Cheiron Mountain

de fr

Superb hike along a long ridge with endless views across the entire department.
The hike is quite long but can be extended for the more athletic by passing through Coursegoules or even Bézaudin.
The luckiest hikers will catch a glimpse of Corsica in good weather.
It is common to see chamois and marmots.
The return via Vespluis and Les Miroirs (no difficulty) allows you to admire the entire ridge and the south-facing slope of this mountain in pastoral tranquillity.

Details

n°141154
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 21.22 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 9h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,275 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,274 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,773 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 839 m
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

East Ridge
West Ridge
Rocks
Cross

Description of the walk

Departure from Gréolières, marker 30 along the D2 at the eastern entrance to the village.

Take theGR®4towards the Cime du Cheiron.
The path passes by the ruins of Hautes Gréolères. Old buildings, ancient castle, Sainte-Pétronille chapel.
Climb up to marker 193.

(1) Turn left (west) and continue towards Cime du Cheiron. The path passes easily through the Barres du Cheiron and takes you to a rocky mound topped with two crosses (one wooden and one smaller iron cross). If you are sure-footed, you can easily climb the rocky outcrop.
TheGR®4then takes you to the small pass of Barri (marker 194)

(2). Leave theGR®4and turn right (east) onto the path towards the Cime de Cheiron. From this point, follow the yellow markings, which are not always visible. Fortunately, cairns help you to find your way. Between the cairns and the yellow markings, the path is still fairly easy to follow. A huge monolithic cairn invites you to correct your direction towards the north, then the path reorients itself towards the east and the summit.

(3) The Cime du Cheiron (1,778 m) consists of two mounds, one topped with an antenna and the other with an orientation table. This is the highest point of the hike, and the view is fantastic.
To the north, you can admire all the peaks of the Mercantour and even those of Italy (Argentera is clearly visible). To the south is the coast, where the blue of the sea and sky merge. The southern slope with its spectacular rocks is worth a look. To the east, like a roller coaster, is the ridge that we will follow.

It goes up and down constantly, even though the overall gradient slopes gently as you progress eastwards. You climb 7 or 8 peaks, including the Cime de Jérusalem (4) (1,768 m) and the Croix de Verse (5) (1,706 m). It should be noted, however, that the climbs are not very difficult, so the route is fairly easy to follow.
The route is marked in yellow (traces that are easy to lose) and cairns, but the direction along the ridge is so obvious that it is impossible to get lost. You can even venture onto the rocky slopes to admire the descents into the Adret du Cheiron. The yellow markings are easy to find as they are kept at a distance from the edge of the ridge.

From bumps to grassy hollows, the yellow markings and cairns lead to marker 147 and immediately to double marker 146

(6). Leave the ridge and descend to the right towards the village of Coursegoules via 26 hairpin bends to marker 13a.

(7) Turn right towards the west, in the direction of Gréolières, for a fairly flat or even downhill return. A wide track leads back to the start.

(8) Be careful not to be tempted to descend towards Saint-Pons. (Otherwise, you would have to climb back up to marker 179). So stay on the wide track.

(9) At Font Roubaud, find the yellow markings and follow them to marker 192.

(10). Descend to the left towards Gréolières via Clos d'Antony. The path leads back to the starting point (marker 30).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 844 m - Gréolières, along the D2 at the eastern entrance.
  2. 1 : km 1.28 - alt. 1,087 m - Marker 193, turn left.
  3. 2 : km 3.35 - alt. 1,381 m - Marker 194, turn right.
  4. 3 : km 6.11 - alt. 1,773 m - Cime du Cheiron (1778m)
  5. 4 : km 7.53 - alt. 1,764 m - Summit - Jérusalem
  6. 5 : km 8.88 - alt. 1,695 m - Croix de Verse
  7. 6 : km 11.53 - alt. 1,411 m - Marker 146, turn right.
  8. 7 : km 13.18 - alt. 1,169 m - Marker 13a, turn right. Near the spring of La - Cagne (fleuve)
  9. 8 : km 15.75 - alt. 1,062 m - Stay on the trail. Near the source of the - Ganière (rivière)
  10. 9 : km 17.3 - alt. 1,088 m - Fond Roubaud continue straight ahead
  11. 10 : km 18.98 - alt. 1,162 m - Marker 192, turn left.
  12. S/E : km 21.22 - alt. 842 m - Gréolières, along the D2 at the eastern entrance.

Notes

In summer, the sun will be your number one enemy (hat, sunglasses, water, water and more water).

Worth a visit

Les Hautes Gréolières (castle ruins). Les Hautes Gréolières
La Font de Mouis (spring).
The Saint-Michel Chapel near marker 13a.

