090 metres.

(3) Cross the track and continue straight ahead, heading east then south-east. Please note: there are no markings and the path is not shown on the map. The climb, in the hollow of a small valley, becomes a little steeper.

(4) Pass by a water reservoir to soon reach the ridges.

(5) Once on the ridges, take your time to admire the landscape of the Diois and beyond: Poyols - Luc - Chatillon - Le Glandasse - Les Trois Becs.
Turn right, heading south along the ridge. Pass Pas de la Tune then Pas du Buisson and continue to Tête des Faux.

(6) Turn right, heading due west, towards a conifer in the middle of a small pass. Join theGRP® Tour de la Vallée de la Roanne.

(7) Follow it to the right, heading north-west for about 1.5 km. Pass by a weapons drop zone used by the Drôme resistance. Continue on theGRP® to arrive near a sheepfold.

(8) Then take the path on the right heading north-northwest. Go through a gate and pass by a water reservoir. The path then descends steeply northwards into the coniferous forest.
Pay attention! After the fourth hairpin bend, you will need to leave this wide path.

(9) Take a path on the left that cuts across the wide path. Pass under the Plongière sheepfold and continue down the path to the crossroads at a place called Le Poux.

(10) Leave the wide path and take a path on the left that is initially flat and then descends, leading back to the village of Aucelon.

(11) In the village, turn right towards the D 140 and follow it to the right to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 724 m - Car park 250 m after the village on the D 140.
  2. 1 : km 1.25 - alt. 703 m - Hairpin bend, path on the right
  3. 2 : km 2.33 - alt. 899 m - Crossroads, completely on the left
  4. 3 : km 4.37 - alt. 1,092 m - Opposite, off the marked trail.
  5. 4 : km 5.7 - alt. 1,296 m - Water reserve
  6. 5 : km 5.86 - alt. 1,309 m - Ridges, on the right
  7. 6 : km 9.09 - alt. 1,423 m - Tête des Faux, the highest point of the hike
  8. 7 : km 10.49 - alt. 1,319 m - GRP junction, on the right.
  9. 8 : km 11.81 - alt. 1,298 m - Sheepfold
  10. 9 : km 13.12 - alt. 1,197 m - The path is not very visible on the left.
  11. 10 : km 14.91 - alt. 913 m - Le Poux
  12. 11 : km 16.25 - alt. 732 m - Aucelon
  13. S/E : km 16.64 - alt. 724 m - Car park 250 m after the village on the D 140.

Notes

Part of the route is off-trail and marked from (2) to (7).
Pay close attention to the description or, better still, follow the GPX track.
Also be careful of livestock, as the ridges are grazing land.

Worth a visit

After the Tête des Faux, on the side of the Boutarinard mountain, you can see marmots.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 8 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
User 4011494

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike with magnificent aerial views over more than 50% of the route. The ascent is on very "comfortable" paths or meadows, the ridges are on paths through mountain pastures, with beautiful views for lunch at the top, and the return descent includes some sections of stony tracks. Cattle are present until 1st October, no dogs.

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BALADEAUBERT
BALADEAUBERT

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

An excellent hike that took place under beautiful sunshine in the morning and slightly overcast skies at the end of the route.
The succession of panoramic views and 360° vistas alone are worth the trip.
It is worth noting that between points 3 and 5, you simply need to follow the relatively well-marked vehicle tracks on the ground.
The good weather allowed us to have an excellent day and appreciate everything to its fullest.

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jofre07
jofre07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A few passages through cattle farms, private land? as well as a private hunting ground, no incidents, passage pts 10 difficult to find, possibility of reaching La Servelle by extending the route by approximately 3 km.

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sentiersdu monde
sentiersdu monde

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, especially at the start in this forest of mossy trees.
The climb up to the ridge is difficult, but the view is worth the effort. However, the description takes us through private property where we find ourselves surrounded by fruit trees and, judging by the drinking troughs, probably cows in summer.
In March, there are no marmots to be seen yet. The descent is not difficult, except that you have to follow the route carefully to avoid ending up in the middle of a flock of sheep and therefore sheepdogs.
Avoid this hike between May and September.
Otherwise, it's a beautiful hike lasting a maximum of 6½ hours if you take your time.

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cocov22
cocov22

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike, the landscapes are magnificent
The highlight was seeing the marmots coming out of their burrows.
For me, the hike was 20 km long and took 6 hours and 45 minutes (we took the time to eat and lingered a bit with the marmots).
Thanks to the author of this hike.

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Philippe B5.
Philippe B5.

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route completed yesterday, with the sun playing hide-and-seek with the clouds. Varied landscapes (with surprising mosses at the start, which reminded us of certain trails in New Zealand!), and what a joy once we reached the summit. A magnificent 360° view, which gradually reveals itself from point 4, appears in full at point 5, and lasts until point 6.
For clarification, the shortcut at point 9 is barely visible, as it is partially hidden by a fallen tree.
An excellent hike; and of course, thank you to the author.

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pascal.amieux
pascal.amieux

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Departure at 9:15 a.m., return at 5 p.m. Beautiful, foggy, scorching weather

This is a secluded hike offering a variety of different landscapes, from the mossy undergrowth at the start (very surprising in such an arid region) to the mountain pastures on the ridges stretching as far as the eye can see. We are actually quite close to Dévoluy, which can be seen on the horizon with its jagged, blue-tinged peaks (on this particular day).

Just be careful at the sheepfold (point 8) to take the path on the right bank of the valley, even if it climbs a little at the beginning . However, we couldn't find the start of the shortcut at point 9, but that wasn't a big deal.

For us, it was a wonderful discovery. Thank you to the author of the itinerary.

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irenesaussac@gmail.com
irenesaussac@gmail.com

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with magnificent views. Admittedly a bit long and tough, but what a reward!

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