On the heights of Yzeron

Discover the surroundings of the village of Yzeron, starting from the valley.

Details

11915
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.54 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 573 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 576 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 857 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 420 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking is available in Les Adrets in the commune of Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux, after the small bridge crossing the Yzeron.

(S/E) Follow the path that climbs between the old sawmill (wheel against the west facade visible from La Coursiere) and the old farm, towards Samazange through the woods.

(1) At the entrance to the hamlet, after the first houses, turn left twice in a row.
Cross the D489 road and continue along the path opposite. The climb to Les Aduts is quite steep.

(2) Pass the Aduts farms and head towards Le Rozard on the small road.
After Le Rozard, turn right and go uphill, crossing the D113 road. Then turn left towards Saint-Clair (starting point for other hikes). As you pass, take a look at the Saint-Clair Chapel (ruins). If you're feeling brave, go to the spring (200 m).

(3) Keep left after the houses, and when the road curves slightly to the right (small pass), continue straight ahead to climb towards Crêt de La Madone.

(4) At La Madone, you have just completed the most difficult part of the walk. Head back down the path towards Yzeron.

(5) Cross the D113 road again and, on your left, take the signposted path towards Yzeron-centre.
In the centre of the village, cross the D489 and take the small street almost opposite that crosses the Yzeron. Turn right at the first intersection, then left into Grande Rue. When you pass the town hall, at the three-way junction, take the road that climbs uphill, then turn left to join the Planil towards Py Froid.

(6) Take the road on the right along the Route de Thurins. The path climbs before winding down towards the road, which it follows at a height. The view of the mountains is magnificent.
Follow Fontrobert - Chateauvieux. At La Chèvrerie, continue towards Chateauvieux (the chapel is worth a visit).

::7;; At the chapel, continue east on the road, which turns into a path and leads you to the dolmen.

(8) Descend through the Bois du Fay to Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux. At the crossroads, turn left towards La Mitonnière.

(9) Turn left onto Chemin de la Grande Serve. At the three-way junction, take Chemin des Couttes on the right until you reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 423 m - Parking is available after the small bridge crossing the - Yzeron (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 1.51 - alt. 479 m - Turn left twice in a row
  3. 2 : km 4.06 - alt. 778 m - Head towards Le Rozard along the small road
  4. 3 : km 5.45 - alt. 843 m - Keep left after the houses
  5. 4 : km 6.51 - alt. 857 m - Head back down the path towards Yzeron
  6. 5 : km 7.06 - alt. 760 m - The path is signposted towards Yzeron-centre
  7. 6 : km 8.47 - alt. 749 m - Take the path on the right
  8. 7 : km 12.65 - alt. 675 m - Chapelle Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Châteauvieux)
  9. 8 : km 13.64 - alt. 583 m - Descend through the Bois du Fay - Dolmen (Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux)
  10. 9 : km 14.74 - alt. 450 m - Turn left onto Chemin
  11. S/E : km 15.54 - alt. 426 m - Parking is available after the small bridge

Notes

Don't forget your water bottle, as there is a significant elevation gain on the first half of the route (Madone).
A picnic at La Madone or Lake Ronzey is a great idea. After all that effort, it's time to relax and unwind...

Worth a visit

Things to see
Throughout the climb, don't forget to turn around to enjoy the view of the valley.
In Saint-Clair, the ruins of the chapel are being rebuilt, and 200 metres away is the Saint-Clair spring.
Lac du Ronzey is a great place to relax and have a picnic.
Yzeron, the promontory village of the Monts du Lyonnais.
Py Froid and its climbing rocks.
The Châteauvieux Chapel is only open on Sunday afternoons (contact details)
The Dolmen, emblem of the village of Saint-Laurent de Vaux.
Finally, along the way, several farms sell cabrions (goat's cheese from the Lyonnais region)

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 32 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
chantalmichel932@gmail.com
chantalmichel932@gmail.com
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It’s a lovely walk, especially the second half.
It’s impossible to complete if you only follow the written description.
You absolutely must have the GPS app.

