Ruins of Saint-Michel Priory by Roche Courbiere

This easy hike, just outside the city, will first take you to a little-known viewpoint, La Roche Courbière, which offers a surprising view of the lower Drac valley, the Grenoble metropolitan area and the surrounding mountains such as the Vercors and the Chartreuse. The route then takes you to the ruins of the Priory of Saint-Michel de Connexe, which dates back to the 11th century.

Details

580717
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 402 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 402 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 658 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 370 m

Photos

Description of the walk

To start this hike, park in the car park of the Saint-Georges-de-Commiers stadium, very close to the town hall.

(S/E) From the car park, walk past the town hall, then past the school, cross Rue de la Mairie and take Montée de Saint-Georges. The route is marked with yellow signs and there are signs at the main intersections. When you reach the top of the hill, turn left and cross the main road.

(1) Take the Montée du Moulin opposite and continue in the same direction, first on a small road and then on a wide path until you reach the hamlet of Les Chauvers.

(2) At the hamlet of Les Chauvets, turn left; signs indicate the direction of Champ sur Drac. A little further on, the road becomes a path and continues into the forest.

(3) Turn right; the route on the map is on a recently created path (the one on the left on the map is abandoned). Continue in the same direction; the path follows the contour line. You will reach the Ravin de Ravinson crossroads.

(4) Continue along an almost flat path to reach the crossroads leading to the Roche Courbière viewpoint.

(5) Please note that the path to the viewpoint is not signposted, so you need to pay attention so as not to miss it. A little further on, there are signs indicating the viewpoint. Continue along the path in the same direction to reach the ruins of the Red Monks' monastery.

(6) The ruins of the priory are on the left below, and a path leads to them (the ruins are indicated by a yellow sign, slightly below on the left in the vegetation). Return by the same path to the Ravinson ravine.

(4) Take the path that descends into the valley on the right. Continue downhill until you reach the district road.

(7) Turn left, climb back up towards the village and rejoin the ascent route not far from the tower and the 12th-century church.

(1) Turn right and you will soon reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 370 m - Stadium car park. Close to - Drac (rivière) - Drac Noir-Drac
  2. 1 : km 0.21 - alt. 389 m - Cross over and continue straight ahead.
  3. 2 : km 1.18 - alt. 534 m - Les Chauvers turn left
  4. 3 : km 2.13 - alt. 609 m - New trail
  5. 4 : km 2.93 - alt. 624 m - Ravinson Ravine
  6. 5 : km 4.04 - alt. 630 m - Descend to the left towards the - Roche Courbière (Champ-sur-Drac)
  7. 6 : km 4.85 - alt. 645 m - Descend to the left. - Ruines du Prieuré de Saint-Michel de Connexe (Champ-sur-Drac)
  8. 7 : km 8.16 - alt. 383 m - Turn left
  9. S/E : km 8.56 - alt. 370 m - Stadium car park. Close to the - Gare de St-Georges-de-Commiers

Notes

This hike is almost entirely in the forest, ideal for hot days. There is no water along the way.

Worth a visit

As you pass through the village of Saint-Georges-de-Commiers (on the district road), take the opportunity to admire the 12th-century Romanesque church and its recently restored sundial.

Ruins of the priory: unfortunately, only a few stones remain, as the wars of religion and the passage of time have taken their toll. This site is a good place to take a break, perhaps for a picnic, and offers a new view of the valley.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
misouli169lesbasbleus
misouli169lesbasbleus

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

In fact, the ground was very wet, with leaves on slippery earth, which made it difficult for us on the descent before the ravine and afterwards. But it was mainly because, at 73 years of age, we are more vulnerable and less flexible.
Beautiful passages overlooking the Vercors mountain range. We were just above the mist. Poor remains of ruins, let's hope that the association will have the means to rehabilitate this priory.

Other walkers we met told us about beautiful waterfalls not to be missed in the area where we started.
We didn't have time to go back, but it's worth exploring.

