The Piquet and Pierre aux Fées valleys

Two unique and very different valleys: Piquet with its granite chaos and the darker and more peaceful Pierre aux Fées.

Details

1183441
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.85 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 66 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 66 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 38 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 6 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Piquet car park (accessible via the D50 between Le Tablier and Rosanay.

(S/E) At the bar, take the path on the left down to the river.
Halfway down the slope, at the intersection, continue straight ahead or turn right (not the path leading to the ruined building, as this will be the way back). Follow the river until you reach the perimeter of a private property.

(1) Turn right and cross the river via the bridge.
On the other bank, there are two small paths; take the one that runs along the meadow to reach theGR®364crossroads.

(2) Follow the red and whiteGR® markings on the left and continue to the crossroads of paths leading to:
- le Vigneau on the right,
- la Pierre aux Fées on the left.

(3) Do not take the path that goes uphill, which is theGR®, but stay in the valley by taking either of the paths running alongside the stream. Go to the end of the path.

(4) Cross the last accessible bridge and return to the previous crossroads on the other side.

(3) Take theGR®364again to return to the previous crossroads.

(2) Continue straight ahead on the GR®. When you reach a tarmac road, turn left and walk along the Petit Rochereau neighbourhood.

(5) Make a small detour to the right to the viewpoint offering a view of the Yon valley.
Return to the road and, at the bend, take the path to the village of Le Grand Rochereau. Turn left.

(6) Turn right (hidden by trees at the end) just after the last building on the right-hand side of the road.
Reach the bank of the Yon and continue along the path running alongside the river until you reach the road.

(7) At the intersection, take the road on the right (slightly hidden by trees) to reach the other bank and take the path on the right. Continue along the river (more or less, as several small paths branch off and then rejoin). You will reach the old spinning mill.
Go back up the path and take the wide stony track on the left, which you took at the start, to return to the car park. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 34 m - Piquet car park. Towards the - Yon (rivière) à finaliser
  2. 1 : km 1.15 - alt. 20 m - Bypass a property
  3. 2 : km 1.46 - alt. 9 m - GR364 junction
  4. 3 : km 2 - alt. 12 m - GR trail junction - stream trails
  5. 4 : km 2.84 - alt. 24 m - Crossing the stream
  6. 5 : km 4.77 - alt. 31 m - Viewpoint
  7. 6 : km 5.23 - alt. 36 m - Grand Rochereau
  8. 7 : km 5.78 - alt. 19 m - Road
  9. S/E : km 6.85 - alt. 34 m - Piquet car park

Notes

The trail is mostly shaded.
Some sections may be muddy, particularly in the Pierre aux Fées valley (from point (3), take the left-hand path, which is drier than the right-hand path).
Picnic tables in the Pierre aux Fées valley.
(5) Along the banks of the Yon, there are several small ascents and descents.
There is a bar near the car park where you can rest and have a drink in fine weather.

 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 23 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 27368594

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The Piquet hike is always a pleasure. It's really beautiful, and despite a few spots that are a bit tricky to navigate given my advanced age (78), I truly enjoy going there. Best regards,
Mrs Simon

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User 5524774
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that takes you away from the beaches and ocean landscapes of the Vendée, but still close to the water 👍
We were a little unsure about the route but found the right path in the end.

The path was clear, but it's best not to do this hike before the teams come to clear the brambles and other fast-growing vegetation 🤔
As for mud, we weren't affected after the recent hot weather, and there wasn't any water in the Peron either!
You can't have everything!

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User 7782052

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

very good route in pleasant, shaded surroundings that take you away from it all. However, it's not easy to find your way around as there are no signs indicating whether to turn right or left!

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User 26539901

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, shaded walk with no particular difficulties except for some very slippery rocks in places.
Well-marked path.

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chantaloue
chantaloue

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The path is not very well marked, so it is easy to get lost

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Belette 70
Belette 70

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Seduced by previous reviews, we decided to embark on this promising hike, but alas... If you love brambles, nettles and ferns, this hike is for you. For everyone else, there's nothing of interest except walking in the forest. In fact, the only points of interest are concentrated between points 6 and 7 and the start/finish. The "vallée de la roche aux fées" section is the worst, with extremely muddy paths in places and an unmaintained return trail, where you have to claw your way through brambles and tall thistles... As for the famous Roche aux Fées, there is nothing magical about it. It is a barely visible rock at the bottom of a valley that is more like a gully than a real valley. The viewpoint at stage 5 is beautiful, overlooking the "chaos" of Le Piquet with a view of the ruins of the old spinning mill. You approach the chaos from point 6. Unfortunately, all the places where you can get close to the river are taken over by picnickers or families out for a stroll, who make the round trip from points 7 and 6 and back. As a result, the end of the hike becomes tedious, even though the chaos is a beautiful place. To sum up, this is a hike of little interest, on poorly maintained paths. Very disappointing.

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RandoJCD
RandoJCD

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's very pleasant to be able to "venture out" peacefully...

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Jobi
Jobi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

pleasant walk

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Jean claude valls
Jean claude valls

Very pleasant hike
Especially since it's very warm at the beginning of October
To be repeated in a few weeks with the autumn colours.
No problems with the trail. It's a shame there's no information about the ruins you come across along the way.

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MelDiver
MelDiver

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike, we didn't find it very long (2½ hours with numerous stops), but it's true that at times we weren't quite sure which path to take.
The trail isn't very busy (at least it wasn't on the day we visited, 12 August). The Piquet Valley was almost empty when we arrived on Saturday at noon, perfect for a cool picnic under the trees before starting the hike. On our return from the hike around 4:30 p.m., however, there were a lot of people on the banks of the Yon. But there are still some quiet spots where you can dip your feet in the water.

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Jean-Pierre DECLEMY
Jean-Pierre DECLEMY

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

ops(whistle)star:

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7407
7407

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

magnificent nature walk but no directional signs

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REDG
REDG

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An interesting hike, greenery, river and a slight incline.

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charpy
charpy

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Excellent walk!
One of the best within a 50 km radius! A varied, very green route with some hills and interesting things along the way, beautiful and rare plants everywhere (wood hyacinth, wild garlic, garlic mustard, dactylorhiza orchids, lathrée clandestine, white asphodel, etc.)!

in short, it's a great walk in a great area!

best seen in midsummer, as it may be crowded

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patson85
patson85

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk along the river and through the Fairy Rock Valley. If you follow the map and descriptions and use a little common sense, you can complete the route without getting lost.

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