Short loop around the Granzon stream

The Granzon stream canyon is a magical place that tour operators won't take you to. Go there, but don't tell anyone... The return route is via the plateau and a small road. Those allergic to tarmac may prefer to do a round trip.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.15 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 180 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 172 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 285 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 149 m

Photos

Description of the walk

On the D 901 coming from Les Vans towards Saint-Paul-le-Jeune, park on the right just after the Pont du Granzon bridge next to the Resistance monument.

(S/E) Take the straight path that heads west from the monument towards the mountain until you reach the first crossroads.

(1) Take the path on the right that climbs up to Mas du Granzon. Cross the submersible bridge over the Granzon, leave the entrance to the property on your left to reach the start of a discovery trail on the left.

(2) Follow this path to the left without entering the property, gradually approaching the bed of the Granzon stream.

(3) Pass to the left and close to the Résurgence de la Grille. The path then descends almost into the stream bed, heads north, crosses the stream and follows a series of meanders to the west on the right bank. After the Fontaine du Vedel, continue along the stream bed until you cross the GR® 44A (clearly marked in red and white).

(4) Take the GR® on the right uphill. Reach an olive grove on the left and continue to the road. Leave the GR®.

(5) Follow the road to the right and continue to a crossroads with a triangular traffic island (elevation 259).

(6) Take the road on the right downhill at the start. Continue along it after passing a few houses until you reach a large three-way junction (on the map, a cross is marked on the left, but only the base remains, looking like a slightly leaning menhir).

(7) Turn onto the wide path on the right that leads back to Mas du Granzon.

(2) Take the same path back in the opposite direction until you reach the Resistance monument (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 149 m - Monument to the Resistance
  2. 1 : km 0.47 - alt. 164 m - Carrefour de l'Oulette
  3. 2 : km 1.35 - alt. 190 m - Mas du Grazon discovery trail
  4. 3 : km 1.66 - alt. 172 m - Resurgence of the Grille
  5. 4 : km 4.08 - alt. 199 m - Crossing with the GR® 44A
  6. 5 : km 4.75 - alt. 284 m - Le Gras
  7. 6 : km 6.15 - alt. 259 m - Triangular embankment
  8. 7 : km 7.3 - alt. 207 m - Three-way junction with the base of an old cross
  9. S/E : km 9.15 - alt. 149 m - Monument to the Resistance

Notes

Do not do this hike in hot weather, especially in summer.

Do not do this hike in wet weather or after heavy rain, especially during Cévennes storms.

Bring water with you, as despite the springs, you cannot count on finding drinking water along the route.

Wear good shoes, as there are stony paths and the smooth limestone slabs of the Ruisseau du Granzon can be slippery.

Worth a visit

In the Granzon canyon, you can linger at the springs mentioned on the IGN map, and even discover others. This will significantly increase the duration of the hike. In very dry weather (such as on 5 March 2019), it is possible to descend via a steep staircase (caution!) in the Résurgence de la Grille. At the bottom of the canyon, you need to go a little off the route to the right to approach the Fontaine du Vedel (visible from the path) and observe the old structures.

A little before the bottom of the canyon, other structures are still clearly visible to the left of the trail on the right bank of the stream: a water retention basin, a water supply channel built of limestone slabs, and a dry stone building. These are traces of former agricultural activities and the use of springs for irrigation.

Beavers leave traces of trees and shrubs that they have gnawed (characteristic teeth marks). They are more difficult to spot...

 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

4.6 / 5
Based on 25 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Chapouette71
Chapouette71

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. Magnificent scenery and a beautiful crossing of the river. The start is not particularly interesting. The most spectacular part is when we follow the river. Be careful not to walk this route after heavy rain. There are a few tricky sections, but nothing too difficult. The path is sometimes difficult to find, but there is no risk of getting lost as we are doing a circular route. Then there is a fairly steep climb and return via the road, which is not very busy and has some beautiful houses to see. Thanks to this hike, we felt like we were alone in the world and having a wonderful adventure.

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CocoRandonne
CocoRandonne

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A short hike on 12 August, which was pleasant because many sections were shaded. There wasn't much water, but if you dare to venture further, you can find some very pretty spots where I was able to swim in peace. I highly recommend this hike, but I did a round trip because it was the middle of August and I wanted to stay near the water and in the shade. I will do the whole hike again in a cooler season.

