Serre Cocu circuit

A pleasant circuit on the western side of the Vercors, more precisely in the Royans, which takes you to a small summit offering a beautiful view of the Isère plain and the peaks of the Vercors.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.50 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 740 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 740 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 999 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 380 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Reach the village of Saint-André-en-Royans and park in the large car park next to the school.
(S/E) Head east on the road to quickly reach a trail.

(1) Turn right and follow the path alongside a walnut grove. You will come to a wide track.
Continue following the typical yellow and green Vercors trail markers. Cross the Route du Col de Toutes Aures and take it on the left.
At the next crossroads, leave the road and start climbing up the wide forest track.

(2) You will reach a new crossroads where a steep path starts on the left in the woods. Follow it, ignoring all the tracks or paths leading off to the right or left, and follow the yellow-green markings to reach the beautifully restored farmhouse.

(3) Continue east to the Ritanpan crossroads.

(4) Turn 180° left onto the path to reach the summit of Serre Cocu (sign).

(5) Return to the Rintanpan crossroads.

(4) Head north. Continue along this wide lane until you reach the Croix Bernard crossroads.

(6) Begin the descent into the woods, still heading north, which ends at the crossroads with the road leading to the hamlet of Les Guinardières. Turn right onto this road and continue for about 400 metres.

(7) At the next crossroads, leave the road and take the wide track on the left, continuing until you reach Guadeloupe. Turn left onto the track, then take the small tarmac road until you reach the crossroads.

(8) Make another 180° turn to the left to take the path and begin a fairly steep descent. Cross the Ruisseau de Chaussère, then climb briefly to reach the plateau before Monteux. Leave the Girardière path on your right.

(9) Continue west, then south and cross the hamlet of Monteux.

(10) At the exit of the hamlet, leave the paved road and take the wide track on the left heading south-west.

(11) Cross Les Courtioux, heading south to return to the original crossroads.

(1) Follow the same route as on the way there to easily reach the car park on the right (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 380 m - School car park
  2. 1 : km 0.32 - alt. 445 m - Farm track
  3. 2 : km 1.38 - alt. 488 m - Crossroads with Route du Bois
  4. 3 : km 4 - alt. 944 m - Farm
  5. 4 : km 4.6 - alt. 977 m - Rintanpan
  6. 5 : km 4.8 - alt. 999 m - Serre Cocu
  7. 6 : km 5.61 - alt. 945 m - La Croix Bernard
  8. 7 : km 6.45 - alt. 781 m - Crossroads before Guinardières
  9. 8 : km 8.43 - alt. 487 m - Trail junction
  10. 9 : km 9.03 - alt. 478 m - La Girardière crossroads
  11. 10 : km 10 - alt. 426 m - Monteux
  12. 11 : km 11.16 - alt. 399 m - Les Courtioux
  13. S/E : km 12.5 - alt. 380 m - School car park

Notes

Hiking equipment.
Bring water, as there is none on this route and it gets very hot in spring and summer.
This circuit is pleasant, but it is marred by a long stretch on a paved road (about 2 km) and wide agricultural and forest tracks (about 6 km), leaving little of the route on actual trails.
In addition, on this day (1 June 2015), the downhill trail at (6) La Croix Bernard was covered with trees. The loggers had not yet cleared the path and large tree trunks were blocking the way, but this should only be temporary.

N.B. The yellow-green markings on this route do not correspond to those on the map; the markings on the ground are as described above.

Worth a visit

The Isère Valley with its villages made famous by their culinary specialities:
- walnuts (Vinay, where you can visit the Grand Séchoir),
- saint-Marcellin cheese.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 33 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
chambertine
chambertine

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, enjoyable and well-documented hike

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YmonvillE28
YmonvillE28

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a beautiful route to do again, as we had fog and drizzle, so no views
Please note that between points 6 (St Bernard's Cross) and 7, the path is closed and impassable due to major forestry work, so we had to go down by road
no more mud after point 7, which was a relief

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delesvaux
delesvaux

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed today. Unfortunately, shortly after point 7, a bull blocked our path and prevented us from continuing with its extremely threatening behaviour, forcing us to back away slowly until it decided we were far enough away. There was no other option in the area, so we had to retrace our steps along the same route.
We had been warned by several signs, but we didn't think we would be attacked on the trail, especially since we hadn't seen or heard any herds! A stray animal? These sad animals are becoming extremely problematic on our walks, even in the mid-mountains! We therefore advise against this route, especially with children, unless you have a degree in canine psychology!

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b.b38590
b.b38590

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a pleasant route with beautiful views, especially at Serre Cocu, where there is a stunning panorama across the whole of Vercous

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maran04
maran04

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A lovely walk and a beautiful spot for a picnic at Serre Cocu.
Very nice

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dudu78117
dudu78117

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful hike with a magnificent view from the summit

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Phil38
Phil38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very pleasant hike, magnificent views, very pretty spot.
Thank you for suggesting it
Philippe

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mariemmanuel
mariemmanuel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike.
Magnificent view from Serre Cocu.

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sempervivum
sempervivum

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Saint André is a small medieval village. Steady climb, beautiful views of the Vercors and the plain, meadows for picnics. The waterfall is very pleasant. Walking sticks are useful on the descent after rain

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craco.35
craco.35

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thanks to the author of this hike. A superb walk in autumn.

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verorizo
verorizo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This loop is a lovely discovery. The climb is quite steep, but the reward at the top is great: the view from Serre Cocu is worth the effort, and the waterfall is very active with the snow melting.
thanks to the author.

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Wingardium
Wingardium
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike done following the direction and route suggested here. The only change I made was between points (4) and (6), where I took a detour through the village of Presles. This adds a little less than 2 km and about 100 m of elevation gain, and there is a fountain in the village.
Furthermore, I think that doing this route in the other direction would be less interesting and, above all, more challenging, as the slope is steep between (6) and (9)!

A very pleasant hike in early spring. The road sections were not a problem (I didn't encounter a single car) and the tracks (agricultural or forest) are very passable! However, on this last point, it is possible that they were in very poor condition because they were used for burying fibre optic cables and therefore had to be dug up by heavy machinery. Today, there is no trace of this work and the track has healed well.
On the other hand, the same cannot be said for the box trees, which have been attacked by moths and are 95% destroyed!

As for the route, there's nothing to say. There are signposts almost everywhere, and the green and yellow markings are also clearly visible, except perhaps on the way back between (9) and (1). But with the map downloaded from Visorando, there were no problems!

In short, a hike worth doing. Thanks to its author!

PS: in the "Nearby" section, you can add Pont en Royans and its hanging houses and the Gorges de la Bourne

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GG05 et Calou
GG05 et Calou

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The route starts in Presles via the cemetery path, which begins with a seemingly endless descent. There is a beautiful waterfall and the path leading to the viewpoint is very shaded and pleasant. The only slight downside is that there is a bit too much tarmac, but the walk is still enjoyable.

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neoroll44
neoroll44

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb views on this sunny spring day.
Difficult to find the path in the woods after the Bernard Cross (missed a sign?)

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jacques.pulou
jacques.pulou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The circuit was completed in freezing fog during the last 200 metres of elevation gain. The view was therefore not great, but the directions must have been good because we found Saint André en Royans without any problems

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