Climb to the Pic d'Arradoy through the vineyards

de fr

You will discover an oak forest and pass through the Irouleguy vineyard with a panoramic view of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and its surroundings.
A very pleasant hike that will take you to the Pic de l'Arradoy. The small flower-lined path leading up to it is very pleasant before entering the damp, cool forest. Very pleasant in spring and summer as the hike is mostly shaded.

Details

n°627920
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.00 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 494 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 494 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 659 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 165 m
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

View from the Arradoy forest
Orientation table
At point 2
View from the Pic d'Arradoy and its pretty forest

Description of the walk

Start at the Hartzubiko Erreka stream. You can park here without causing any obstruction.
(S/E) Follow the road up to the hamlet of Mendiondoa (north).

(1) Before reaching this hamlet, turn left onto the path and follow it as it winds upwards.

(2) At the three-way junction, continue uphill to the right. You will arrive at the start of the pretty Pic de l'Arradoy trail and can see the Basque Mountains in front of you thanks to the orientation table.

(3) Climb up to the peak via the path on the right towards the north-east.

(4) Go straight ahead at this fork and start climbing through the pretty forest of Pic d'Arradoy via the Chemin du Génie (shaded) until you reach the highest point, Pic d'Arradoy and its rock.

(5) Descend via the opposite slope along the Chemin du Génie.

(6) Before a hairpin bend, leave the path by turning right onto a small shortcut trail.

(7) You will arrive at a path, turn left and continue straight ahead.

(8) Cross the small road and continue straight ahead. Follow the small path that cuts across the hairpin bends and joins the road below, which you follow downhill.

(9) Turn right, go down the road that passes through Harginaeneko Borda and continue to the D22. Follow this road to the right, cross the hamlet of Benta and pass over the Hartzubiko Erreka river

(10) After the place called Zabaltza, turn right, follow the road, pass the cemetery on this communal road3.

(11) Take the second road on your right, cross the village of Elgea and you have arrived (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 165 m - At the edge of the Hartzubiko Erreka stream
  2. 1 : km 0.26 - alt. 183 m - On the left before the hamlet of Mendiondoa
  3. 2 : km 1.73 - alt. 371 m - Turn right at the three-way junction
  4. 3 : km 2.47 - alt. 463 m - Orientation table - Climb to the right
  5. 4 : km 3.23 - alt. 535 m - Directions to Pic d'Arradoy
  6. 5 : km 3.73 - alt. 651 m - Pic d'Arradoy
  7. 6 : km 4.27 - alt. 582 m - Shortcut trail on the right
  8. 7 : km 4.58 - alt. 522 m - Turn left at the path
  9. 8 : km 5.1 - alt. 456 m - When you reach the road, go straight ahead
  10. 9 : km 5.96 - alt. 304 m - Turn right and follow the path downhill
  11. 10 : km 8.63 - alt. 183 m - Communal road 3
  12. 11 : km 9.48 - alt. 177 m - Turn right towards Elgea and Apatea
  13. S/E : km 10 - alt. 165 m - At the edge of the Hartzubiko Erreka stream

Notes

There are no water sources on the trail.
High hiking boots are not necessary; we wore trail shoes with small crampons, as the Chemin du Génie after the peak is damp in all seasons.

In hot weather, you will need one litre of water per person and a hat to cover your head. The picnic at the top of the peak can be very pleasant as it is shaded.

In cold weather, bring warm, breathable clothing for the climb through the forest to reach the Pic d'Arradoy, as the forest is beautiful but damp.

Worth a visit

The flora is varied. We saw some beautiful flowers in June.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 32 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
titouberg
titouberg

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with a view of St Jean Pied de Port before tackling the final part of the climb to the peak. It's a shame that the last third of this hike is on the road. The path is mostly shaded and presents no particular difficulties.

Machine-translated

User 27653607

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, fairly easy hike, making it suitable for families.
Many sections pass through woodland, providing shade when it is very hot.
At point 5, we preferred to take the direct track to the summit (an 800 m fairly steep climb) so that we could descend via the gentler track.
At the summit, as it was foggy (rainy day), we didn't see much, but it must be very pretty!
We recommend this hike.

Machine-translated

User 27095363

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A pleasant hike, even though a significant portion is on a paved road. However, this road is very quiet.

Machine-translated

locheness
locheness

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Short family hike. For a first warm-up around St Jean Pied de Port. Completed in 3 hours and 50 minutes.

Machine-translated

PMO
PMO

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Return to busy road at the end

Machine-translated

Rando du mardi ou jeudi
Rando du mardi ou jeudi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Quite a pleasant route. The climb is enjoyable. A bit of tarmac at the end

Machine-translated

macal95
macal95

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Easy hike, beautiful views on the way up.
it's a shame that you can't see the 360° view from the top because the trees have grown... but we're not going to cut them down... So we take a break for a snack and set off again at a leisurely pace.
Having the route mapped out really helped me from points 7, 8 and 9 until we got back to the road.

Machine-translated

Sev79
Sev79

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. Nice climb! And lots of welcome shade when it's hot. Thank you for this easy-to-follow route with the information and by following the trail on Visiorando.

