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The walk starts in the village of La Frette, located along the Lyon/Grenoble road, about halfway between these two cities. Park your vehicle halfway up the hill in the church car park.
(S/E) Leave the church by going down the small road towards the plain (south) and then immediately turn left. You will arrive at theGR®65, which connects Geneva to Le Puy-en-Velay (red and white markings). Follow it by continuing along the small road that turns to the right. Very quickly, at the next crossroads, theGR® turns left to join the D1085 Lyon/Grenoble departmental road.
(1) Cross carefully as traffic travels very fast. Now walk eastwards along the edge of the plain, following the hillside, going straight ahead at each intersection.
(2) At the third intersection, leave theGR® which continues straight ahead and turn left onto Chemin de l'Église, which leads to the church of Bévenais. Pass the church to reach Chemin de Bièze, which you take to the right. The trail is marked in yellow until you reach the Notre-Dame de la Salette Chapel, with signs at major intersections. Continue along the main path until you reach the Pré Berton crossroads.
(3) Turn right, then left at the next fork (the arrow is not clearly visible). Continue straight ahead at each intersection to reach the chapel.
(4) You have now completed the first climb and will now descend to the village of Longechenal. Leave the clearing via the path opposite the one you arrived on (north). Follow the yellow markings on the trees and ignore the few markings on the ground, which are not relevant. Continue along this path, which curves sharply to the right and heads west-southwest. Make sure you keep to the left at the next five junctions.
(5) At the sixth fork, continue straight ahead, passing a first path on the right and then a second on the left, until you reach a fork. Take the left path to the Col de Mécénant.
(6) At the pass, turn right (west-northwest). Descend Combe Noire, staying on the main path until you reach the entrance to Longechenal.
(7) Turn left, follow the village street (Rue de la Paroisse) and pass the church.
(8) After the church, turn left (south) onto Rue Abel Gabert (signposted Saint-Hilaire-de-la-Côte). Suddenly, the small road becomes steeper: it is not very long, but the climb is tough.
(9) Where the road begins to curve to the left (private gate), continue straight ahead on a wide gravel path. There are no visible markings, but a little further on, you will see a seat carved out of a tree trunk on the left and, on the tree behind it, a yellow line, which is relatively hidden. In any case, the path is obvious. It turns right and then leads straight to a place called Fouinière (sign).
(10) Turn right (west-southwest) and join the D1085 at Col du Banchet.
(11) Cross with great caution as cars drive even faster than in La Frette and continue to a fork.
(12) Ignore the yellow markings telling you to turn right and descend to the left onto a small road leading to Tamusière (take the time to enjoy the view of the Vercors opposite you).
(13) The road curves to the right. Leave it and take the wide gravel path that descends to the left (east) and quickly turns south to join theGR®65. At Le Plantier, turn left and follow theGR® which runs alongside a field on your right.
(14) When the field on your right gives way to woods, leave theGR® by turning right. You will then pass in front of the south side of the Château de la Villardière (which cannot be seen fromthe GR®). On this section, take full advantage of the view: the château on your left and, on your right, the Bièvre plain, the Chambarans and the Vercors.
Once you have passed the château, you will come to the church of La Frette and its car park (S/E).
a beautiful hike with no difficulty in finding your way if you follow the Viso trail closely. However, the path is very muddy with lots of puddles, which is normal for this time of year as it is spring. This is also due to the logging, which is evident throughout the route. The chapel is very beautiful, as is the Château de la Villardière.(However, there was an icy wind on Sunday 21 March and I didn't see a single other hiker along the entire route)
Visorando member
Easy 