 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
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 10 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
kikicobra65
kikicobra65

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An exceptional day starting from Greoliere.
It was very windy at the summit, so you had to be well equipped because the temperature was 3 degrees at the start.
The view from the ridge is breathtaking. The route is fairly well marked, although I did lose the trail a few times. Thanks to the trail on Visorando, it's very easy to find your way.
The return trip is a bit tedious and less interesting, but the walk is still very pleasant.
The descents are quite technical and a little hard on the joints.

Machine-translated

SAOUPE
SAOUPE

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike on Cheiron Mountain.
Two points to note:

  • the trail is sometimes difficult to follow. Stick to the yellow trail, which is safer and will prevent you from ending up in areas that are difficult to access.
  • The hike is a bit long. The ridges look very similar and the return trip is tedious.

That said, the landscape at the top of Cheiron is breathtaking and the pastoral calm is impressive.
In summer, bring PLENTY of water and... sunscreen.
Thank you to the designer for their work.

Machine-translated

Muriel Mu
Muriel Mu

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike with magnificent scenery. Very well marked at the beginning, but towards the end there are a few signs missing. Fortunately, we had the route on our watch.

Machine-translated

Sticot
Sticot

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike along the Cheiron ridges in autumn!
Thanks to the author for this route.
The hike is not technically difficult, and the path is easy to follow throughout.
Photos of the hike https://www.instagram.com/p/CK1nH4RADX8/

Machine-translated

AntoineBM
AntoineBM

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike completed in early March. Magnificent views throughout the route along the ridge and a very pleasant return route. Personal ratings: 22km, 1215D+, 6 hours 15 minutes of walking (excluding lunch break), according to SityTrail. Thanks for the guide! For the more motivated, it is possible to extend the hike a little: https://www.altituderando.com/Le-Cheiron...

Machine-translated

ntcrando
ntcrando

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 19, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I didn't complete the entire route; I stopped at marker 194 because it was a continuation of a hike. I will complete the entire route in the spring.
The information sheet is very detailed.
Thank you very much.

Machine-translated

pilouno
pilouno
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 06, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, especially if you enjoy the aerial view from the ridges (and aren't too bothered by the sight of antennas and ski lifts). The view of all the peaks in the hinterland and the coast is magnificent. It's hard to watch where you're putting your feet!
There's not much shade along the route, so if you're as daft as me and plan to do this hike in the middle of summer, make sure you take plenty of water (I only took 6 litres, which wasn't quite enough!) and sun cream.

A quick tip for the descent: as the yellow trail on the ridge is not very well marked, I quickly became afraid of missing the descent trail, which I thought would also be difficult to see (this has happened to me before)... Don't worry: this descent trail can be seen from miles away, it's like a sword cut into the mountain.

It should also be noted that on the way back, following the yellow markings, there is a passage through the undergrowth off the dirt track. Staying on the dirt track leads to a dead end (small clarification for point 7 of the guidebook).
Please note that the route on the website map is correct, but the one in the PDF is not (for the return between hill 1068 and Font Roubaud).

Machine-translated

dfmvjf
dfmvjf

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I preferred to do this route in reverse. Start below the chapel. Leave your car at the first ruins, in the first hairpin bend above the village. Starting altitude 887m. It is better to turn off after the first kilometre at marker 193, to the right, to avoid the 891m climb, which is tough early in the morning, to the summit of Cheiron. A long, pleasant and easy path (7km) through the broom bushes is a good way to warm up before the difficult parts. The chamois are not very shy, and it is common to encounter them here along with roe deer and does at the right time of day. The ridge trail is magnificent all the way to "Jérusalem" from the pass above Coursegoules (B146); the climb to this pass is along a very beautiful path. The route is not particularly interesting after that, given the very "ski resort" atmosphere with its chairlift pylons, until you reach the summit of Cheiron. Avoid going over the summits from "Jérusalem" by staying a little below them, cutting across the right flank and keeping roughly the same level. There are good cairn markings on the descent and a well-marked and signposted path to a huge pyramid cairn. The path is very easy and pleasant to the B194 (small pass). The rest of the route is exhausting and seemingly endless until you reach the village of Gréolières, on a narrow and stony GR trail (there are a few shortcuts to avoid the countless hairpin bends).
Personal rating: difficult minus (difficult depending on the direction of the route and your level) - 7 hours 37 minutes including a 40-minute break for lunch - 1,214 metres of elevation gain (the same for the descent) - 21.7 kilometres (Sunnto Ambit).
A good test run for medium-altitude mountains. I recommend it.

Machine-translated

mharand
mharand

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It was a bit tricky to find the yellow markings among all the rocks to turn off at the right moment to finish the climb up Mount Cheiron.
A superb hike, but one to avoid in foggy weather – which is what happened to us after the summit along the ridge line – as visibility is limited and orientation is not always easy. Fortunately, we had a GPS!

Machine-translated

Comte de Nice
Comte de Nice

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This is a route I know well. I had done it starting from Gréolières, going to Cheiron and returning by the same route.

