Portes (Gard) walks

The Château de Portes is nicknamed the "ship of the Cévennes" as it overlooked the old Regordane Way, which pilgrims and crusaders used on their way to the Holy Land. Through the woods, this hike will introduce you to another, more recent past of the Cévennes: the mines, with the discovery of the Peyrerol tower and its inclined plane. 09/10/2023 Moderator's message: the route has been modified and shortened to avoid private sections between (3) and Le Tour.

This challenging loop starts at Col de Portes and descends to Peyremale via the beautiful medieval village of Le Puech. After Peyremale and Saint-Herm, the route climbs back up to higher ground, offering superb views of the meandering Luech river below, which you eventually reach and follow along the beautiful hamlet of Chareneuve, which seems cut off from the world.Follow the Luech to Martinet Neuf after Chambon. Take a path that climbs steeply to Dieusses. Towards the end of the climb, you can clearly see the Château de Portes on the other side of the Luech, which you will have to reach. You are now about halfway there.Descend towards Chamborigaud, with beautiful views of the viaduct, which the path passes under. After the Chamborigaud bridge, take the GR®700, which climbs up to the Col de Portes. This is the thousand-year-old Régordane path. Although it stays close to the road, which you cross in a few places, this road, which starts off as a road but later becomes a path, is very pleasant.

This is a challenging circular route with an elevation gain of over 1,000 metres, starting from Chamborigaud and climbing up to the Route des Crêtes, with superb views of the surrounding mountains, including the ruins of the old castle of Verfeuil, from the south of Mont Lozère to Mont Ventoux. There are various places between the points (7) and (15) that also offer beautiful views. From Vialas to Chamborigaud, you will come across numerous streams that flow into the Luech, which you will follow, with a superb spot that is ideal for a break or a swim, even if there are still 6 km to go to reach the starting point, with a steep hill to leave the Luech. But overall, it is a very beautiful route for lovers of good, challenging hikes.

Une randonnée proposée par le Parc Naturel des Cévennes. Le sens de la randonnée a été inversé pour éviter une fin de parcours en forte côte, et très chaude.

A circular loop without difficulty, with panoramic views to enjoy with the family. The Chemin des Vignes follows an old route that was once used for terraced farming and then for exploiting the pine forest to support the mining galleries. The vines disappeared in the 1960s.

This is a challenging hike that allows you to discover different aspects of the southern Cévennes countryside, passing through forests and superb panoramas, as well as villages and hamlets. The climb from Robiac to the Chapelle Lacham is challenging, with some steep sections, but the scenery is well worth the effort. The descent from the chapel to Saint-Florent-sur-Auzonnet is also challenging, due to the large unstable rocks typical of the Cévennes over much of the descent.

Starting from the village of Génolhac, the walk crosses the Col de l'Ancise and Col de la Banlève passes, heads towards the remarkable Tomple garden and crosses the Cévenol railway line, which still connects Clermont-Ferrand to Nîmes.

A short walk along the Luech, following an old irrigation canal. Return via the road. A few short steep sections mean that this walk is classified as moderate, despite the short distance.

A very pretty walk, through trees at the bottom and broom at the top. Allow a good half day to a full day to complete the circuit. I recommend this walk to experienced walkers who are used to walking in the mountains.

A pleasant walk with some nice views. Can be done in summer as many sections are in the shade, but be careful on some stony sections.

A magnificent hike amid broom and granite boulders. Beautiful descent between the ridge and the village of Vialas. Superb ridge trail along the impressive Trenze rock face.

One of the most beautiful routes in the Vans region, both in terms of scenery and heritage. Balcony paths, chestnut groves and drying rooms, a gold-bearing river, low walls and beehives carved into chestnut tree trunks: everything invites you to discover this enclave of the Ardèche and its hamlets, which were once only accessible on foot. Be careful, there are steep and very steep ascents and descents. Allow 5 hours for the route, plus extra time for wandering around.

This is an easy hike that takes you to the summit of the Pays des Vans at an altitude of 910 metres. Beautiful 360-degree panoramic views.

