Summit and tour of Puy de Louchadière

On the D941, from Vulcania towards the A89, at the Maisons-Rouges roundabout, turn right onto the D62 towards Saint-Ours. About 400 metres after crossing the railway line, take a small road on the right. Park at the side of the road just after passing the level crossing.

Please note! This walk is not signposted and requires a good sense of direction or the use of a GPS.

(S/E) Continue along the small road. The tarmac gives way to a track at a red and white^GR®® signpost and a small sign reading ‘Beware of wolves’. Continue straight on until you reach a crossroads with four paths.

(1) Carry on straight ahead, leaving the^GR®® markings behind and following the “Beware of wolves” sign. About 150 metres further on, also leave these markings, which lead off along a path to the left, and carry on straight ahead along the track. Pass by a stone cross. You’ll reach a junction by a wooden cross.

(2) Continue along the path to the right, following the red and white^GR®® markings to reach the village of Beauregard. At the entrance to the village, pass to the left of a stone cross, then continue along Rue des Estives to arrive immediately at a fountain feeding a wash house.

Continue along the street (^GR®®) until you reach a crossroads marked ‘Beauregard’. Behind it, note the old shepherd’s wagon (a shelter on wheels used by shepherds spending the summer with their sheep in the mountain pastures) and the oven, on the left-hand side of the street.

Go straight on along the small road towards “Puy de Louchadière”, leaving the^GR®® markings behind to follow the brown mountain-bike trail markings. Ignore a path on the left at the corner of a beautiful property. Further on, the tarmac gives way to a track. Ignore another track on the right, then you’ll come to an inconspicuous grassy track on the left, next to a small sign reading ‘Beware of wolves’ pointing in the opposite direction, and another yellow sign indicating the mountain bike alternative route (the summit of Louchadière is off-limits to mountain bikes).

(3) Turn left. At the next junction, where there is a wide track, and at the “945m” marker, continue straight ahead towards the Puy de Louchadière. You will soon enter a beech forest and notice yellow markings. Follow these markings carefully all the way to the summit of the Puy.

Keep an eye out for the small yellow^PR®® sign indicating that you should turn left (contrary to the Yellow Cross markings for the other two paths, which are not shown on the IGN map). Further on, ignore a path on the right (marked with a Yellow Cross) and you’ll reach a junction with a faint path on the left, next to an iron post bearing a green sign saying “aller” (a tree was blocking the path in June 2019).

(4) Ignore this path (marked with a Yellow Cross) and continue straight on towards the yellow sign for “Sommet du Puy de Louchadière”. After a steep climb, you’ll reach the summit.

Carry on straight ahead to the viewpoint, then straight on again, leaving the yellow markings behind. Further on, ignore a path on the right, then another a little further on, just before you are treated to a rather lovely view.

The descent follows a path that is very poorly marked in places, winding or heading straight down the slope where possible. Keep heading generally south and check your position from time to time using a compass or GPS. Further down, reach the junction you passed on the way up, at the iron post, and rejoin the yellow markings.

(4) Turn right for a few metres, then immediately leave the yellow markings to follow the path on the left (marked with a Yellow Cross). Although unmarked, the path is clearly visible. Further down, ignore a forest track on the right near a young fir plantation, then emerge from the forest. Walk alongside a meadow on your right and come out onto a wide track.

(5) Take a very short detour to the right to see Thierry Courtadon’s sculpture “CHUT!”. Retrace your steps.

(5) Continue straight on along the path, following the yellow markings. The path runs alongside the Puy de Louchadière on your left, with the Puy de Jumes in sight.
Note, on the left-hand side of the path, a very large oak tree which is, in fact, a fine “soupée” of oaks (several trunks growing in a circle from a single stump).
Pass to the left of the sign for “Forêt domaniale de Beauregard” and carry on straight ahead.

(6) At a fork in the road, leave the yellow markings and turn onto a path on the left (marked with yellow and green crosses). About 600 metres further on, you’ll see yellow markings again; follow these, ignoring a path on the right and leading back.

(7) At a fork in the road, follow the yellow markings to the left, as well as a brown mountain bike marking no. 15; then, immediately afterwards, leave these markings behind and continue to the left. You’ll reach a junction with a path leading down to the right.

(8) Turn left to climb back up the slopes of the Puy de Louchadière. Further on, you’ll notice a well-marked path below, but ignore the track that descends steeply towards it (as the slope below is steep) and continue climbing straight ahead for a little while longer.

(9) At a fork in the road with a faint path continuing to climb, slightly to the left, follow the better-marked path which descends, slightly to the right. You can see the path you need to join below. The descent ends with a few natural steps that have been heavily eroded. Do your best to make your way down to a wider but poorly maintained path.

Follow it to the right to descend from the hill via three large hairpin bends. The path, which is quite grassy, offers a view of the Combrailles. At the crossroads of paths, all of which are rather grassy, continue straight ahead and slightly to the right, downhill. Continue straight ahead again at the next junction. You’ll come to a lovely path through the woodland and rejoin the yellow markings.

(10) Follow it to the left. About a hundred metres further on, turn right, then ignore a faint path beginning on the right.

(11) As you emerge from the woods, leave the yellow markings, which turn left (onto a path not shown on the IGN map), and carry on straight ahead. The path soon bends left then right, offering a lovely view of the puys. Cross a road and continue straight ahead along the small road towards Le Bouchet.

You’ll reach the “896m” marker and carry on straight ahead along the road, towards “Le Bouchet”. You’ll soon notice red and white^GR®® markings at a path joining from the right. Carry on along the road until you reach the “882m” marker.

(12) Follow the path and the^GR®®4to the right, towards “Gare du Vauriat”. Shortly afterwards, at the junction by the “884m” signpost, leave the^GR®® and follow the road to the left, passing through the hamlet. Walk past a large carved cross.

On leaving the hamlet, ignore a dead-end on the right and you’ll reach a crossroads at the “le Bouchet” signpost. This is also a junction of^{the GR®®4}and GR®®441. Do not follow any of the directions indicated by the signpost; instead, take the GR®®441 straight ahead and to the right. Continue along this path, then onto the small road that extends from it, following^{the GR®®} to return to a junction you passed on the way there.

(1) Turn right to reach the level crossing via the same route as on the way there (S/E).

Hike of moderate to difficult difficulty. The main difficulty on this route is finding your way on certain unmarked sections and in the forest, where there are many trails. It is advisable to usethe Visorando app or any other GPS device, remembering to cache the map backgrounds.

Some grassy paths are maintained occasionally, so it is advisable to wear trousers.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Photo album here

Puy de Louchadière is one of the largest cinder cones in the Chaîne des Puys. This Strombolian volcano rises to 1,198 metres. Its name probably refers to the shape of its crater, either from the Auvergne word "Lou chadeira", meaning "chair", or from the Old Provençal word "oschar", meaning "chipped".

The slopes of the puy are covered with a beautiful beech forest. In June, we saw many flowers: yellow deadnettles, columbines, wild garlic...

It is a pity that, for the moment, the view from the top of Louchadière is not as good as it could be. Let's hope that, following the inclusion of the Chaîne des Puy in the UNESCO World Heritage List, some improvements will be made.

Beauregard is a beautiful little rural heritage site.