Fossil and heather trails in Aurignac

An easy hike around Aurignac, mainly in the woods, with views of the seven hills and a visit to the village.

Details

16986484
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.06 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 218 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 218 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 443 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 291 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park next to the small water treatment plant on the edge of the D 635.

(S/E) Join the D 635, follow it to the right for about a hundred metres until you reach a small wooden sign by the side of the road. Turn left onto the fossil trail, which climbs slightly, and you will reach a three-way junction.

(1) Take the middle branch, keeping in the same direction. Continue for a good kilometre; just follow the well-maintained yellow markers.

(2) When you reach the main road at Salleneuve, turn right. Ignore the road on the left that leads to Perron and continue towards Portet. At the hamlet, turn left, go downhill for 100 metres and cross the road to find the path through the woods on the right, which is still marked by small wooden signs. Join the D 23.

(3) Follow it for about 100 metres, then take the path on the right that leads into the woods.

(4) At the crossroads, turn left.

(5) Turn left again to stay in the woods. You will come to a four-way junction.

(6) Continue straight ahead uphill.

(7) Turn right to descend towards the village of Aurignac, which you will reach via Chemin de la Bourdette. Turn right towards the town hall and join Rue Saint-Michel.

(8) Turn right, then right again a few dozen metres further on to go around the town hall and follow Rue du Château. Turn left to reach Avenue de l'Allée, cross it and take the narrow lane between the houses that leads to Avenue Boulogne. Cross at the pedestrian crossing and follow the avenue, turning right. Keep left at the three-way junction to reach the water treatment plant (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 352 m - Parking at the water treatment plant
  2. 1 : km 0.57 - alt. 395 m - Three-way junction, middle path
  3. 2 : km 1.98 - alt. 298 m - Salleneuve
  4. 3 : km 3.39 - alt. 332 m - D 23
  5. 4 : km 3.84 - alt. 356 m - Trail fork, on the left
  6. 5 : km 4.25 - alt. 366 m - Fork to the left
  7. 6 : km 4.76 - alt. 386 m - Crossroads, opposite
  8. 7 : km 5.37 - alt. 440 m - Crossroads of flowers, on the right
  9. 8 : km 6.87 - alt. 392 m - Town hall
  10. S/E : km 8.06 - alt. 352 m - Parking at the water treatment plant

Notes

As most of the hike takes place in the woods, waterproof shoes may be useful in wet weather.

Worth a visit

The village of Aurignac is gradually being restored, particularly its keep. The church is well worth a visit, particularly for its twisted columns, the oldest known in France to date.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
yosemma
yosemma

Thank you for your message. It's always nice to hear from you.
Enjoy your walks!

Machine-translated

larochenet
larochenet

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 19, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route, combining fields, hillsides and woods.
The route is impeccable.
Be sure to wear good shoes, especially after bad weather. But nothing insurmountable.
The sections through the woods are very pleasant, and there is a lovely view of Aurignac at the end of the last one.
You may want to bring a walking stick – not essential, but it can sometimes help.
Thank you for creating this very pleasant route.

Machine-translated

yosemma
yosemma

Thank you for your comment and suggestions.

Machine-translated

loictlse
loictlse

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Hello,
Hike completed in April in clear weather
There isn't really anywhere to park at the start, so I'm not sure it's a good idea in high season. You can easily set off from the village and return via the same route.
Be careful at crossroads with yellow lines on both sides. At point 5, we followed the fossil trail but had to switch to the heather trail, which was easy to catch up with afterwards.
Otherwise, it was a very nice, easy and enjoyable hike.
It took us three hours, including a picnic break and a stroll around the village, which was really nice.

Machine-translated

Anne-Marie F
Anne-Marie F

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike

Machine-translated

legna
legna

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

We only completed part of this hike due to an initial mistake at the starting point. The trail markers are clearly visible along the route, but when returning to Aurillac from the car park, they are not visible, so we continued further on to where there are several signs, including the fossil and heather trail. We therefore followed a route that was not the correct one. We suggest replacing the sign for the small wooden sign at the start with a sign indicating "Chemin de Joulin". This sign is clearly visible to anyone returning from the water treatment plant. It is in perfect condition, whereas the sign indicated by the tracker not only has its back to hikers but is also difficult to read: black paint on badly damaged and blackened wood. Once you are on the Chemin de Joulin, which initially follows exactly the same route as the Fossils and Heather Trail, you can see the damaged sign if you make the effort to look for it. We will do this hike again and will then be able to offer you a more informed opinion.

Machine-translated

Africa-twin
Africa-twin

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful walk. Several routes intersect. You must pay attention to the directions to take at the crossroads.

Machine-translated

yosemma
yosemma

Thank you, we haven't borrowed it for a long time, so your opinion is valuable.
Happy viewing!

Machine-translated

Cebene
Cebene

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very shady route, perfect for a sunny day

Machine-translated

jcz-vtt
jcz-vtt

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It seems wiser to start from the back of the museum car park. What's more, this well-marked trailhead takes you close to the famous cave. You join the route at point 1. The route is interesting, mostly through woodland. Unfortunately, on that particular day, the outing was spoiled by the constant presence of swarms of very aggressive mosquitoes.

Machine-translated

LaPierre
LaPierre

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk, with magnificent countryside and woodland.
And the village of Aurignac is very pretty!

Machine-translated

grosselin
grosselin

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We met a few hikers. Beautiful forest trails. Very interesting visit to the village of Aurignac.

Machine-translated

Jacqueline Chaudier
Jacqueline Chaudier

We planned this hike in the spring.

Machine-translated

yosemma
yosemma

Thank you for your enthusiasm! We really enjoyed this easy yet hilly walk.
We wish you happy hiking!

Machine-translated

sdfrance
sdfrance

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent walk that ends in the heart of Aurignac. Lots of flowers along the way at the beginning of May.

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.