Mont Saint-Baudille

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk, especially the part high up on the mountain side.
Personally, I did it backwards, Nordic walking, in 4 hours and 15 minutes.

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

Magnificent 360° landscapes
I loved the little unmarked path in sections 4 and 5, which offers a different view of the Infernet cirque.

As mentioned below, there are too many tracks for my liking.

Be sure to bring good shoes and a good jacket.

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Date of your route : Mar 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello
A pleasant route, a bit too much forest trail but with beautiful open views. I did the hike alone, advertised as 7 hours 55 minutes, but it took me 5 hours including breaks and a picnic (30 minutes). A good pace but not running either😀. I did it in the advertised direction with the big 2/3 km descent at the end. At 10 a.m., there were few people, but at 3 p.m., there were many more. I recommend it

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☺️

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Thank you for this detailed comment, which highlights this beautiful hike. It can also be done in the opposite direction, starting with the direct climb up Mont Saint Baudille

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Date of your route : May 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Mount St Baudille (St Guilhem le Désert)

This morning when I woke up, a sudden desire for fresh air prompted me to explore this route that I had already spotted on Visorando.
The last few bends of an increasingly narrow road made us hope that no obstacles would appear around the corner 😱.
The landscape is a mixture of pine forests and heath typical of the Hérault hinterland.
The hike begins with a stretch of road, then a wide stony path that winds its way through wild Mediterranean vegetation, dry and fragrant in spring. The path quickly narrows to a trail that is partly overgrown and submerged in a forest of pine and holm oak trees. All your senses are heightened by the birdsong, the rustling of a light breeze in the trees and the fragrant scent of blossoming flora, including broom, thyme and rosemary, among others
The path, which had been gradually climbing, becomes steep and stony, offering increasingly majestic views of rugged cliffs.
After an hour and a half, we come out onto a wide forest path in the middle of a lush forest, where we walk for a long time, lulled by the gentle rustling of the branches.
Then the forest disappears almost suddenly, giving way to a stony path that crosses a slightly uphill arid plateau, contrasting with a sumptuous panorama of the valley. The TDF antenna on Mont Baudille looms in the distance and serves as our guide along this slightly uphill section (which is a bit long...)
An orientation table reveals an exceptional 360-degree panorama, allowing us to see as far as the sea and the peaks of St Guilhem, Mont Hortus, Pic St Loup and, in the distance, Mont Aigoual.
The descent is steep, winding, uneven, stony and rugged... but the views are spectacular all the way.

In the end, it's 21 km / 700 m elevation gain in 5 hours 45 minutes, including meal breaks, photos and the orientation table (still a steady pace). You might consider doing the circuit in the other direction with a 1-hour climb (steep towards the summit) to the observatory and the rest in total contemplation... Be careful in hot weather as there is no shade on the plateau or during the descent and no water sources!

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Date of your route : Dec 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Due to a lack of attention, we took a wrong turn, but overall the hike is easy to follow. This is a variation on the route that only goes up the mountain. The first part is great, on the plateau it's just a wide forest trail. Still interesting though. We did it in the rain and fog, with no visibility, but knowing the area, the views are superb. I recommend it.
Happy hiking and happy holidays on this 25th of December.

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

Route completed at a slow pace (3 hours 27 minutes) in early December under very cloudy skies and a rather invigorating wind!
Fortunately, because there is very little shade on the second half of the route (so avoid it in summer, like all hikes in the region!)
The scenery is very pretty and the trails are nice. Small single tracks, forest roads, not much scrambling), superb descent at the end (reward for a 5k gentle climb), to be done at full speed!
However, I got lost two or three times, including once at km 5.71 where I never found the turn-off to a 'ghost trail'. I think the vegetation has reclaimed its rights in that spot. I climbed up the slope through the bush and found the path much later, but I was badly scratched by the brambles and had to run with my back bent over because the path was so overgrown.
In short, I had a great time; I only met two couples coming in the opposite direction (they were doing the 8k version).

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Date of your route : Dec 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Please note that the GPX route does not correspond exactly to the map!

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Date of your route : Nov 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The weather helped us enjoy ourselves, but beyond that... what a joy!
The landscapes are, of course, the real stars of this loop, with its varied and very pleasant paths.
There were no major technical or physical difficulties.
A little tip: at point 10, we left the GR on our left to take a more secluded single track 5 metres further on, which took us to the ridges at the Col du Berger.

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Date of your route : Jan 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hike done on a beautiful winter's day with the help of the app and GPS tracking. Arrived at 8:30 a.m. at the car park, there was no one there. Back at the starting point about 5.5 hours later, it was packed! In my opinion, the main difficulty is the distance to be covered. I took a short break at the top of the mountain, with breathtaking views in all directions. I passed quite a few people climbing up what is here the return route to the cheese factory, which was unfortunately closed. However, I think that if you want to do this hike in summer, you should expect to be in direct sunlight for most of the route. So make sure you have everything you need to walk in good conditions. Walking shoes are highly recommended. Thanks again for this route.

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The goat's cheeses at Font de Griffe are truly excellent

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Date of your route : May 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Done on 29 May 2021. Couple in their seventies (+2). According to a Garmin watch, 22.5 km, cumulative elevation gain 780 m. No orientation problems, thanks to the map and the app's location feature, which we used occasionally to clear up any doubts. It took us 8 hours, including a 1-hour stop (picnic/siesta) and all the other stops (photos, breaks to admire a tree, a flower, the landscape, chat with people we met...). It's a long route, but well worth it. At the summit, there's a beautiful view, information panels and an orientation table. However, the climb up Mont Saint Baudille on a stony track is a bit tedious, as is the descent back to the starting point, especially as we did them around midday and in the afternoon when it was hottest. Now it will be too hot to go there, or you would have to do the circuit in reverse to be in more shaded areas when the sun is beating down. A word of advice: stop at the goat farm, where we bought some cheese and tasted one on the spot. It was to die for!

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Date of your route : May 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A gradually ascending route, starting from the south (car park at the lodge), leading to a breathtaking view. Apart from the summit, there were very few people. However, there was almost no shade, and it was already very warm at the beginning of May!

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Date of your route : Feb 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Park at the Fond du Griffe farm. A superb, easy hike. The path is marked in yellow. Take your time to admire the Hérault "mountain" landscape, rather than the seaside, from the top of Mont St Baudille.

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