Mont Rachas via Les Plaines

Start from the car park at the Poët-Laval village hall.

(S/E) Head towards Rue du Temple and turn right. Continue along Rue Étienne Gougne, then turn left onto Route de Molans. Cross the bridge over the Jabron and you’ll come to a fork immediately afterwards.

(1) Turn left onto Chemin du Jabron and follow this road until you reach the end of Route de Chambaillard.

(2) Turn right and follow the road until you reach a three-way junction.

(3) Keep to the right onto Chemin d’Estampes, enter the woods and quickly turn left uphill. Begin a long climb of around 5.3 km along this track, formerly tarmac but now in poor condition in places, until you reach the first telecommunications pylon.

(4) Once the tarmac ends, continue along the path which climbs, then runs mostly flat. Pass the paragliding launch site and continue along the ridge. After a steep, stony section, you’ll reach the pylon at the summit of Mont Rachas.

(5) After taking in the view, continue straight ahead, passing to the left of the pylon. Be careful: the descent along the forest track is steep and stony. At the bottom of the slope, you’ll reach a fork.

(6) First turn left then right and continue along the track to a plateau with a building and fields of lavender.

(7) Turn left and continue along the path, between two fields, to the highest point of this plateau (altitude 627m).

(8) After taking in the surroundings and the view over the plain, walk back a few metres and turn left at the three-way junction. Leave the fields on your right and enter the woods. You’ll reach the three-way junction a few metres after a left-hand bend.

(9) Turn right and leave the GR® trail, which continues straight ahead. Ignore a hairpin bend to the right and you’ll soon reach the next fork.

(10) Continue slightly uphill to the right, then start descending. Follow this lovely forest path, which is more or less steep, until you reach the tarmac at the bottom of the valley.

(11) Turn right onto Route de Molans and head straight on until you rejoin the route you took earlier at the bridge over the Jabron.

(1) Continue straight on and, taking the opposite route to the outward journey, head back to the village hall car park (S/E).

About a hundred metres before reaching Mont Rachas, the path is steep and very stony, as is the start of the descent on the other side; you may need to dismount.

The percentage indicated under the "trail" section mainly comprises small forest paths.

Ride completed on an e-MTB on 16 April 2026.

The old village of Poët-Laval.