Along the sunken paths around Locronan

Like the troménie ("troménie" is a French adaptation of the Breton tro-minihi, literally tour - tro - du minihi, derived from the Latin monachia - monastic space in the early Middle Ages), this route will take you around Locronan. You will mainly follow old sunken paths and discover beautiful granite farmhouses. Near the end of your route, a high point will offer you a view of the Bay of Douarnenez.

Details

503560
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.00 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 191 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 192 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 230 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 79 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) With your back to the car park with a cross, take the road opposite lined with two car parks and turn right onto the first path. At the first crossroads, turn right and continue along this path between two car parks.

GR®® 38 White and Red markings

Cross Rue du Prieuré and take the path slightly to the right of the stone pillars marking the entrance to a property. Cross the road (take care) and continue straight ahead. At the junction with a dirt track, turn left and follow it to the Chapelle de Bonne Nouvelle.

PR®® Yellow markings (in the opposite direction of the route and not very visible)

(1) Go around the fountain and wash house on the right and continue downhill. Cross the D63 (caution) and continue straight ahead, despite the yellow cross, along the path lined with tree-lined embankments. Turn left then right and reach a T-junction (view of the bell tower of Plonévez-Porzay).

(2) Turn right and follow the wide track leading to the water treatment plant (pretty little cross on the right).

At the road, turn left, pass an old farmhouse, partly in ruins (beautiful stones), and go up to the next path on the right marked by a calvary (Croaz Troyout). Turn right and take the first path on the right (marker post).

Follow this sunken lane, which passes a beautiful lodge (Gîtes de France) and its lake at Kervellic. Continue along the road that leads to the D63 and take the roundabout on the right. Go around the roundabout on the right.

(3) At the roundabout exit towards Quimper, go up opposite via a grassy path which continues along a street. Turn left into the first street, between numbers 6 and 4. It continues along a path which crosses the D7 (take care). Follow it opposite, crossing the hamlet of Styvel. Note the beautiful granite houses.

At the three-way junction (signposted Ty Nevez Leustec - Leustec), continue along the road which leads to a crossroads marked by a cross (Croaz Ruz).

(4) Turn onto the path on the right and follow it to pass the hamlet of Le Créac'h.

(5) Turn left to make a small circular loop of about 800m. Go down the small road and, at house number 916 on the left, turn right and cross the courtyard of an old mill. Continue along a relatively steep path to climb back up into a wooded area and rejoin the small road.

(5) Follow it to the left and continue despite the yellow cross until you reach Kervarvarn farm.

(6) Turn right onto a sunken lane. Follow it until you reach a major crossroads. Turn right and follow this path, which leads to a small road. Turn left and pass close to a place called Le Ménec. Continue until you reach a roundabout, then go around it on the right.

(7) Take the beginning of the uphill road (sign for Locronan on the right) and then turn left twice. Pass a small fountain below the road on the left, marked by a small stream flowing from it, and arrive at a small roundabout (wash house on the right). Continue straight ahead and climb 56 concrete steps to reach an old well on Rue de Châteaulin (bench on the right).
Turn left and follow this street via the pedestrian crossing. Pass the police station on your left below.

(8) Turn into the first street on the right, Rue des Ajoncs. Go straight up to the end and continue to the right via a pedestrian crossing to reach Rue de la Troménie, which you follow downhill to the right for about ten metres. Turn left into the campsite entrance and start a steep climb up the path that goes around it on the left. Stay on the path that runs alongside the campsite and ignore a path slightly to the left.

Mountain bike trail markers 7-8

(9) Facing a large tree under which you pass, leave theGR®® and take a wide stony path on the left called "Chemin des Carriers". Follow this path straight uphill to the top, where you will have a view of Cap de la Chèvre on the Crozon Peninsula to your right and the port of Douarnenez to your left. You are now at the highest point of the hike. Descend to a small road and take it to the right for about 100 metres.

GR®® 38 White and Red markings

At a bench, turn left and you will come to a crossroads.

(10) Turn right onto the path that runs alongside the Gorréquer property (barrier at the start). Go down this alley called "Leur Ar Person". Notice a beautiful stone structure with a small cross on the embankment on your right.

Off the trail

Ignore the first street on the right and take the next one on the right to reach Rue Saint-Maurice, which you will follow downhill to the left towards Saint-Ronan Church and the central square with its well.
Cross it and take the Venelle de Toul Prichen on the left, near the "Maison des 100 bières", which goes around the school on the right. At the intersection, turn left into the Venelle Bonne Nouvelle, which leads to Rue du Prieuré near the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 154 m - Parking at the entrance to Locronan.
  2. 1 : km 0.65 - alt. 120 m - Chapelle de la Bonne Nouvelle
  3. 2 : km 1.38 - alt. 86 m - T-junction
  4. 3 : km 2.95 - alt. 104 m - Grassy path going uphill
  5. 4 : km 4.1 - alt. 115 m - On the right, Croaz Ruz
  6. 5 : km 4.68 - alt. 120 m - Crossroads of the circular
  7. 6 : km 5.74 - alt. 127 m - Sunken path on the right
  8. 7 : km 6.9 - alt. 127 m - Uphill road
  9. 8 : km 7.55 - alt. 153 m - On the right, Rue des Ajoncs
  10. 9 : km 8.27 - alt. 211 m - Quarrymen's Path
  11. 10 : km 9.03 - alt. 174 m - Barrier
  12. S/E : km 9.99 - alt. 154 m - Parking at the entrance to Locronan.

