Mont Ventoux via the Pas de la Frache, the ridge and the Vallon de la Grave

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A beautiful circular route towards the summit of Mont Ventoux, starting from Chalet Reynard (south side). Can be done in either direction. Varied landscape. 360° view of the surrounding landscape. Can be done on foot or with snowshoes when conditions allow.

Details

n°4772556
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.92 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 521 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 520 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,897 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,419 m
Downloads
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Photos

View of the summit
Chapel of Ste Croix
Remember to turn around.
View of the summit

Description of the walk

Park in the large car park at Chalet Reynard or a little higher up in the Plaine des Hermitants car park. The road is blocked a little further on. Please respect the parking regulations to avoid causing obstruction and being fined on busy days.

(S/E) Follow the ski trail marked by blue poles at La Combe.

(1) Leave the wide trail that climbs towards the ridges and follow the single track that leads into the woods. The route is intuitive, with no markings or directional signs. Walk along the western side of the valley.

(2) Turn right, crossing the Combe Brune to continue through the woods. Continue until you reach a road. Follow it straight ahead. Black and yellow markers on the side of the road. Join a forest track.

(3) On the left, take the path through the woods and continue straight ahead to join theGR®. A little further on, you will find the first sign indicating the Pas de la Frache on the left. You can take this path or continue to the end as shown on the map.

(4) Enjoy the view, then climb up the path that leads into the forest behind you. Intuitive, unmarked passage. No particular difficulty, slightly steep. You will arrive at a clearing and then at Pas de la Frache. From there, there are frequent markings and directional signs.

(5) Pas de la Frache, continue along the path towards Mont Ventoux.

(6) Le Signal, continue towards Mont Ventoux. From there, you can easily descend to the starting point by taking the various ski slopes if the summit seems too far away. But the best is yet to come.
Follow the trail (marked by large red posts) that will take you to Col des Tempêtes.

(7) Continue along the path to the summit.

(8) The summit is there, and so are you, so enjoy it. Before heading back down, you can go to the Chapelle Sainte-Croix chapel below (+10 mins round trip).
Take the D974 road, which heads back down the southern slope towards Chalet Reynard, to return to Col des Tempêtes.

(7) Continue along the road for a few kilometres and a few bends.

(9) Leave the road and take an unmarked and unsignposted path on the right that descends towards a forest track and Jas de la Fréchière.

(10) Follow the track to the left. This forest track offers a beautiful view and is home to many birds.
Continue towards Chalet Reynard, passing through Plaine des Ermitants, then descend along the road to Chalet Reynard (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,419 m - Chalet Reynard
  2. 1 : km 0.38 - alt. 1,473 m - Blue Trail La Combe
  3. 2 : km 1.07 - alt. 1,512 m - Combe Brune
  4. 3 : km 2.2 - alt. 1,498 m - Arrival on the road
  5. 4 : km 3.15 - alt. 1,505 m - Viewpoint over the Pre-Alps
  6. 5 : km 3.89 - alt. 1,586 m - Pas de la Frache (1586m)
  7. 6 : km 4.63 - alt. 1,616 m - Signal (le)
  8. 7 : km 8.53 - alt. 1,830 m - Col des Tempêtes (1829m)
  9. 8 : km 9.12 - alt. 1,887 m - Summit - Mont Ventoux
  10. 9 : km 12.46 - alt. 1,600 m - Jas de la Fréchière
  11. 10 : km 12.97 - alt. 1,513 m - Batiment trail
  12. S/E : km 15.92 - alt. 1,419 m - Chalet Reynard

Notes

Completed in winter, in heavy snow and without snowshoes. Allow 5 hours, including breaks.
Actual walking time: 4 hours 15 minutes.

Mont Ventoux is a mountainous area. Winter equipment is mandatory. Weather conditions are changeable. Remember to check the weather forecast or webcams for the latest conditions.
Bring protection from the wind, sun and cold. There is no water on the route.
Please take your rubbish with you out of respect for the area, the wildlife and other hikers or outdoor enthusiasts.
Be quiet, you may be lucky enough to spot wildlife. Wild boar from (1) to (3). Many birds on the last section.
Walking sticks are recommended.
Many unmarked sections; the paths and single tracks are sometimes difficult to find but fairly intuitive when you look at the ground. Feel free to follow the IGN map and a GPS device to locate yourself.

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.

Downloads
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Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 7 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Alain Revello
Alain Revello

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An interesting hike, even if the trail after Chalet Reynard is not easy to find. The start of the hike is very pleasant in the woods with beautiful views of the Alps.
Then it gets warmer...
The return trip by road is not very pleasant. It would definitely be worth going to the chapel and completing the loop via the trail that returns to the chalet.

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christophemarina
christophemarina

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with beautiful views.
However, the return trip to Chalet Reynard along part of the road is frankly not very pleasant.
I think that when starting from the summit, you can reach Chalet Reynard without using the road. Looking back, we saw that there were paths leading to point No. 9. It must be longer, but more pleasant. We'll try it after the winter.
The path at point No. 9 is located in a bend, just at the end of the safety barriers. And there is an underground cistern.

Otherwise, very good.

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Sèv84
Sèv84

Thank you all for your feedback, I'm glad to see that you like the circular design.
At the beginning of summer 2024, I placed a geocache at the intersection of the two GR trails, on the large cairn, at coordinates 44°9'43" N 5°18'56" E. Feel free to leave a trace of your visit.
Enjoy your hike, everyone.

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robertrouen
robertrouen

Hello,
We took the uphill route from the Février car park.
So no comments on the downloaded route.
Kind regards.
RR

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PIERRE MONNIER
PIERRE MONNIER

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike in an extraordinary setting. Lovely forest trails, a long but easy climb to the summit. A superb 360° view from the Alpilles to the peaks of the Southern Alps...
We saw six vultures circling above us. On another hike on the north side, we saw chamois. Mont Ventoux is majestic and climbing it is well worth the effort.
We highly recommend this beautiful hike.
PP and MM

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C et C
C et C

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. The distance is 13.64 km.

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Denis.G2
Denis.G2

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

In fact, we started from point 3, the road coming from Sault and before Chalet Reynard, for a round trip to the Col des Tempêtes. And it was very, very beautiful with snow on the ridges and a light, "cool" breeze!

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egosse65
egosse65

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful tour of Mont Ventoux, without difficulty, provided the weather is favourable. On Monday 24 April, it was 12-14 degrees and there was wind at the summit (40 km/h according to the iPhone weather app) and the last part of the climb was a little chilly. Otherwise, the route is pleasant, through the woods. It's a little difficult to find the right path at the beginning, but the GPS is there to help. For me, this walk is certainly much more enjoyable than trying to climb Mont Ventoux and cover 1,600 metres of elevation gain. We completed the tour in just over 5 hours.

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les sem
les sem ★

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello
We tested this hike today, with just a few traces of snow at the summit and on the descent (it snowed last weekend and today we narrowly avoided hail). At this time of year, the first part of the circular hike offers a superb variety of landscapes that break up the monotonous limestone of the pure Ventoux climb.
To find the trails in the woods, it's important to use GPS. There are cairns to confirm the route.
The descent must be more enjoyable in winter on snowshoes than at this time of year. We'll go and test it out!
Thank you for this route.

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.