Machine-translated

annette aupy
annette aupy

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

pleasant route, some sections not very well signposted

Machine-translated

labdu40
labdu40

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

here is some additional information. Point 2: there is no (or no longer) an orientation table. There is simply a narrow grassy path that climbs steeply to the right, leaving the winding path that continues opposite. At this point, there is a gate in the ground to prevent cows from going any further, and a small sign on the right indicating the direction of Pic d'Arradoy. Follow this grassy path to Pic d'Arradoy. At a crossroads when you reach a small plateau, continue climbing straight ahead, do not take the path on the right.

Between points 8 (ok) and 9 (problem), there are no signs indicating the way down "the path that passes through Harginaeneko Borda" - the rest is fine. To reach the D 22, we took a detour of about 2 km, maybe a little less, as we took the wrong path downhill, which made us realise our mistake!

Machine-translated

DdRr
DdRr

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike, not too difficult, including the climb to the peak.
Be careful, the starting point is difficult to find because the orientation table indicated at the beginning of the road is not signposted anywhere else. As soon as you see the sign for the peak
for Arradoy, follow that direction.
Don't lose patience, as the journey along the paved road is quite long before you reach the car park and the orientation table.

Machine-translated

denis83
denis83

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Great

Machine-translated

Jomaclic J.
Jomaclic J.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a lovely route with views of the vineyards of Irouleguy. It will be even more beautiful in autumn with all the colours.

Machine-translated

Ariane81
Ariane81

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with a steep climb. Long live the Pyrenees... Make sure you enjoy the view on the way up, as you can't see anything from the top because of the trees. After Borda (mentioned in point 9), we turned right to shorten the route. Then we sang, and the children walked. Thank you for this suggestion

Machine-translated

AnneS74
AnneS74

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route was unreliable, and we had to turn back twice, adding an extra 3 km to an already difficult uphill journey.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Walking The Arradoi circular via the Génie path starting from Ispoure

Visorando member
L'Arradoi en boucle par le chemin du Génie au départ d'Ispoure
↔11.71 km ↗+571 m ↘-569 m ◔5h 00 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Ispoure (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
A lovely walk that takes you through a variety of landscapes, including open tracks, forest, pastures and, finally, vineyards.

Walking The "bottle" doors of Basse-Navarre

Visorando member
↔17.41 km ↗+762 m ↘-763 m ◔7h 10 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
A hike around Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to discover a unique feature of Basque architecture in this part of Navarre, then share a "piece of the journey" with pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

Walking Donibane Garazi, the pilgrims' stopover

Visorando member
↔2.82 km ↗+75 m ↘-68 m ◔1h 00 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
Even if you are not a pilgrim on your way to Compostela, you will enjoy this pretty little tourist town in Lower Navarre, built on the banks of the Nive de Béhérobie. Let me give you a little guided tour.

Walking From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles

Visorando member
De Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port à Roncevaux
↔24.91 km ↗+1,335 m ↘-547 m ◔10h 55 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
The forty-sixth stage of the Camino de Santiago. A physically demanding stage, featuring the ascent of the Pyrenees, splendid views of the surrounding Basque Country if the weather permits, free-roaming herds, a sense of being high up, and the excitement of crossing into Spain. After a long, steep descent, you arrive at the Monastery of Roncesvalles. Given the altitude of the finish point and the cool temperatures, I preferred the monastery dormitory to camping. From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a whole new journey begins. The landscapes are no longer the same, nor are the pilgrims. From here on, there are ten times as many people on the paths. Very few French people and lots of Koreans, Australians, Americans, Filipinos and, of course, Spaniards. From here on, you have to speak Spanish or English or use Google Translate. But you always manage to make yourself understood and get by. That’s the magic of the Camino de Santiago.

Walking At the gateway to Spain: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Visorando member
À la porte de l'Espagne : Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
↔4.22 km ↗+92 m ↘-92 m ◔1h 30 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
Step back in time as you discover a unique heritage, walking along centuries-old cobblestones and enjoying the view of the Pyrenees – this is how you’ll discover the authentic town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I visited this town at the end of the final French stage of my Camino de Santiago, after 47 days of walking.

Walking From Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port to Bidarray

Visorando member
↔22.09 km ↗+533 m ↘-622 m ◔7h 50 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
A beautiful stage in the Pyrenean foothills along country lanes.

Walking The Artxuita Dolmen

Association / Club / Walk leader
Le Dolmen d'Artxuita
↔6.88 km ↗+256 m ↘-260 m ◔2h 40 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Ascarat (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
This route is also known as Elurti. It allows you to discover the Artxuita dolmen from the village of Ascarat.

Walking The Munhoa loop from Lasse

Visorando member
Le Munhoa en boucle depuis Lasse
↔14.18 km ↗+828 m ↘-828 m ◔6h 25 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Lasse (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
The Muhnoa is a magnificent 360° viewpoint. Most of the climb is on a gentle slope of about 10%. The last 1,400 metres become more difficult, but the reward is at the end.

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.