On the heights of La Cadière-d'Azur

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A nice little hike just to relax and enjoy some beautiful views.
Moderator's warning on 24 April 2021: Please note! Reviews of this hike indicate that the start of the route is difficult to find. GPS or the Visorando app are useful

Details

n°268352
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.93 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 105 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 104 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 227 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 137 m
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Photos

Undergrowth
La Cadière and Le Castellet
View of La Ciotat from the ridge
From La Cadière, view of the western plain

Description of the walk

(S) From the La Cadière-d'Azur sports complex, turn left at the tennis courts and follow the fence, then take the track on the right. Follow the fitness trail until you reach the viewpoint overlooking La Ciotat.

(1) Follow the path on the left, which offers superb views of La Ciotat and the valley (paragliders take off from here). Take the path that turns left and descends into the woods, following the cliffs in a south-westerly direction. Continue straight ahead to reach another viewpoint, then return to the path and descend.

(2) Take the path on the left going uphill towards the north, then follow the yellow and black mountain bike sign (circuit du Défends). Continue to the Défends crossroads. At the crossroads, turn right, go a few metres and turn right again to descend into the housing estate (very stony path). At the junction with the road, turn left, then left again at the stop sign. Follow this road until you reach a bench.

(3) Turn left onto the path that runs alongside a house (no entry sign). Turn right, then left and follow the road until you reach the main road. Turn right, go through the gate and continue straight ahead on the road (Chemin du Stade) until you reach the pavement.

(4) Take the small path on the left that goes up to the ruined tower, go around it and rejoin the road.

(4) Return to the right, pass the sign for "Le Puits des Oliviers" and follow the path on the right which climbs up with beautiful views of Sainte-Baume, the valley and the village of Le Castelet. Continue to the reservoirs, go around them on the right and you will arrive at a small chapel. Follow the wide track (fitness trail) above the car park and continue along this track.

(5) View of the sea, another paragliding launch site. Take the path that runs along the cliff to a monument with more magnificent views. Descend to the edge of the stadium and follow the fence as closely as possible.

(1) Go around the football pitch and then the tennis courts to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 211 m - La Cadière d'Azur sports complex
  2. 1 : km 0.24 - alt. 209 m - View of La Ciotat
  3. 2 : km 1.28 - alt. 178 m - Turn left onto the path
  4. 3 : km 2.7 - alt. 148 m - On the left near the bench
  5. 4 : km 3.36 - alt. 177 m - Loop to go to the tower
  6. 5 : km 4.44 - alt. 223 m - View of La Ciotat
  7. S/E : km 4.93 - alt. 211 m - La Cadière d'Azur sports complex

Reviews and comments

4 / 5
Based on 39 reviews
Reliability of the description
3.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 26543861

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short circuit suitable for all levels. However, in my opinion, the section through the residential areas is unnecessary.

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Bea83
Bea83

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike, magnificent views, but signage is a bit limited, so don't lose sight of the trail.
Difficult to find the start of the hike.

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Louis13
Louis13

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Beautiful route, shame about the useless 200-metre loop. But a very beautiful route. Easy and very well signposted. Even the start. Thank you very much.

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LionelPKX64
LionelPKX64

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route tracking is only possible with a smartphone and GPS, as there are so many small paths and the route is not marked on the ground. However, this is very easy to do.
Magnificent views of La Ciotat Bay.

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Safrica988
Safrica988

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk in the hills above La Cadière. Splendid views from these high vantage points. An easy route to follow with a little knowledge of the terrain. You can avoid passing through residential areas by taking shortcuts between points 2 and 3.

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Papou et Mamou
Papou et Mamou

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Impossible to follow the route on a map. GPS essential; we did not follow the entire route

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ATOS
ATOS

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

I confirm several previous comments, because the start of the circuit is indeed very difficult to find. The description says "to the left of the tennis courts", but where are the tennis courts? We took your extract from the IGN map, but it was no use at all, as it wasn't clear enough.
So, after searching for a long time, we were unable to do the circuit. There are many paths and, as has been said, it is impossible to identify which one to take, so we settled for a walk around the site.
You say that you are not responsible for the signposting, which is a shame...

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Ilmaro
Ilmaro

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful views and we come across a large rock containing numerous marine fossils!

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ambotton
ambotton

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

We had a lot of trouble finding the start of the hike.
In fact, we never found the "start of the fitness trail" because there were no signs.
Otherwise, once we got started, the trail was very good and very pretty

Anne-Marie

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Autrautruche
Autrautruche

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike. No major difficulties for me (note: there is a slightly steep and rocky descent, and a path near the cliffs on the way back). Not many people out on a Sunday morning.
GPS route easy to follow.
Interesting route, beautiful views, flora, processionary caterpillars (beware if you have dogs!), ruins.
Access to La Cadière is via a small winding road (on either side), which I would not recommend for drivers who are not confident.

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bise
bise

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very interesting tour, magnificent views

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Pierre rando
Pierre rando

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The walk is very pleasant in spring, with flower beds full of wild flowers (daffodils, irises and others), but on the first half of the route, the area is criss-crossed by numerous paths which can cause confusion with regard to the walk described. The path along the ridge offers beautiful views.

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ACAHIER
ACAHIER

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We did this walk on 5 January. There are some very pretty views of La Ciotat, and the paths through the woods are also very pleasant. At point 2, the end of the description mentions a bench that isn't there! We carried on, hoping to find it, and of course we ended up in the village and therefore completely off the route described! It would have been easier to refer to Avenue du 8 Mai 1945 to indicate this fork in the road. The last part is mostly through residential areas, which is not our favourite kind of place to walk. We did, however, discover a forest area that we didn't know about.

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Choucha robert
Choucha robert

Thank you for this excellent review
happy holidays!

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Micmac62
Micmac62

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely scenic route through a pine forest, with beautiful views of the plain around La Cadière and the Bec de l'Aigle in La Ciotat.
Thanks to Choucha Robert for this well-described route.

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