Notes

Since 2025, parking in Locronan has been subject to a charge: €5 all year round.

Water fountain and toilets in the car park.
In summer, there is a charge for parking: the badge purchased is valid for the entire season.
It gets very busy in summer.

In some places, there are also blue markings, which I have not indicated as they are very sporadic on this route.
There are frequent changes of direction, so refer regularly to the map and description.

A map provided by the Tourist Office may be useful for the start and end of the route, or if you wish to extend your visit with a more in-depth tour of this charming little town.

Worth a visit

Locronan
Saint-Ronan Church
Bonne Nouvelle Chapel

Built heritage: beautiful granite farmhouses.
Sunken lanes lined with old, gnarled trees

 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.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for your review.
I forgot to mention that since 2025, parking is now paid in Locronan.
I will add that information.
Enjoy your walks.

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User 12033972

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike on 6 December 2025.
It is 1:30 p.m. The weather is grey and mild, with a little drizzle at the end of the route.
A dozen cars in a huge car park, which costs €5 to use.
Paper maps and GPS.
We take the paths of the "Grande Tromenie", then we veer off them.
The five of us have unintentionally left out the circular. It's too late to retrace our steps.
Some hesitation on the Kerjacob route. The description was clear, however.
A beautiful arrival in Locronan via points 10 and 9.
When we arrived in Locronan, there was not a soul in sight. The streets were empty, as was the square. We had Locronan all to ourselves...
A beautiful autumn hike.
4:30 p.m. We returned to the car park, which was just as empty as when we left.

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Ariane81
Ariane81

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike sheltered from the sun, which was made "painful" by the scorching heat. The walk along the sunken paths was like an adventure for the children, who found a thousand games to play along the way.
We had trouble finding the starting point. The description of the stone pillars helped us a lot. You have to pass between this property and the motorhome car park.
After point 2, we couldn't find the path on the right with the marker post. There was a small hole, but it looked more like a path for animals. We arrived at the D63 road. So we continued straight on to reach point 4.
There was no view when we took the path up to point 9: the trees were too tall... What a shame.
Thank you for your hiking suggestion.

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for all these details, which will enable me to refine the description.
I always welcome an outside perspective, as everyone sees things differently and the terrain is constantly changing.

I'm joking a little about the advertising billboard because in my first version, I had mentioned the advertisement displayed and a hiker replied (not very constructively) that it was no longer that advertisement.
That's why I wrote "advertising billboard" instead, which has now been removed.

Enjoy your hike in Locronan, where there are some beautiful trails.

Best regards

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Jean-Pierre29
Jean-Pierre29
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Hello,

I thoroughly enjoyed this hike this afternoon.

Here are a few corrections that may need to be made to the description:
Point 3: I recommend that "Near a billboard" be deleted (it no longer exists) and replaced with the phrase "At the exit of the roundabout in the direction of Quimper".
It would also be useful to replace "(house no. 2 guest house)" with "(between nos. 6 and 4)". There is no sign indicating a guest house.
Point 5: It would be more accurate to replace "after no. 839" with "at no. 916". This is only a suggestion.
Point 7: There are not "about 40 steps made of old wooden beams" but "56 concrete steps". Yes, yes, I counted them. Okay, I admit I enjoyed myself. You laugh at what you can!
Point 10: I managed thanks to the Visorando app. I recommend adding "Turn left onto a very narrow path.
Take the first right and arrive, etc."

Thank you for this wonderful discovery, which will enable me to lead a group very soon.

Best regards

Jean-Pierre

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catdes
catdes

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful village

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for your comment.
The reason is very simple: I suggested several routes of Locronan that passed by the Manoir de Kerguénolé.
For this one, I wanted to find other alternatives.

Kind regards.

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Erikarine
Erikarine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful route around Locronan. Excellent description.
The only downside was that we stayed on the GR to go to the Manoir de Kerguenolé. It seems a shame to miss out on it (but perhaps there is a reason).

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heinrich Daniel
heinrich Daniel

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

The route is well shaded. Old buildings and pretty countryside. Thankfully there is a topographical map. Without it, the hike would not be easy. There are often no signs for the route. It is no longer very popular. Thank you for your Viso Rando website. We will call on you if necessary. Thank you

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chogui
chogui

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

For me, one of the most beautiful walks in this part of Brittany!
The sunken paths are absolutely beautiful.
As are the hamlets you pass through.
Well done to Mr. FLOCH for describing the route....
Impossible to get lost...
To be repeated every season.

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Sorry about this advert, which changed without my knowledge.

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jfyomalolo
jfyomalolo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

description not always easy to follow error on the billboard it is not an advert for Super U but for a real estate agency

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maryvonne yautier
maryvonne yautier

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A beautiful hike through the woods with lovely views of Porzay, not to mention the pretty Bonne Nouvelle chapel and a visit to Locronan.

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