The three villages of Sainte-Croix, Vachères-en-Quint and Saint-Andéol

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Tour of the small villages and hamlet of the Quint valley.

Details

n°5647850
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.62 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 481 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 486 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 635 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 378 m
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Photos

Font d'Urle
Hamlet of Saint Andéol
Village of Sainte Croix

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the car park at the entrance to the village or the monastery, the hike starts with the climb up to the village.

(1) At the exit, turn left towards the Col de Vachères, following the yellow and white markings. Follow a forest road that gradually climbs with beautiful views of the surrounding vineyards and mountains for about 3.4 km.

(2) At the "Prat des Rois" signpost, turn right onto a path that descends towards Vachères-en-Quint. The first part of this path overlooks a small valley and joins the Ruisseau de Vachère stream at the bottom, which you will need to ford.

(3) Turn left onto the upper path running alongside a meadow, which leads back to the tarmac road. Turn right here. At the crossroads, you can visit the small village of Vachères on the right, or continue straight ahead.

(4) After about 100 metres, turn left and follow the path down towards the hamlet of Saint-Andéol. Opposite are the Vercors and the Fond d'Hurle plateau.

(5) At the stream, at the sign for "Le Rolland Ravin", do not go up to the hamlet (unless you want to visit it), but turn right at the circular. The path goes around the hill on which the hamlet of Saint-Andéol and its small chapel are located and leads back to the access road to the hamlet. Turn right and cross the bridge.

(6) Join the D129 road and take it to the right downhill for about 150 metres.

Not signposted

(7) Climb up opposite via a path that gradually ascends the eastern flank. At an elevation of 505 metres, cross a small stream, from where the slope becomes a little steeper.

(8) At elevation 638, keep to the path on the right, ignoring the paths that branch off to the right and left. You will reach a fork in the road at a marked forest road.

Markings resume

(9) At the flat section, turn right onto the Serre Chauvin gravel forest road, which descends and returns to the starting point through the hamlet of L'Éguillot.

(10) At the bottom of the road, at the sign for "le pont de la Sure", turn right onto the small bridge and climb back up to the village to reach the (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 390 m - Parking et fontaine de Sainte Croix
  2. 1 : km 0.31 - alt. 417 m - Chemin du Col de Vachères
  3. 2 : km 3.27 - alt. 581 m - Prat des Rois signpost - Vachères-en-Quint trail
  4. 3 : km 4.49 - alt. 523 m - Ascent to the village
  5. 4 : km 5.06 - alt. 568 m - Saint-Andéol trail
  6. 5 : km 6.33 - alt. 468 m - Le Rolland Ravin - Hamlet of Saint-Andéol
  7. 6 : km 7.24 - alt. 458 m - Route D129
  8. 7 : km 7.71 - alt. 451 m - Forest path
  9. 8 : km 9.17 - alt. 635 m - Trail junction at elevation 638
  10. 9 : km 10.43 - alt. 613 m - Serre Chauvin Forest Road
  11. 10 : km 13.31 - alt. 378 m - Bridge over the - Sure (affluent de la Drôme)
  12. S/E : km 13.62 - alt. 389 m - Parking et fontaine de Sainte Croix

Worth a visit

The village of Sainte-Croix, with its monastery and botanical and aromatic garden, is well worth a visit.
Hamlet in the Quint Valley, overlooked by the Vercors plateaus.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 20 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
annemariep
annemariep

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 13, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

  • After crossing the small stream (points 2–3), head up the slope opposite to rejoin the green/yellow markings. Caution! The path is very muddy between points 2 and 3. It might be better to take the track, which adds a little to the distance.
  • Without a GPS (I don’t use one…), it’s difficult to find THE path amongst the many small tracks between points 7 and 9, but the map and my sense of direction guided me well. No backtracking.
  • However, a very beautiful route.
  • A friend who did this route last year had a GPS; he told me the elevation gain was 752 m, not 476 m.
  • I completed the route in 4 hours 30 minutes, not including a lunch break.

