Mirail Spring and the Bastide du Bois

Start from the Mirail Spring and climb to the foot of the Luberon to enjoy a beautiful view at the Bastide du Bois. The panorama in an anti-clockwise direction offers views of:
- mourre Nègre.
- the Bonde lake.
- the Pays d'Aigues and Pertuis.
- the Étoile mountain range and Sainte-Victoire.

Details

1092828
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.18 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 310 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 310 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 719 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 409 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Near Saint-Martin, on the D27 at a small church, take the Chemin de la Belle Étoile. Just after crossing the Riou stream, park at the Mirail water catchment car park. There are a few (limited) parking spaces in the shade. There is a yellow hiking sign and a fire hydrant.

(S/E) Head north along the tarmac road towards Mirail until you reach the DFCI water tank junction (another parking option)

(1) Continue along the tarmac road opposite and walk alongside the vineyards on your left. Reach the Mirail farm crossroads, continue on the left and, 150 metres after leaving the tarmac road, you will see an esplanade which can also be used as a car park.

(2) Go down a steep slope on the left to reach the edge of a stream, then cross it. Opposite, you will see the Mirail Spring emerging from a masonry gallery. Go back a few metres and, staying at the bottom, follow the stream, which is often dry. It gradually narrows, but you must continue at the bottom (do not try to take the paths on the right or left).

(3) Staying at the bottom, you will eventually come to a sort of inverted trident: do not take the path on the right where a small stream flows into it; it is small, but it has carved out a small cliff. Do not turn left, where the stream and a path continue towards the Bramadou ravine. Continue straight ahead, heading north on the fairly rough path that climbs and then gradually improves. Continue climbing and you will see an old abandoned sheepfold on your right.
Note: following Michel BOILLEE's advice, I have modified the text and taken a photo of this crossroads (see notice)

Continue north, gradually moving away from the stream, until you reach a right-angled crossroads.

(4) Do not take the red-marked path that branches off to the left, but turn onto the path on the right. A little further on, an intersection allows you to take a smaller but parallel path that leads to a large DFCI firebreak.

(5) Take this path on the right and continue climbing. Wind your way along the ridge to gradually reach the highest point of the walk (710m). As the forest is well maintained and pruned, the view is unobstructed.
Continue straight ahead towards the east. The path begins to descend, joining a shortcut to Bastide du Bois.

(6) Take it on the right, and the path descends more steeply towards Bastide du Bois. Shortly after the abandoned buildings, the track splits in two, but both paths rejoin further down. Continue straight ahead; the slope appears less steep. The path runs alongside a large meadow that was probably used for the Angora goats once raised at the Bastide and where there is a new DFCI water tank.

(7) Continue parallel to the ravine of the Trois Small Passes. After a 90° right turn, you will come to the first crossroads.

(1) Retrace your steps to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 409 m - Mirail car park
  2. 1 : km 0.22 - alt. 422 m - DFCI return intersection
  3. 2 : km 0.96 - alt. 446 m - Car park
  4. 3 : km 1.59 - alt. 455 m - Ruisselet red dot
  5. 4 : km 2.34 - alt. 539 m - Red signpost intersection
  6. 5 : km 3.74 - alt. 637 m - DFCI
  7. 6 : km 5.39 - alt. 696 m - Yellow markings
  8. 7 : km 6.8 - alt. 565 m - DFCI water tank
  9. S/E : km 9.18 - alt. 409 m - Mirail car park

Notes

(1) and (2) Two other car parks are available.
No water on the circuit.
Please note that there are no markings at the start, but the paths are clearly visible

Worth a visit

The Mirail Spring was channelled in the 15th century by the monks of the former Tourel Abbey in La Tour d'Aigues. The spring feeds the Étang de la Bonde lake a few kilometres away, which is ideal for cooling off after your walk.

La Bastide des Bois was a group of buildings dating back to the 17th century.

During the hike, you will pass through forests of holm oaks, white oaks and Aleppo pines, and, next to the bastide, Austrian black pines.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 27 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
Titi le pecheur
Titi le pecheur

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Hello, this is a hike I had already done, but I didn't mind doing it again. Nothing exceptional, but still a beautiful walk through varied vegetation with beautiful views. The trails and paths are well maintained. A few mountain bikes if you're feeling adventurous.
After the short tarmac section and the private road, you have to follow the bed of a stream, which can be dry or wet. Yesterday, we had to go around it on the left and then come back on the right.
The rest was perfect.

Machine-translated

Jimontheway
Jimontheway

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Thank you for sharing this. It was a lovely hike with a small viewpoint at the highest point where we had a picnic. This hike is suitable for most people, including families, if the children are in the mood for walking

Machine-translated

BCC
BCC

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Easy hike, well described, relatively sheltered from the north/west wind, beautiful views before arriving at the old ruined woodland bastide

Machine-translated

earlybird84
earlybird84

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Very nice hike, thank you. Be sure not to leave the stream bed before the 'trident' (easy to spot).

