Les Monts de la Madeleine (Villemontais)

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Walk through the Monts de la Madeleine between Villemontais and Chérier.

Details

n°56727
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.59 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,188 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,188 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,690 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,601 ft
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Photos

Notre Dame de la Salette
Cherier Church
The Roanne plain from Haut de Sainte Agathe (2)
The Roanne plain from Haut de Sainte Agathe

Description of the walk

Park your car in the Salle des Fêtes car park.

(S/E) With your back to the village hall, take the path to the left of the tennis court and follow it to a fork in the road.

(1) Head up to the left until you reach the entrance to a house.

(2) Carry on straight ahead to the edge of the woods.

(3) Continue along the path on the right, which climbs gently. You’ll come out onto a small road.

(4) Carry on straight ahead and enjoy the view over the Roannais plain.

(5) At the fork in the road, turn left towards Cherier. There are signposts. Follow the path uphill to Les Roches, where you can enjoy a view of Mont Blanc and the Alps on a clear day. Continue to the village of Cherier. Walk round the church,

(6) Then turn right onto the small road towards the Chapelle de la Salette. Go straight on at the junction and then follow the path leading up to it, going through the gate just before a right-hand bend.

(7) Then continue along the path which descends through the meadows and leads out onto the main road at Cherier.

(8) Carry on to the left for about 50 metres (memorial stone), then immediately left at a cross. The path passes in front of a farm. Follow it down, passing small log and plank lodges – very ‘rustic’ – and ignoring a path branching off to the left and then to the right. Continue to a water reservoir.

(9) Turn left onto the path heading north towards Black Drop, which takes you back onto a wide track and leads to the original junction with the small road at the edge of the woods.

(3) Continue to the right along the path until you rejoin this small road, ‘Chemin de Vignes Vaques’. Follow it to the left and rejoin the route you took earlier.

(2) Turn right and retrace your steps along the path you took on the way there until you reach the village hall (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,604 ft - Car park at the Salle des Fêtes
  2. 1 : mi 0.2 - alt. 1,745 ft - Junction
  3. 2 : mi 0.42 - alt. 1,860 ft - T-junction (there and back)
  4. 3 : mi 0.61 - alt. 1,896 ft - Edge of the woods
  5. 4 : mi 1.03 - alt. 2,014 ft - Route
  6. 5 : mi 1.75 - alt. 2,329 ft - Inverted fork
  7. 6 : mi 2.98 - alt. 2,657 ft - Crossroads
  8. 7 : mi 3.34 - alt. 2,635 ft - Access to the Chapel of La Salette
  9. 8 : mi 3.6 - alt. 2,487 ft - Route
  10. 9 : mi 4.12 - alt. 2,257 ft - Junction of paths
  11. S/E : mi 5.59 - alt. 1,604 ft - Car park at the Salle des Fêtes

Worth a visit

You can walk up to the paragliding launch site whilst you’re at Les Roches, with a 360° view (Mont du Forez, Mont du Lyonnais, Pilat, the Alps). Around 600 m there and back.
You can spend an evening and a night at the Cabanes des Galochières. Peace and quiet with magnificent views.
In Cherier, you can visit the Romanesque church.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 22 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
merlin patrick
merlin patrick

Hello
Thanks, that’s great
Kind regards

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you for your comments; I’ve just gone back and revised the fact sheet, particularly the opening section.

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merlin patrick
merlin patrick

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was difficult to find the path at the starting point, so we walked along the quiet road as far as the vineyards and then went up through the vines to find the signposts
And at point 8, we couldn’t see the path
A lovely walk

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POULIN Gérard
POULIN Gérard ★

Hello User 25414538,
why not use the ‘Go to start’ function in the app?

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User 25414538

Otherwise, this walk is absolutely lovely, especially on a clear day.

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User 25414538

I went on the walk; the start point isn’t clearly signposted, and there were some errors on the GPS and the Waze app, so I got lost. I’m going to do it again, using the Maps app.

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pierre huraux
pierre huraux

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant early-season walk. No technical or navigation difficulties.
Don’t forget to climb up to Notre Dame de La Salette, at an altitude of 818 metres, after Le Poyet, between points 6 and 7. From there, there’s a breathtaking view over the Roanne region and the Loire Valley. You can have a picnic and take shelter in the open chapel.
A 3½-hour walk, at a leisurely pace and suitable for families.

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durier suzanne
durier suzanne

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with stunning views of the Roanne region. We even caught a glimpse of the Alps.

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bernardbertignat
bernardbertignat

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike. Just one comment: at a place called "Ripouroux", the planned route is blocked by a fence with barbed wire that is unfortunately too well secured, put in place to effectively block the path. As an avid hiker, I see this quite often; there are some grumpy landowners out there. By cutting across the field a little above the farm, you can easily rejoin the planned route. Bernard.

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Jaja15
Jaja15
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We were unable to follow the entire route because between points 8 and 9 we found the path blocked by a fence, which forced us to turn back and change our route.

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Bennett
Bennett

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike, beautiful views of the Roanne region. Please note, however:
- start: with your back to the village hall, take the path to the left of the tennis court and you will easily find the path again;
- point 7: you cannot turn left before the old farmhouse because the path has been closed by the owner... So turn left just before and you will reach point 2 without difficulty.

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MRGPDS180
MRGPDS180

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful view of the plain; no one on the route

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RaphiL
RaphiL

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

Very nice route, no complaints about the explanations.

However, please note that a farmer has recently closed off the path between Ripouroux and Croix Barré with barbed wire.
At the water treatment plant, you have no choice but to continue straight ahead into the forest towards La Goutte Noire, then turn right to rejoin the original route between points 9 and 10.
Another option is to take the Route Napoléon from Trêve Millot at point 7 (tarmac road then path at an altitude of 682 m) and then turn right towards Croix de Monséjean and the hamlet of Loresse (ending at Chemin du Château d'Eau and Rue du Musset).

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batinou84
batinou84

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Plan a picnic at La Salette—there is a table and the view is fantastic

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herve arnoux
herve arnoux

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful, hilly and varied route (vineyards, meadows, woods and 360° views)

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