Essaillon Mountain

de fr

A very beautiful hike starting from Nyons. The route follows mostly marked trails (GR®9and yellowPR® markings) through oak and boxwood undergrowth. The scent of thyme often accompanies us. Much of the walk is along the ridge, offering beautiful views of Nyons, the Eygues valley and Mont Ventoux. Magnificent viewpoint at Garde Grosse

Details

n°1223549
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.58 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 843 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 839 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 944 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 269 m
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Photos

View of Nyons
Crête de l'Essaillon
Montagne D'angèle
Le Ventoux seen from Garde Grosse

Description of the walk

Park in the car park near the Pont de l'Europe bridge in Nyons.

(S/E) Follow the RD538. After the tunnel, follow theGR®9, coming from the Roman bridge in Nyons.

(1) Turn right onto Route des Rieux (GR® 9) and follow it to the housing estate.

(2) Leave the housing estate and the tarmac road via a wide path on the right (GR®9) facing south.

(3) Take a sharp left turn onto the shaded path that gradually climbs gently (GR®9). As you climb, enjoy the beautiful views of Nyons. You will reach a crossroads.

(4) Leave theGR®9on your right and continue straight ahead. The route is no longer marked, temporarily.

(5) You will see yellow markings (PR®) on the path coming from the right, which you will take on the return journey. Continue straight ahead until you reach a large cairn.

(6) Take a hairpin turn to the right. A very pleasant, sometimes physically demanding climb along the ridge. Caution is required as the path often runs along the edge of precipices. There are numerous viewpoints on the left over the valley and olive groves. Ahead, you can see the outline of Mont Ventoux.
At the end of the climb, you will reach the Bois des Lumières educational trail.

(7) Follow it to the right until you reach the Col de la Croix. (Picnic area available).

(8) From the pass, cross the tarmac road and take the path that climbs towards the south-west. It then descends before climbing steeply again. It crosses the small road for the first time in a bend. The demanding climb continues, joining the same small road in the "S" of a bend.

(9) The climb continues along the path, which remains steep, until you reach the highest point of the walk: Garde Crosse. The effort is less intense if you take the small tarmac road, but this adds about 300 metres to the route.

(10) The views from Garde Grosse are well worth a long stop. You may be able to watch paragliders taking off. Descend by road to the previous S-bend.

(9) Join theGR® 9, which crosses the road. Turn left. The descent into the St Martin ravine is steep and hard on the ankles. Join the Col de la Croix road.

(11) Do not follow theGR® which crosses the road, but follow it to the left to the viewpoint over Nyons at 600m.

(12) Follow the wide path to the north-east. After 500m, rejoin theGR® and follow it for 600m.

(13) At the fork, leave theGR® trail, which descends steeply to the left, and continue on the yellow-marked path until you reach the path you took on the way up, 600m further on.

(5) Turn left to descend to Nyons and return to the starting point by retracing your steps (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 271 m - Car park near the Pont de l'Europe - Eygues (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.46 - alt. 270 m - Route des Rieux on the right - Pont Roman (Nyons)
  3. 2 : km 1.5 - alt. 338 m - Turn right onto a wide path - due south
  4. 3 : km 2.07 - alt. 396 m - Path climbing to the left
  5. 4 : km 3.1 - alt. 504 m - Straight ahead when leaving the GR
  6. 5 : km 3.45 - alt. 532 m - Intersection with the return route
  7. 6 : km 4.64 - alt. 502 m - Large cairn
  8. 7 : km 6.5 - alt. 747 m - Bois de Lumières trail
  9. 8 : km 7.4 - alt. 714 m - Col de la Croix (709m)
  10. 9 : km 8.18 - alt. 779 m - Route de Garde Grosse
  11. 10 : km 8.79 - alt. 943 m - Garde Grosse (944m)
  12. 11 : km 10.92 - alt. 643 m - Route du Col de La Croix
  13. 12 : km 11.51 - alt. 583 m - Viewpoint
  14. 13 : km 12.57 - alt. 542 m - Fork in the road to the right
  15. S/E : km 16.58 - alt. 271 m - Car park near the Pont de l'Europe

Notes

(8) Small picnic area at Col de la Croix.

Worth a visit

Nyons: visit the town - Romanesque bridge - Provençal market on Sunday mornings during the summer - Olive oil.

(7 and 8) Discovery trail through the Bois des Lumières starting from Col de la Croix - Information panels
(8) Tree adventure course - Tree climbing
(10) Garde Grosse: Free flight take-off

 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.

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Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 19 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
RAF61
RAF61

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

a very beautiful hike with my group this Sunday under beautiful sunshine with views of Nyons and its surroundings.

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Bros Jean-Jacques
Bros Jean-Jacques

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with a stunning view of the Drome mountains from the summit of Garde Grosse. We encountered few people along the way and enjoyed some beautiful climbs through the shady undergrowth. Highly recommended.

