Mazaugues – Pivaut ice house

A lovely hike up to Pivaut ice house (1880), which has been beautifully restored.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.19 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 331 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 336 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 691 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 372 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) Park on the way out of Mazaugues (83136), 800m after the village on the road to Sainte-Baume. There is a large car park on the right.

Cross the road (be careful) and take the path immediately opposite you, Chemin Saint Victor, (tarmacked at the start) which climbs up quite steeply in places. Follow this path for 1.8 km until you reach a crossing with another footpath.

(1) Turn right and keep walking uphill as far as the fork at point 568.

(2) Continue along the right-hand path until you reach another fork a little further on.

(3) Turn left and keep following the track ignoring any other turnings until you reach a crossing about 300m after point 687.

(4) Walk down the wide track to the right until you reach the D95 road.

(5) Walk left down the road for a few dozen metres.

(6) Turn left onto the wooden path on stilts leading to Pivaut ice house.

(7) Take a look around the ice house, then walk around the outside of the ice house to the left to see one of the old pools where the ice was once made, up behind the ice house. Take the same path back down until you reach point (5).

(5) Cross the road and take the path downhill to the left (rocky in places) until you reach the D95.

(8) Continue straight on along the edge of the road for a few hundred metres until you reach a track to the left as you come out of a right-hand bend in the road.

(9) Leave the D95 and take this track along the flat.

(10) At the fork, take the left-hand path and then bear left at the following two forks. At the last fork, bear right to reach the D64.

(11) Take the D64 to the right. Turn left at the junction with the D95 and follow this road to the car park you started out at (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 386 m - Parking alongside the D95
  2. 1 : km 1.78 - alt. 518 m - Crossroads, turn right
  3. 2 : km 2.46 - alt. 568 m - At junction 568, turn right
  4. 3 : km 2.62 - alt. 568 m - Fork, turn left
  5. 4 : km 5.87 - alt. 688 m - Crossroads, go right
  6. 5 : km 7.07 - alt. 611 m - D95, left for a few dozen metres
  7. 6 : km 7.22 - alt. 619 m - Turn left onto a plank path
  8. 7 : km 7.41 - alt. 636 m - Pivaut cooler
  9. 8 : km 9.23 - alt. 474 m - D95, straight ahead along the road
  10. 9 : km 10.37 - alt. 435 m - Leave the road, take the track on the left
  11. 10 : km 12.53 - alt. 375 m - Fork, turn left
  12. 11 : km 13.17 - alt. 372 m - D64, turn right
  13. S/E : km 14.19 - alt. 386 m - Parking alongside the D95

Practical information

There is no water source on this walk. All of the uphill climb takes place on the way to the ice house.

In the nearby area

In Mazaugues, if the Ice Museum is open, it is worth having a look around to understand the region’s ice industry.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 37 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
rando7
rando7

Lovely hike in magnificent scenery in glorious sunshine.
There was one small problem: after the Pivaut ice house, the route of the hike was on the edge of a hunt in action.
No problem! the pivaut ice house is very beautiful.

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marquounet
marquounet

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

21/07/2024 overcast but pleasant walk, especially the uphill section to the glacier ....Damage very little water...no waterfalls...quiet return without difficulty. 1 km from Mazaugues violent storm to add a little spice!!!!

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Chantal&Olivier
Chantal&Olivier

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Quite a pleasant walk up to the 8th, after that it was a bit daunting.

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Carlos Carlito
Carlos Carlito

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A very pleasant walk on the first part to the Glacière de Pivaut and the waterfall just after the little bridge. Nice place for a picnic and a rest. The return journey is a little less pleasant by road.

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JO. CHAPELIER
JO. CHAPELIER

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Nice walk on the way back, avoiding the tarmac, with lots of parallel paths, but be careful on the D64 section to reach the parking area.

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The best 83
The best 83

I didn't get the chance to do this walk.

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randoleshautes
randoleshautes

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A pleasant walk with a well-restored pivaud cooler, but keep a close eye on the last kilometre, which is on the road.

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GG13
GG13

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A lovely, shady walk in the first part, on slightly more exposed paths on the way back, but still charming.
You can avoid the road altogether by taking the path on the left down to the valley at hill 464, then the first path on the right towards the Agas valley. You can rejoin the itinerary path by turning off at hill 395 towards hill 407, or continue down the Agas valley as far as the D64 road.

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rendominique
rendominique

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : May 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A very pretty route. Small gradient. A few sections in slightly hot sunshine. Very nice shady forest. You can limit the number of tracks by cutting across paths.

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Rct92
Rct92

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A very pleasant walk, especially the first part up to the glacier. The climb is steady and easy. It is generally done in the shade. The way back is less pleasant. The stony path winds under a power line. Note that you can easily avoid the tarmac section by taking one of the many parallel paths.

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GMIT
GMIT

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

On the date chosen, and given the Mistral wind, the circuit was not, or very rarely, used. But it is certainly crowded from spring to autumn and in fine, calm weather.
From the glacier, the descent is under cover, so at least we didn't feel too much wind, but it was monotonous.
On the other hand, the scenery is splendid.
The lower part, which is undoubtedly the busiest, along the river, is charming and interesting: an old abbey and a mill.
Please note: on very windy days, access is forbidden. This applies to the whole of the Sainte Beaume massif.

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Roland1fois
Roland1fois

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Nice, mainly long trails, lack of short ones.

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miche83
miche83
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A pleasant walk with no difficulties, but be careful on the way back as you cross the very dangerous tarmac just before reaching the car park.
There were lots of people around the ice cream parlour because there was a car park nearby.
A nice breath of fresh air and we were lucky because the hunters hadn't monopolised our sector!

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csld
csld

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : Yes

Walk as described.
Of little interest, except for the visit to the ice house, directly accessible from the road!

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freetime
freetime

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very nice long hike, but without any difficulties. The ice house is well worth the trip and on the way back we discovered some very beautiful scenery.
One small problem was that we didn't understand point 5 on the way back: "take a downhill path to the left", whereas we found a sign for Mazaugues that took us down a downhill path to the right.
So we stayed on this path and only took the road from point 11 at the car park. Nickel

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