Saint-Laurent-sous-Coiron: the learning path

A route starting at a hilltop village, Saint-Laurent-sous-Coiron, with a wonderful, panoramic 180° view over the Ardèche mountains and plains, from Villeneuve de Berg to the Col de l'Escrinet (the Cham du Cros, Rocher d’Abraham, Montagne Sainte-Marguerite, Mont Lozère). In addition, educational panels depicting the history, geology and life on the Coiron adorn this hike.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.45 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 305 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 301 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 689 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 445 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the viewpoint car park, near the war memorial (S).

Markings: White-Yellow, Yellow arrow, wooden pole with a descriptive drawing of two pedestrians.

Initially, follow the White-Yellow markings.
Walk along the wall, facing the plain of Lussas. Go towards the Romanesque chapel (from the tenth century). Go up to the houses. We pass a house built in 1834 (inscribed on its front) and then to the main section of the course. Turn right. Pass the cemetery, a place that serves as an amphitheatre-shaped car park.

At the “Impasse” sign, turn left just behind the house in front of this panel. Go up the path: follow it to visit the castle ruins and then return by the same path. Head back to the main track.
Continue straight until the end of the village. Pas through a door through an ancient city wall (east door).

Turn immediately left; head up by the road with large stones as far as a cemented path. Turn right and follow it. At the end of the cemented part, continue straight passing between two hedges. Pass a water tank. Approximately 500 m further on at (1), just before a gate, turn left (yellow arrow marker post).

Now, follow these Yellow arrow markings.
Cross the small cleared area, go up the red dirt road. At the top of this road after about 200 m turn obliquely to the left.
This is the trickiest part of the journey to reach the road. The new track has not been very popular with hikers. It is discreet, travels between the bushes. It is therefore necessary to be very careful on the trails left by previous hikers, Yellow arrows painted on rocks, sometimes red and white plastic ribbons hanging from the branches.

Arrive on the road (2) and turn left and walk on this road to educational sign No. 5 on the theme of the local flora.
You have to take the track right behind this panel. To achieve this, either switch between the barbed wire installed on the roadside or back a few metres to the house and go through the meadow along the barbed wire.
This shady path between the black stone walls facing north and Leads as far as Aven de la Combe Rajeau (3).

Continue west and join a nice track (4); then turn left.
100 m after educational sign No. 8, look for a small cairntheon the left, an arrow composed of stones and a small wooden sign that reads “Mehnir": take the left path and after about fifty metres, reach the Peyregrosse standing stone (5). Retrace your steps and turn left to continue on the main track, south and then south-west. Passage in front of two other educational signs.

After a loop on the left and the path turns south-east, reach a fork. The left trail is marked with yellow arrows; on the right, a small sign with the word “Tombe” (tomb) hangs from a branch. Momentarily abandon leave the marked path and take the right path to reach the dolmen of Devès de Serre located approximately 100 m away (6).

Retrace your steps and turn right at the yellow arrow marked trail. The path loops back and forth until it reaches a road on a hairpin bend (7). Turn left and follow the road through the locality of Perret, until the main access road into Saint-Laurent-sous-Coiron (8). Turn left, go up this street as far as an electrical transformer, located just outside a farm.
Turn right and take the alley between two walls; reach the Yellow-White markings that lead to the car park.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 556 m - Belvedere car park
  2. 1 : km 0.27 - alt. 584 m - Ruins
  3. 2 : km 0.61 - alt. 587 m - Cemented track
  4. 3 : km 2.01 - alt. 662 m - Beacon post
  5. 4 : km 2.86 - alt. 605 m - Small road
  6. 5 : km 4.71 - alt. 572 m - Combe Rajeau karstic cave
  7. 6 : km 4.92 - alt. 569 m - Track
  8. 7 : km 5.56 - alt. 529 m - Menhir of Peyregrosse
  9. 8 : km 7.31 - alt. 475 m - Dolmen at Devès de Serre
  10. 9 : km 8.87 - alt. 464 m - Road - Hairpin bend
  11. 10 : km 9.94 - alt. 519 m - D324 road
  12. S/E : km 10.44 - alt. 558 m - Belvedere car park

Notes

Make sure to close the pasture gates properly.
No drinking water refill point.