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peche
peche

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

Several points to note:

  • Between 2 and 3 at the bottom and after the right-hand bend, continue straight ahead across the field until you find a green/yellow marked trail going uphill.
  • At 3, it is preferable to continue along the marked track, straight ahead, towards Vachères, as the path on the left leads to sheep pens.
  • After point 7 and 2 hairpin bends, continue straight ahead; the path is well marked up to elevation 505.
  • At elevation 505, after crossing the stream, turn right and begin the climb (note: the GPS will indicate a deviation from the route, but ignore this) up to the ridge.
  • At the ridge (cairn), take the path on the left, which is almost flat, ignoring the paths on the left and right until you reach a crossroads, then turn right (the GPS will bring you back to the route).
  • At point 8, turn right and continue straight ahead on a well-marked path at almost constant level until you reach point 9.

Enjoy your hike.

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Jmi26
Jmi26

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike despite a few rough patches that would undoubtedly be difficult in wet weather. However, even if the directions allow you to reach point 8, it is difficult to find the route to point 9: there are many tracks that are not trails. We followed the "keep right" sign as best we could, but we turned too early and ended up on the road at the Tourettes signpost. From point 8, you probably need to try to cross the Oursière ravine quite far upstream. Not easy.
Otherwise, the scenery was beautiful and the return trip along the road allowed us to discover the gorges.

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gamagi
gamagi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, we did this beautiful hike again, which we already knew. We had superb views of the 3 peaks and other sights. The three villages are very nice to visit, but at point 2 we continued on the track because at point 496 on the route, the ground had collapsed due to recent rains and was very muddy. As we were in a group, it would have been difficult for everyone to cross without falling into the stream. no problem continuing on the trail, we also arrive at the village of Vachères en Quint, which extends the hike by about 800 metres.
It is still a magnificent hike.
Thanks to the author.

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samsonnet26
samsonnet26

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike with beautiful scenery. We loved the section near the river, which allowed us to take a refreshing dip and soak our feet.

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sommet
sommet

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Nothing to report

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toulaudrando
toulaudrando
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

between 7 and 8 there is no path. Between the two black arrows on the trail, take the OpenStreetMap world map and follow the very thin dotted line (at an altitude of 520 and before 600, turn left and arrive at 8).
the two fords are not a problem, even after this month's heavy rains. The descent between 2 and 3 is clayey, so very slippery after rain.

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toulaudrando
toulaudrando

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

between 7 and 8 there is no path. Between the two black arrows on the trail, take the map

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gb26100
gb26100

We went on this lovely hike today in beautiful sunshine.
We relied on the GPS track between points 7 and 9, which is not marked.
But we lost the track between points "7.5" and 8. There are many possible paths in this area.
We tried several of them, going back and forth, and the last one was the right one!
It seems that there is a problem with the track, which does not correspond to the actual terrain.
Despite everything, we have fond memories of this hike.

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bader
bader

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on a beautiful day at the end of September with sunshine throughout the day, very pleasant, met three people at the start of the route.
Beautiful scenery, and the Sure river was refreshing at the end of the hike.
I highly recommend it. I completed it in 4½ hours.

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mariejose sester
mariejose sester

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful route, follow the trail carefully, but it's not difficult to find the right path.

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zulma26
zulma26

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike where you absolutely must follow the trail, as there is no trail between points 7 and 9.

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Beunardeau Claude
Beunardeau Claude

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

For me, it's a beautiful hike

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Jean-Paul KERENFORT
Jean-Paul KERENFORT
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This hike is very pleasant and the landscapes are varied. Thank you to the hiker who mapped out this route for us.

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queyrubay
queyrubay

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful route but difficult to follow between points 7 and 9: lots of paths, no markings at all, even with GPS; we missed a path and had to take a shortcut and turn back once.
But beautiful nature and varied landscapes due to the different slopes.

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