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pascal.amieux
pascal.amieux
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Departure at 9:50 a.m., return at 4:15 p.m. (after extending the route slightly). Cold weather. Fog in the valley in the morning, sunny in the afternoon.
We did not use GPS. The map was generally sufficient. On the way back to Saint Laurent de Vaux, we descended too far below the village, which added about 1 km to the route.
Very beautiful scenery on arriving at Saint Clair and a pleasant trail between Yzeron and Châteauvieux.

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christiane longin-sauvageon
christiane longin-sauvageon
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

stunning views of all the mountain ranges!

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kargo0209
kargo0209

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The starting point is not ideal for parking. Parking is available at the intersection of Chemin de la Coursière and Chemin des Adrets (100 metres before the bridge crossing the Yzeron river), near the recycling bins.
Very pleasant hike with long stretches through the woods, accessible to all.
Magnificent view of Lyon just after rejoining the road before arriving at Les Aduts (rock under a tree that can be used as a bench on the right-hand side of the road)
Allow 4 to 4½ hours without a lunch break.

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Dompie
Dompie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

We really enjoyed this route. We didn't know this part of the Rhône and it's beautiful.
The elevation gain wasn't too bad either 🤭
There's a very nice little restaurant in Yseron.
We had a little trouble finding the starting point in St Laurent de Vaux (not indicated in Yseron)... But Waze came to the rescue 👍

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Sergio1958
Sergio1958

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, mostly sheltered from the wind and in the shade.
You must download the app to your iPhone to see your location, otherwise you run a high risk of getting lost, as the paper description does not allow you to hike safely.

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Michel lacroix
Michel lacroix

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did the longer version (about 19 km) that was on the Visorando website a few years ago.
It's a beautiful walk with superb views. Yesterday, we came across lots of mountain bikers (several hundred) hurtling down the paths at breakneck speed, putting hikers in danger. I was almost knocked over myself. It's a must-do route, but I recommend doing it outside of the weekend.
Enjoy your hike.

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phldt
phldt

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice walk along the Yzeron, very pleasant.
the only problem is crossing the road for a few hundred metres. Very dangerous.
The actual duration is more like 2 hours and 15 minutes

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grandin
grandin ★
• Edited:

pascal.amieux
thanks, I'll take a look. It's a very old hike...

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pascal.amieux
pascal.amieux

Overall rating : 1 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : Yes

Very strange: the header of the walk (duration: 7 hours 10 minutes, distance 19.12 km, etc.), the map and the description do not match. What's more, the map is truncated. So I wasn't able to do this walk.

The discrepancy occurs between points 2 and 3, where the description leads to the Crêt de la Madone (for a circuit of about 15 km), while on the map, the route continues towards Cazot

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Benoît GALLE
Benoît GALLE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

a lovely 15 km route, suitable for children under 10 years old

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cornet22
cornet22

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I used GPS tracking to follow the hike starting from the Pars cross coming from St Genis l'Argentière. The hike took place in beautiful late winter sunshine. Along the way, there were superb views of Lyon and its region, with the snow-capped Alps in the background. the GPS recorded a distance of 20.8 km, which took around six hours to complete, mainly over open ground or through sparse woodland. The elevation gain was around 600 metres. The hike starts with a descent from the Pars cross and ends with a climb, which is a little unusual for a hike. This hike is best done in clear weather to enjoy the views.

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Marc L3.
Marc L3.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The car park at the start is a bit small.
A pleasant walk in beautiful weather.
Highly recommended

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dansa
dansa

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

signage a bit unclear at the start

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cosette
cosette

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Please note that there is no parking in Les Adrets, only space for one car. There are not enough signs before reaching Les Aduts, so when you leave the path to reach Les Aduts, take the road on the right. From there, the signs are clear. To return to your car at the end of Chemin de la Grande Serve, take the road on the left to reach La Pâte d'Oie. Otherwise, it is a lovely walk

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