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Preliminary remark: follow the description and the signs on the ground carefully. The Rhône department has made great efforts in this regard, but some sections have only been very discreetly marked. The places indicated "in quotation marks" in the description are all marked on the ground and on the maps published by the Rhône department on an IGN 1/25,000 scale background, "les vallons du Lyonnais" and "le pays de l'Arbresle".
Start from the car park of the Courzieu multi-purpose hall located on Route de la Verrière (Route de Montromant), also known as the hikers' car park.
(S/E) With your back to the car park, go up to the right and follow the signs for "Chazeau". Pass above the boules court.
(1) Turn right onto Chemin du Chazeau and follow the yellow markings. At the next crossroads, turn left.
(2) At "Chazeau", continue straight ahead. Pass a calvary on your left (there are usually greenhouses on either side of the path at this point) and at the three-way junction continue to the right.
(3) At the "le Maroge" fork, go straight ahead and keep left on theGR® marked in white and red.
(4) At a place called "Les Avergues", continue on theGR®7via the "Chemin du Pêcher". Walk along a pond and then follow the edge of the woods.
(5) Pass through "Le Futerer", cross the D25 and continue on theGR®7to "La Fromenterie".
(6) Cross the D489 with caution and continue on theGR®7towards "Les Brosses".
(7) Shortly after "Les Brosses", turn left towards Yzeron (signs are often damaged), leaving theGR®7which continues straight ahead. Reach Yzeron (yellow markings). Pass through "Le Plat" and follow the signs for "Yzeron, Plan d'eau du Ronzey" on the left. Walk around it clockwise (there are plenty of places to picnic, a picnic area at the end of the lake, and public toilets near the dyke).
(8) Leave the lake and join the main road. Start descending the road for about 150 metres.
(9) Turn left onto Chemin des Bruyères. Continue along Chemin des Pins on the right. At the bend, turn right onto a short dirt track.
(10) Join the "Chemin du Vayen" marked in yellow, which turns into a grassy path before reaching a road. Follow it carefully on the right for about 200 metres. The yellow markings then indicate a left turn.
(11) Take a barely visible path on the left, which starts before the yellow-marked cross, and follow the markings that lead to "Crêt de la Madone" via a fairly steep slope. Continue towards "Pimongon", first along a path through the woods, then along a small exposed ridge road, always following the yellow markings.
(12) Pass in front of the hamlet of St-Clair and continue along this small road which leads to the tiny
"Chapelle St-Clair".
(13) At the "Chapelle St-Clair", leave the road on your right and pay particular attention at this fork in the road. Take the path that is not very visible from the road and which passes under the chapel towards Courzieu via "La Petite Vernay" marked "fraise blanche". The narrow path first descends gently, then joins a good path that runs flat to the right. Follow it to "La Grande Vernay".
(14) At this crossroads, take the path that descends to the left towards Lafont, and immediately a few metres further on at the fork, take the right-hand branch "Madame Moutot", which you should follow to the top of "Lafont" where an orientation table offers an exceptional 180° view.
(15) Reach the hamlet of Lafont then Courzieu via the "strawberry route", follow the markings carefully, cross the road by making a first turn right then left, and reach the three-way junction with a calvary. Follow the right-hand branch and reach a small hamlet. Pass a first house then a small square building right on the edge of the road.
(16) Immediately afterwards, leave the road and take the narrow path that passes between the last two houses in the hamlet. The house on the right has a staircase at the front and the house on the left has a truncated roof. Head towards Courzieu and the car park, which is clearly visible. Turn left onto Chemin de la Croix Rousse, then Route de Malval, Rue du 8 Mars 1962 on the right, Monument aux Morts, and finally Route de Montromant (also known as Route de la Verrière). You will reach the car park of the multi-purpose hall (S/E).
. For example, we turned off too early before point 7 towards Yzeron. We passed under the Pilon farm and then descended through a north-east facing valley to the top of Lake Ronzey. From there, there is a beautiful view of the lake, Yzeron and the Alps. We "caught up" with the route by passing through Monterou. Furthermore, from the description, we understood that the Chapel of Saint Clair was at point 11, but the Chapel of Saint Clair is at point 12. From this point onwards, following the white strawberry trail without GPS, it becomes difficult to find your way. That is why, at the "La Vernay" signpost, in front of an old restored house, we headed towards Yzeron (passing through "Le Grand Bietto" if you look at the map). This route is quite isolated and wild and takes you through a north-west facing valley to the remains of the Brévenne aqueduct.
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