Worth a visit

Mirabel, another hilltop village opposite, equivalent to Saint-Laurent-sous-Coiron. Visit these two villages by car, via Darbres making for a nice half-day trip. Note that these two villages are located close to 500 m above sea level and still enjoy the fresh air, especially refreshing in the summer.
Lussas, with its documentary film festival week in August.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 104 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Flopy 58
Flopy 58

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Taken in early April, with glorious sunshine. A wonderful walk through varied landscapes, easy going and with superb views. At the far end of the visitor car park, there’s a small path that leads straight to the start of the walk.

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mais couiilles
mais couiilles

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk across the Coiron plateau to see the menhir and the dolmen; an easy route with some beautiful views

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Alves Martine
Alves Martine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike! Best done in spring to enjoy the flora. Splendid panoramas and a magnificent hilltop village.

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Gibus01
Gibus01
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A wonderful hike!
The whole group was captivated by the village, the magnificent views, the varied environment, the special points of interest (karstic cave, menhir, dolmen, decorated cave) and the explanations on the numerous information boards.
Be careful not to miss the path on the right when you reach the road after the first big descent (it is clearly marked with an explanatory sign, but sometimes when you're chatting...).
The route can easily be extended (via the decorated cave).

Parking: there is a visitor car park below the village or you can use the car park at the cemetery in the upper part of the village (but the streets are narrow and you may disturb the residents).

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randobanne
randobanne

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike starting from the lovely village of St Laurent sous Coiron with its breathtaking view of the Lussas and Aubenas plains. Views of the Cévennes, the Tanargue and the Ardèche mountains.
Pure bliss!

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misterpb
misterpb

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A very beautiful and varied route completed in September, with a very interesting audio tour at the start, lovely views, blackberries along the way, hundred-year-old oak trees. We loved the menhir and dolmen. A very pleasant hike.

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User 26135165

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

I admit that I got a little lost at point 7 of the route, particularly with the following instruction:
"The path on the left is marked with a yellow arrow; on the right, a small sign with the word 'Tombe' is hung on a branch. Leave the marked path for a moment and take the path on the right to reach the Devès de Serre dolmen, located about 100 metres away.
(8) Retrace your steps and take the path marked with a yellow arrow on the right. Follow the winding path until you reach a road with a hairpin bend
hairpin bend

I didn't see the word "Tombe" at that point... Perhaps I missed it, but in any case, I didn't see it!
Otherwise, the route is very pleasant with the relief

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Sébastien Lacombe
Sébastien Lacombe

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very nice, fairly easy hike with some superb sections and nice views ...

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Shalva
Shalva

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

An easy walk, very well signposted as it is an educational trail. Little difference in altitude. Beautiful views. However, during this period of frequent rain, some of the paths turned into streams, but with 3 good shoes it was fine.

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BRISIM
BRISIM

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent itinerary with many viewpoints and "historic traces".
It is probably best to park at the bottom of the village (visitor car park) so that you can walk through the village.

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La Barunle
La Barunle

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The tour is interesting for its many viewpoints and its interest in local life.

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cevennes30
cevennes30

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant route, without difficulties.
Signs explaining the geology of the Coiron.
One small drawback is that the end of the route is partly on the road.

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JP-Miro
JP-Miro

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice tour. Beautiful views. Only slight problem: after point 4, it's hard to understand the signposting: when you want to leave the road on the right, to reach the signpost you have to pass through a gate and a property that seem to be private. And the only signpost in sight seems to indicate that you should continue along the road.

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jpvls
jpvls

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

St Laurent sous Coiron is a village not to be missed in the Ardèche des Coirons.
This route takes us through contrasting landscapes between the mountainous Ardèche (the Col de l'Escrinet
is not far away) and the southern Ardèche (thyme, rosemary and lavender dot the southern slopes).

The thematic panels, which are very well explained, enhance the walk.

Thank you for a great time in this part of the Ardèche.

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Mich0726
Mich0726

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Not bad, not bad, not bad. Nice little hike, very instructive, my only regret is not having found the karstic cave, but that's only a postponement, even if it means I'll have to travel just for that!

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