Saint-Michel signal and Beaumont Canal circular loop

From the RN85 (Grenoble - Gap), head to the village of Saint-Laurent-en-Beaumont. Pass the town hall, continue along the street that crosses the village and park in the cemetery car park, to the left of the church.
Then use the IGN maps (downloaded in advance) from the Visorando app to follow the progress of the hike.

(S/E) From the car park, take the street on the right and continue until you reach the clearly visible sign indicating the Signal de Saint Michel 5.6 km away. Take the street on the right and climb up to the hamlet of Chalméane via the Route du Soulier.

(1) In the hamlet, turn left at the sign on the right-hand side of the street. Walk past the livestock buildings, then leave the road and turn right into a kind of agricultural "dump". After about 30 metres, turn right onto a short track that climbs steeply in a straight line (yellow mark on a rock at ground level, at the start of the climb on the left). At the top of the climb, continue straight ahead on the path, leaving a farm building on your right. Follow the yellow marks to the next crossroads located on a loading area for forestry work.

(2) Continue straight ahead on the path that climbs into the forest (sign). At the next crossroads, you will come to a track. Follow it first to the left, then immediately to the right (sign). Follow either the clearly visible yellow markings or the signs for Signal de Saint-Michel, all of which are more or less on the ridge line. Go through the first cattle gate and continue to the Croix de la Roche immediately behind a second gate; beautiful views of the Écrins massif.

(3) At the cross, go through another gate on the right (sign) and continue downhill along the Crête de la Sciau, following a fence on the left. The route then crosses a much more open area with beautiful views to the west. Go through a final gate and continue straight ahead, leaving the fence behind you on your right. You will come to a group of three or four radio masts served by a paved road.

(4) Follow this road to the right (sign) and arrive at a crossroads after two hairpin bends downhill (first on the left, second on the right).

(5) Take the road that descends to the right (sign) and follow it to the village of Saint-Michel-en-Beaumont. At the bottom of the descent, you will arrive at the main road of the village (D212) and follow it to the right (sign). Pass between the church (on your left) and the fountain (on your right) and continue straight ahead towards the town hall (sign).

(6) Pass in front of the town hall and, at the end of a short tarmac descent, pass to the right of the water treatment plant. Continue straight ahead on the very passable and clearly visible path that descends the mountainside towards the Beaumont canal (yellow markings throughout the descent). Join the canal.

(7) Turn left for about ten metres to reach the information sign about the canal. Return to the crossroads and continue straight ahead (sign) along the canal, which flows to the right of the path. You will reach the D212.

(8) Cross it and continue on the path diagonally opposite. From here, the canal is largely culverted, so it is invisible, but you can vaguely see its old bed to the right of the path and, in places, you can see the culvert protruding from the ground. Continue on the path, following the yellow markings or signs towards Saint-Laurent-en-Beaumont.

(9) At this point, the path stops following the canal. Turn slightly left (sign) and descend to the D212D road and the first houses of the village of Saint-Laurent-en-Beaumont. Follow the road to the right, pass in front of the beautiful village hall and go up Rue du Soulier to reach the car park near the cemetery (S/E).

There is no water along the route except for fountains in the hamlets.
The route passes through cattle parks with entrance and exit gates.
The section of the Beaumont Canal covered by the description is only filled with water from April to November.
Along the canal, there are a few fun stops where you can learn more about its history.
And for those who dislike tarmac, around 2 to 3 km of the 15 km route is on small country roads (with very little traffic) or village roads!

Other parts of the Beaumont Canal, particularly the Valbonnais side - The lakes of the Matheysin plateau (Mort, Laffrey, Petichet and Pierre-Châtel) - St Honoré 1500 and its unfinished building - La Pierre-Percée in Pierre-Châtel (a marvel of the Dauphiné) - La Mine-Image in La Motte d'Aveillans (anthracite mining museum) - The little train in La Mure (in season) - Bungee jumping from the Ponsonnas bridge - And don't forget to try the Matheysine tart, available in all the good bakeries in La Mure!

A special mention to all those who maintain the Matheysine hiking trails for the quality of their signposting and route marking! An example to follow!