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Cornu marthe
Cornu marthe

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

the starting point is no longer to the left of Mas du Granzon. The route is completely unmarked and difficult to find in places. The valley is magnificent, but it is a desire to preserve the area that makes the route difficult, and I support these measures as I live in southern Ardèche.

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Wjj
Wjj

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello. Thank you for this beautiful hike. The climb up the stream is fantastic, with a beautiful variety of landscapes. Obviously, it should be avoided in rainy weather or after heavy rainfall. It was a little difficult to find the GR trail, but with the combination of the map description and GPS, we managed it. Thank you again, it was a wonderful discovery.

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joorange
joorange

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I've been exploring the Granzon Valley for a long time and was looking for a starting point to take my wife (it's much more difficult starting from Banne).
This one is perfect. The walk along the Granzon is always enjoyable and, this morning, the frogs were in fine form.
The climb back up to Les Gras is relatively short and easy, and even the small road is not unpleasant, especially today with the light southerly breeze.
There are huge, magnificent cacti in the hamlet of Chibasse.

In short, an excellent morning for both of us!

I find it hard to understand the comments made by the town hall; there used to be a marked trail passing through the Granzon (you can still find the information sheet in the lodges) and it would have taken very little maintenance to keep it usable.

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Louis-Michel Duhen
Louis-Michel Duhen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A very pleasant hike with water available until the start of the climb. We returned by retracing our steps to point 171 on the map. From there, we climbed up a very old embanked path (marked with a solid black line on the map) to the hamlet of Chibasse, where we rejoined the route described. This is a shorter route and offers beautiful views.

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jaco948
jaco948
• Edited:

@boninmi: I completely agree! I've done it many times (on a slightly different route, but no more private than yours). I did it again last summer on a day when the water was a bit high, and we got our feet wet going to the Dragonnière de Banne and the Vedel resurgence, but it wasn't any more dangerous than that. There's only one place where you need to be careful, the Résurgence de la Grille towards the end: a descent in the dark down a rickety staircase. My knees still remember it!

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boninmi
boninmi

Good evening, Banne Town Hall,

For nearly five years, no comments or objections have been made regarding the crossing of private property on this very popular hiking trail. To my knowledge, it only uses paths that are freely accessible and have no restriction signs. Which section(s) are in question? Please report this to the Visorando moderator. Visorandonneurs are reminded that they must respect private property.

The fact that this hike should not be undertaken in wet or rainy weather is expressly stated in the paragraph following the description.

Best regards.

Mr Bonin

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Mairie Banne
Mairie Banne

Please note that this hike crosses private property without the owners' permission.
In case of rain, it may be dangerous.

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schnogeloch
schnogeloch

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant short hike, even though the stream was almost dry. We walked there and back along the stream to avoid the tarmac. There was no problem with the heat, as most of the route, along the stream, is in the woods.
The GPX track seems to have been created from a map and not recorded on an actual route, so there are some minor discrepancies on the ground, but nothing serious.

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Rhéa25
Rhéa25
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

What a joy to walk along this stream... bucolic, fun, varied and unusual, we loved it.
No difficulty at all. The return trip by road was less fun, but that didn't bother us at all.
A beautiful loop.

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hergé89
hergé89

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk that took us along the Granzon river. There wasn't much water on this particular day. The stones were slippery in places (even with trail shoes), so be careful. The landscape was charming. The return to the plateau is a bit long but gave us the opportunity to chat with locals who live in an old silkworm farm, a very interesting conversation about silkworm farming in the past.
A hike with no real difficulty, worth doing for its bucolic setting, but we recommend returning via the stream.

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rmumue
rmumue

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful hike with a few tricky sections. Lack of markings makes it difficult to find your way, but no big deal

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virg72
virg72

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike with varied landscapes; the children loved it. Very quiet, peaceful and really pretty. The only downside is that the return journey by road is a bit long, but the scenery is still nice with some very pretty houses.

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jpb93
jpb93

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A very scenic walk along the banks of the Granzon, especially when the stream is flowing (but not too much). Beautiful pools, waterfalls and resurgences. Watch out for slippery slabs. The return trip by road is a bit tedious.

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