Machine-translated

Glasman Dominique
Glasman Dominique

Date of hike: Friday, 18 April 2025

Good weather, after several days of almost non-stop rain. The trail was therefore quite slippery, making some sections not dangerous but tricky to navigate. This is undoubtedly why (but not only) the time indicated on the map, 3 hours and 35 minutes, was greatly exceeded. We arrived at Champ sur Drac after 3 hours and 35 minutes, without making any particular stops (although we did take the time to look at the ruins of the abbey and read some of the explanatory leaflets (very well done, by the way).
In short, the time indicated in the guidebook seems a little underestimated to us, because at Champ sur Drac, at the end of the forest trail (very beautiful!), we still had 4 kilometres to go to get back to St Georges de Commiers.
Furthermore, while it is convenient to park near the town hall or the stadium, it is also possible to avoid a very steep climb at the start by parking at the foot of the church, if there is space available. If there is no space, continue a few metres further along and take the small street that goes downhill to arrive near the town hall.

Machine-translated

PIA
PIA

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, we hadn't seen the sign prohibiting access to the small path, having taken a shortcut earlier.
We set off from the cemetery.
The upper part of the path is not easy at all, with trees and branches blocking the way.
Not suitable for children.
We would gladly take it again, as it is a kind of initiation path to the ruins, but we hope that it will be made safe.
Thank you for your work!

Machine-translated

Rando4749
Rando4749

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Much of the route is on a slope, which should be avoided in rainy weather.
Accompanied by a visually impaired person, we preferred to return via Champ sur Drac and the old road as we did not want to retrace our steps.

Machine-translated

Christineber
Christineber

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The directions do not always match the signs, but it's no big deal!

Machine-translated

X DE LA BACE
X DE LA BACE

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Very easy walk/hike in the woods. Be careful, as the dirt path is sometimes uneven and littered with large fallen trees.
The ruins are a good place to stop for a picnic with a beautiful view... we didn't encounter any other hikers.

Machine-translated

grandin
grandin ★

Thank you, Didine3845, for this clarification, which I have included in the description.

Machine-translated

Didine3845
Didine3845

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We opted for the small car park located near the church, at point no. 1. The start is steep, but the path becomes more enjoyable from point no. 3 onwards. It is a pleasant, very peaceful route under the trees, and we only came across one other group of walkers.
The ruins are marked by a yellow sign, slightly below on the left in the vegetation, which we didn't see at first.
A very good hike, a little challenging at the start.

Machine-translated

grandin
grandin ★

Thank you, Visorandoremi, for these clarifications, which may be useful to the author if he wishes to update his description, and to other hikers.

Machine-translated

Visorandoremi
Visorandoremi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

An easy and pleasant walk through the woods, which is nice when the weather is warm. Beautiful view from the lookout point.
A few improvements compared to the description, including a new sign to turn right at 3, which is a bit confusing.
In fact, 300 metres after Les Chauvets, there are new orange signs; continue straight ahead on the wide path. At point 3, follow the new orange signs indicating Roche Courbière; the path to follow is the one on the left. When you reach the sign for the priory ruins, continue along the path for 50 m and then take the path on the left that leads to the priory. At the start of the hike, you will pass in front of the school and take the first left, which is the Montée Saint Georges.

Machine-translated

PATRICK.S
PATRICK.S

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,

This hike/walk was exactly what I wanted to do. Two comments:
1- In the description, the sentence "at point 3, turn right... etc." is not very clear. But it's easy to find your way around once you're there.
2- It should be noted that in case of rain (or after heavy rain), some sections are quite slippery.
Best regards
Patrick SEYER;

Machine-translated

oryx38
oryx38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The view from the belvedere over the Drac valley is superb. I extended the walk from the ruins of the priory at Beauplat (path + track) and returned to St Georges de Commiers via La Chal, a 15 km circular loop with over 1000 m of elevation gain. In my opinion, it was a rather tedious walk and not particularly interesting.

Machine-translated

AALEX
AALEX

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 16, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A walk taken in autumn. Much of it takes place in the forest. It must be even more pleasant on a warm day. We are invited to take a trip back in time, and it is difficult to imagine the lives of these six monks in this priory located in this unlikely spot on the edge of the ravine.

Machine-translated

DedBiavat
DedBiavat

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

An easy but interesting hike for the right audience, especially for the unique views of the valley.

Machine-translated

CHAUVET  Jean Marie
CHAUVET Jean Marie

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

An easy hike, but interesting for its history. In short, it's for those who love old stones and quiet places. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.