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Alain815
Alain815
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Hello. A very beautiful hike. It's a shame that from the car park at the start of the trail, there is a 3 km round trip on tarmac. Once on the trails, it's a very beautiful hike, but not easy, especially the last 3 km to reach the antennas. However, once on the ridges, there is a breathtaking view. The descent is long and not easy on the rocks, especially in wet weather, but honestly, it's really worth iti would rank it among the most beautiful hikes I have ever done. Treat yourself, you won't regret it. We did it on 19/11/2023. Thank you to the editor

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elnitro160
elnitro160

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

A nice walk for locals, but I was a bit disappointed to have driven two and a half hours for it. I don't understand why this hike is rated as highly as the one on Mont Ventoux.
What I didn't like:
- most of the trail was in the woods,
- nice views but not very high and quite man-made,
- i was unpleasantly disappointed by the destruction of the buildings at the top of the hike (guardhouse) and by the plastic waste lying around everywhere. I picked up what I could, but given the mountain biking and sailing facilities, the clubs could at least keep the place clean!
- a trail of blood accompanied me along the path before disappearing back into the woods, and hunting dogs barking in the thickets
Geographical (the points do not correspond to the signs) and temporal indications.
Walking briskly but without running, it took me 3 hours and 25 minutes without stopping.
On the other hand, I appreciated that the trail was not very busy. Friendly people, even if the dogs were not kept on a leash.

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HUPAT
HUPAT

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a very pleasant hike with magnificent views.

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ajmart
ajmart

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This hike takes you to the heights of NYONS and the magnificent Provençal baronies.
There is plenty of undergrowth, which is very welcome when it is hot.
Magnificent views of Mont Ventoux and the surrounding area
This hike is more moderate than difficult: although I am prone to vertigo, I never felt dizzy when walking along the ridges.
The final climb to Garde Grosse is very steep but well worth it once you reach the top.

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Pbubu
Pbubu

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike lasting 5 hours, of moderate difficulty.
Varied and pleasant landscapes, good climbs, no orientation issues.
Tracked using the VISORANDO app's GPS.
Thanks to the author of this hike.

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Zixone
Zixone

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike from start to finish! The beginning is quite shaded once you're on the trail, which is very pleasant when it's hot. The route is varied and the landscapes on the ridge and at the top of the summit (which you have to earn with that last climb!) are worth stopping to admire. For those who have gone all the way to the top (point 10), the detour to point 12 is not worth it.
Note: it took us 5½ hours to complete the entire circuit, stopping to take some beautiful photos

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Vanessa69
Vanessa69

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant short hike that takes 5 hours.
No problems with navigation, description accurate.
two very good, steep climbs (my heart was pounding). Lovely views all along the way.
Very exposed, so I would not recommend it in hot weather, but very good in mid-season.

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Sjsim
Sjsim

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in good weather but not in intense heat.
Living near Nyons, I had no difficulty getting started.
A few pointers (if it helps).
After the tunnel, turn right and head uphill towards the tree climbing park. Walk uphill to the sharp right-hand bend (with a mirror for vehicles). After the bend, take the road that goes downhill to the left (almost opposite the entrance to the clinic). Continue along the main road uphill for 500 metres (passing a housing estate on your left). Leave the road at numbers 414-420 and follow the GR (point 2).
I have already done Garde Grosse but never via L'Essaillon.
It's very nice, but the ridge is steep in places, so take your time.
I discovered that vultures were starting to nest in the cliffs overlooking Chateauneuf de Bordette.
From the Col de la Croix, if you have the energy, climb up to Garde Grosse. Superb views!
It's a shame that the fire lookout post has been abandoned (it's even dangerous because the access is open and the slab has serious holes in it).
Experienced hikers: 5 hours

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GMGALD
GMGALD

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route in good weather, no particular difficulties. The view from the antennas at Garde Crosse is very pretty. It's a shame that the huts are in poor condition.

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zab2m
zab2m

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this hike on 1 June 2019 in beautiful weather. It was a lovely hike where we met several other hikers, including two going in the opposite direction.
Jodido's additional directions (blue gate, mirror, etc.) are helpful for §1, in addition to the GR markings. Between points 7 and 8, we continued along the ridge via the path we had arrived on to avoid going back down and then back up the Bois des Lumières path. We had a picnic near the antennas at Garde Crosse: a magnificent viewpoint. The description in §9 accurately describes how steep the descent is!

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gpg
gpg
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike with magnificent scenery. You can start from Les Rieux (point 338m on the IGN map) where there is parking along the road.
After the summit of Garde Grosse, we continued straight along the path (passing to the left of the small building). We descended and climbed back up to a summit at 875 m, then did the same for the 839 m summit and the 804 m summit, finishing with a loop (point 719 m on the IGN map) back towards Garde Grosse. The path is marked in yellow.
Then we rejoined the GR. Be careful when taking the hairpin bends, as the GR has been modified and indicates a very steep descent. Continue for another 300 m and take the path used on the way up on the left.

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gerard mounier
gerard mounier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a very beautiful walk, thank you.
No particular difficulties, we preferred to do the route in reverse and descend via the ridges, as it was easier to enjoy the views on the way down.

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luluCaps
luluCaps

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This hike can be done in any season.
The route is not very well marked and the description is not very helpful at the start...

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