This time, on 23/09/2015, I did a route starting from Gréolières les Neiges marker 195. I went up to 194, then took the ridge path that the CD has marked out, which wasn't the case before. Be careful with the cairns up to Cheiron; the young markers are reliable, but if you're using cairns, choose the biggest ones! From Cheiron, the descent is a little fast, then I climbed back up to the point before Jérusalem, then a steeper descent towards Croix de Verse. Halfway, just before the climb, there is a small path at the bottom of the valley towards Plan des Baumettes, which leads to the path connecting Gréolières les Neiges and Coursegoules.
After that, it's an easy path. Go around the village via 208, 211, 196 and you'll find your car at 195.
A beautiful route.
It's always windy on the ridge, so wrap up warm and if you see the mist rising... run downhill!

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Walking Cheiron Peak

Association / Club / Walk leader
Cime du Cheiron
↔13.56 km ↗+663 m ↘-663 m ◔5h 45 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Gréolières (Alpes-Maritimes)
Cime du Cheiron via a trail that is little known to walkers. This trail has been cleared by our club and marked with cairns. Moderator's note description from 2013; the situation on the ground seems to have changed with regard to the cairns marking certain sections. See reviews. GPS or Visorando app useful.

Walking Peony Route from Gréolières-les-Neiges Resort

Visorando member
Circuit des Pivoines depuis la Sation de Gréolières-les-Neiges
↔7.85 km ↗+205 m ↘-205 m ◔2h 50 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Gréolières (Alpes-Maritimes)
This is a short hike to do between late April and mid-June to admire the peonies in bloom. Much of the route is in the woods, so it stays cool even in hot weather. This mid-mountain walk is a great way to enjoy the area outside of the ski season.

Walking Circular Cipières starting from Bramafan

Visorando member
↔8.98 km ↗+301 m ↘-309 m ◔3h 25 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Courmes (Alpes-Maritimes)
Starting from Bramafan, the trail climbs under the pine and beech trees on the cool, quiet north-facing slope. The mossy ground absorbs your footsteps, and the air smells of resin and damp earth. Between two pale rocks, the view opens up onto the Loup valley and the Cheiron ridges. Gradually, the forest thins out and olive trees herald Cipières, perched on its luminous spur, after a leisurely walk of about ten kilometres. The descent to the river is calm and the path sometimes enigmatic, but you'll get there. Return via the Canal de Foulon.

Walking The ridge and the edge of the Calern Plateau

Visorando member
Le crête et le contour du Plateau de Calern
↔16.45 km ↗+435 m ↘-439 m ◔5h 55 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Caussols (Alpes-Maritimes)
After learning about the work carried out by the Calern Astronomical Observatory, this hike takes you along one of the longest ridges in the region, offering magnificent panoramic views of the karst plateau, the Caussols plain, the middle country and the Mercantour.

Walking Calern plateau, discovery of huts and dry stone enclosures

Visorando member
Plateau de Calern, découverte des cabanes et enclos en pierres sèches
↔6.53 km ↗+73 m ↘-75 m ◔2h 05 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Caussols (Alpes-Maritimes)
The Calern plateau above Caussols is extraordinary for its botanical diversity, karstic relief, sinkholes, karstic caves and collapses. This hike reveals an agricultural heritage of cleared sinkholes, dry stone enclosures and huts, and piles of stones that decorate the landscape. In May, the dew adds a touch of magic to the wild orchids, ball thyme and budding lavender.

Walking Le Haut Montet

Visorando member
Le Haut Montet
↔13.23 km ↗+303 m ↘-311 m ◔4h 40 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Caussols (Alpes-Maritimes)
A beautiful circular starting from Caussols, which first leads to the summit of Montet and then to that of Haut Montet. Magnificent and varied landscapes, exceptional views.

Walking The Grand Près de Caussols tour

Visorando member
Le tour des Grand Près de Caussols
↔13.29 km ↗+291 m ↘-300 m ◔4h 40 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Caussols (Alpes-Maritimes)
This unusual route for the region will take you past limestone rocks sculpted by erosion, including a cave chapel which you can visit. You will pass through the facilities of the Côte d'Azur Astronomical Observatory. This loop will then take you on a journey through 2,000 years of history along a Roman road through the woods. The final section, through stone enclosures and old sheepfolds, bears witness to a pastoral past.

Walking Notre-Dame de Calern

Visorando member
Notre-Dame de Calern
↔3.94 km ↗+219 m ↘-220 m ◔1h 45 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Caussols (Alpes-Maritimes)
Notre-Dame de Calern, the cave chapel overlooking the small village of Caussols, leaves no one indifferent. Located on the southern slope of the Calern plateau, this place of devotion and fervour is the site of an annual pilgrimage on 15 August.

For more walks, use our search engine .

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