Mostly sheltered from the Mistral wind. Beautiful views with Mt Saint Victoire on the horizon.

Machine-translated

Géryf
Géryf

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

There is a little water in the stream bed, but nothing too serious, and after that the route is easy. For those who want to picnic, I recommend waiting until the end of this 3-hour hike to get back in the car and drive to the nearby Bonde lake, where there are shaded tables available outside of summer, as the snack bar is closed.

Machine-translated

passoun
passoun

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

return after the rather monotonous wooded hamlet.

Machine-translated

claire poggio
claire poggio

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this lovely walk. It is not difficult at all. After the spring, do not try to leave the stream bed too soon. The trident and the cliff are easy to find if you follow the stream.

Machine-translated

gitesdelamadrague
gitesdelamadrague

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

First of all, thank you to those who write the guides. I don't want to be critical because I couldn't do any better myself.
We didn't get lost at all, but we did hesitate quite a bit when choosing which path to take (whereas the explanations in the Visorando guides are often clearer).
It was a nice little walk that we really enjoyed

Machine-translated

Bob Timmerman
Bob Timmerman

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
We did this hike on Ascension Thursday. There were few hikers. It was a lovely, fairly varied walk. We couldn't find WP4, but we still made it to WP5. Opposite the only path with red markings that we found on the left, there is a path that leads back to the sheepfold. But with the route and the IGN map, there were no difficulties.
Kind regards,

Machine-translated

D.Isnard
D.Isnard

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,
The route was true to the description provided.
Completed with an average-level hiker in 2½ hours without stopping.
The first part, along the stream, is probably best avoided if there has been heavy rain recently.
On the plus side, this hike is sheltered from the Mistral wind.

Kind regards,
D. Isnard

Machine-translated

DominiqueAIX
DominiqueAIX
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that we enhanced with two options that allowed us to avoid walking too much on the trails, favouring paths through pine forests:
1. between WP4 and WP5, at elevation 608, take the path on the right that "cuts across" and rejoins the track at elevation 675 (Girard)
2. just below Bastide du Bois, when the track makes a hairpin bend, climb 30 m and take the path that heads south-east, goes around the west side of Bramadou hill, climbs between hills 615 and 620, then descends west of small pass de Tirail to join the main track for the return journey. Superb views of La Bastide and the Ravin des Trois Small Passes.
Please note:
- the choice to be made at the now famous "trident" posed no problem for us.
- for the start, it is best to park at WP1: there are about ten parking spaces under the pine trees.
Thanks to the author of this walk!

Machine-translated

SACARPAT
SACARPAT

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

it's true that the signposting is a bit poor, and if you follow the yellow signs, you'll end up going the wrong way, but I think it's nicer to climb for 3 km and then descend for the remaining 6 km. A pleasant little hike in good weather. See you soon on the trails. Patrick

Machine-translated

Franck D
Franck D
• Edited:

Hello Ccpertuis
OK, I'll change the text: I've added "not" and put it in bold, but what do you think is missing?
Note: I went back to take a photo of the passage, but it wasn't selected (you have to go through the reviews or https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-sour...)
Excerpt
"While remaining at the bottom, you end up facing a sort of inverted trident: do not take the right where a small stream arrives; it is small, but it has still carved out a small cliff. Do not go left, where the stream and a path continue towards the Bramadou ravine. Continue straight ahead, heading north on the fairly rugged path that climbs and then gradually improves. Continue climbing and note an old abandoned sheepfold on the right.
Note: following Michel BOILLEE's advice, I have modified the text and taken a photo of this crossroads (see notice)."

Machine-translated

Pierre de Peyrolles
Pierre de Peyrolles

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
This walk alternates between walking along the Riou (a stream with a trickle of water) and the DFCI trail and is very pleasant. It takes you up to a higher point where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the south.
As I was feeling fit, I couldn't resist trying to reach the "summit". To do this, at point 6 (altitude 710 m), I turned left to climb the ridge of the Grand Luberon (altitude 939 m), completing a loop of just over 3 km on a good track (about an hour, with no risk of vertigo). At the top, there is a lovely view before descending back to point 6.
As for the description of the waypoints, the Visorando software with the IGN map subscription is good enough that you don't need to worry about it at all. You just need to make sure you're following the route, and if you stray from it, a repetitive alarm will sound on your phone. In this case, just turn around and head back to the trail.

Machine-translated

Ccpertuis
Ccpertuis

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Frankly, the explanation of the inverted fork needs further clarification. We fell into the same trap as the two unfortunate hikers who had to be winched out by helicopter.
Having missed this famous inverted fork, when we reached the V we went right to the dead end, then tried left to the scree slope, and one of us started climbing it to see what it was like (and at that point we hadn't seen the comments and the firefighter and helicopter rescue adventure).
So in the end, we turned back to take the right path up the hill.
And when we turned back twice, we told two families that it wasn't the right road.
It's worth adding a note saying that you need to pay attention to the path that climbs to the left and that you should definitely not attempt to climb the scree slope.

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.