A short hike with no major difficulties, but best avoided during hot weather. The elevation gain is low, and overall the paths are not too difficult and are often marked in yellow. It is possible to descend to the Cotepatière resurgence and back, preferably after rain, otherwise it is dry. I am providing the details of the "les résurgences" hike, which you walk along for a while.

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.

Short circular loop in a cirque near the charming village of Naves, next to Les Vans. You can combine this outing with the Cirque du Bourdaric. A great outing for geology enthusiasts.

Contrasting landscapes between the southern scrubland and the deep gullies in the clay-limestone marl. Fossil footprints, botanical path, abrupt change of vegetation between limestone strata and Cevennes shale, and return by a path overlooking the Chassezac river. Very pretty and picturesque village of Naves. That's what's on the menu of this spectacular hike which takes you around the west of Les Vans.

Thirteenth and final stage of a complete journey on the Chemin de Stevenson between Le Puy-en-Velay and Alès. This stage may involve significant changes to the GR®70 signposting, as Stevenson actually stopped at Saint-Jean-du-Gard on his journey. This last stage therefore allows you to return to a town where there are more means of communication to the starting point of the journey, while discovering the last foothills of the Cévennes.

Here too, in the Lozère region, a 360° summit bears the cartographer Cassini's famous name. Did he ever see, this cartographer, the map of this corner of Lozère? Perhaps not. On the other hand, this summit, which is easy to get to, offers a remarkable view, which can then be completed by a loop via the source of the Tarn river.

This unmarked route, which sometimes even leaves the trails, requires an IGN map and GPS, and leads to remote and wild areas of the Bois de Païolive and the upper part of the Ruisseau du Granzon.

The Païolive forest is an ancient forest in the south of the Ardèche, occupied since prehistoric times, with a remarkable geological context and biodiversity. It overlooks the Chassezac gorges. In this karstic landscape, there are numerous zoomorphic rocks, a multitude of trails and viewpoints, not to mention many caves. Much of the walk is shaded. Really very nice.

The Granges Necropolis is one of the most important dolmen sites in Ardèche. This short, easy circuit allows hikers to discover some of them while enjoying the landscape, vegetation and waterways of the limestone plateaus of lower Ardèche.

After crossing the Bois de Païolive, the route follows the Ruisseau du Granzon. After climbing out of the canyon, the return journey is via the plateau. An enchanting route and landscape. The use of GPS and the Visorando app may be necessary.

Discover a particularly interesting wood above the town of Les Vans.Comments about this route: I did this route in 2013, and it turns out that some signs have been added since then (signposts and probably markings), which is to be expected. Hikers can then explore other trails but will always find something unique and interesting in this remarkable wood, with no chance of getting lost.

This hike will take you to a megalithic necropolis and a desert plain inhabited long ago by those who were buried there. It will take you to the village of Berrias, up to the Païolive woods, which you will cross, and then to the hermitage of Saint-Eugène, which is still in use, before allowing you to admire the Chassezac gorges from the magnificent cliff.

A beautiful loop that allows you to discover the Chassezac Gorges with passages at river level and others on the heights with beautiful views. For the more adventurous, there is the possibility of exploring caves. And to wash off (depending on the season), you can relax in the river. Ideal for children, although the cliff passages require parents' full attention.

An easy loop between chestnut groves and pine forests offering panoramic views of the Gardon de Saint-Jean valley, as far as Mont Aigoual and Mont Lozère. Yellow markings.

A very pleasant hike along the Chassezac, then on the Sentier des Drystone Shelters. Return via the Sentier Roche and a small wood in Païolive. Superb landscape of the Ardèche Cévennes.I recommend using the GPX track as there are countless small paths.Hike for experienced hikers. I rated the walk as difficult not because of its length or elevation gain, but because of the many rocky areas and scree slopes to cross. It is physically demanding between (9) and (10) and from (15) to (S/E) Warning: do not attempt this hike in rainy weather as the rocky, limestone terrain is very slippery.