Little Camargue

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A short walk in a protected area on the edge of the Étang de Berre and its industries. All the vegetation of the wetlands, birds galore.
Moderator's note Please note that part of this loop is closed between April and July. See notices.

Details

n°19734
Creation:
Last update:
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.12 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 20 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 20 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 20 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 0 ft
Downloads
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Photos

Swan
Old fence or ford
Pink flamingos
Driftwood by the pond

Description of the walk

(S/E) Starting point: car park on the D10 (less than a kilometre after the power station coming from Marseille) at the start of the track.

A pretty track heads south-west, following the banks of the Étang de Berre. Continue to the end of the EDF dyke to enjoy the widest view of Fos and Marseille.

(1) Retrace your steps to the intersection with a track that heads west towards a bird watching platform. Continue along the wooden bridge over the Touloubre.

(2) A path on the left takes you back to the banks of the lake, which you then follow as closely as possible through the reeds, admiring the many birds (some of which are actually fake! They are wooden decoys).

(3) At a hunting shelter, a wide track climbs up to the right and allows you to go around the main pond. About 400m further on, you will find the signposted path from Saint-Chamas.

(4) Turn right again to reach the observation platform and the track that returns to the starting point.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 20 ft - Parking on the D10 - Etang de Berre
  2. 1 : mi 1.02 - alt. 7 ft - End of the EDF dyke
  3. 2 : mi 1.5 - alt. 0 ft - Wooden bridge over the - Touloubre (fleuve)
  4. 3 : mi 2.05 - alt. 0 ft - Hunting shelter
  5. 4 : mi 2.25 - alt. 3 ft - On the right
  6. S/E : mi 3.12 - alt. 20 ft - Parking on the D10

Notes

Some areas are off-limits during the nesting season (April to July).

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 73 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
LIONEL13118
LIONEL13118

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you so much for sharing!

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User 27766206

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a beautiful discovery, accessible even to children. A very beautiful panorama

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jmvvisorando
jmvvisorando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely Sunday walk in a bucolic landscape.

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pbrie
pbrie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An interesting walk on the banks of the Etang de Berre in a "preserved" part, if only to look at the countless pieces of plastic rubbish lining the Etang. Walkers, be nice and take a plastic bag with you to collect some rubbish. If everyone does their bit, we could give this place more charm (I didn't say it didn't have any ;-)).
Otherwise, there's no shade, which is not advisable in very hot weather...

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kopek666
kopek666

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Not too much trouble except for access to the EDF bank. The access path to get there is not passable.
There were a few difficulties along the way where you could see that the water had reclaimed its rights and the GPS track didn't follow!

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Fafaderga
Fafaderga

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An easy, pleasant walk that takes you to the beginning of the Camargue.

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Voyageur nature
Voyageur nature

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice walk, didn't see the decoys (wooden ducks) but better than that, lots of swans and pink flamingos. As this is a short walk, we continued along the edge of the pond to reach the contagious wash house (explanatory sign next to it), and then signs pointing to the Flavien bridge and the Roquette bridge over the Touloubre. So we carried on walking for 14 km, a great way to discover this area and easy to find your way around with the signposts.

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Clerine83
Clerine83

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

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Cyril_inshape
Cyril_inshape

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk that's very easy to do with a child. There are no changes in altitude or difficulties, so it's an ideal short walk to digest after a good family meal :-)

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AUDIBERT RAYMONDE
AUDIBERT RAYMONDE

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk to do with children, but not very varied

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lacomtesse
lacomtesse

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The most interesting part of the circuit is closed from 8 April to early July, so it wasn't very interesting and that's certainly why it wasn't very busy.

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ojeannot
ojeannot

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A municipal by-law prohibits access to the (2)-(3)-(4)-(2) section from 18 April 2022 to 1 July 2022 so as not to disturb nesting.

Possible alternative: from (2) , take the path that follows the canal in a north-westerly direction, until you reach the departmental road. Another path then leads back along the road to (S/E).

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jacksparrhow
jacksparrhow

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Quite busy with dog walkers, not a great view of the petrochemical plant, the noise of cars all along the walk, not to mention the noise of planes landing at the airport. As is often the case in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, you'll have no trouble finding rubbish everywhere. On the other hand, you'll see plenty of birds and hunters' huts. Beautiful shell beach!

Score for this walk: 6/10

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brageole
brageole

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

early in the morning at the beginning of September, we saw a beautiful sunrise over the pond.
Few birds at this time of year, apart from the inevitable swans.
Surprised to find so many hunters' huts in a place presented as a nature reserve and classified Natura 2000?
merci pour le circuit
brageole

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marief13
marief13

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a little loop I know but not practicable at the moment, too much water!
on the other hand, we saw some pink flamingos, so we were pleased with our outing!

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