The cliffs, valleys and châteaux around Etretat

Climb the cliffs, enjoy the Fréfossé Château, go on a pebble beach away from onlookers, discover the small valleys of the Pays de Caux...
This is on the menu of this short hike.

Technical sheet

242505
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.58 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 182 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 176 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 109 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 7 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Leave from car park of the Etretat beach.

(S/E) Go left as you face the sea and climb the Falaise d'Aval via the staircase. Walk along the cliff and the golf course on the GR21 (red and white markers). You'll pass a treatment plant and then a sign introducing natural site of the Valleuse d'Antifer.

(1) Descend on the steepest trail, just opposite and the closest to the cliff.
At the bottom of this trail you can make a detour to the right to see the beach.

(2) Climb back up the Valleuse to the left, gradually becoming a wide tarmac track.
After about 800 meters, in the forested area, by a concrete pipe that passes through an intersection, turn to the left on a path to climb back on the plateau. A little higher up, ignore the tarmac path on the right. You're back on the plateau, opposite the hamlet of Valaine.
(3)
At the intersection of five paths, turn right to get to the foot of the water tower.
Here you'll find the red and white route markers of the GR21. On this path through fields you can see the Château de Fréfossé to your left. After walking for almost 1km, you'll reach a copse, on a small asphalt road.

(4) Turn left. Cross the D940 (be careful, there is a lot of traffic). Immediately after, ignore the Chemin du Bocage on the right-hand-side and continue straight on the Rue du Presbytère. Follow this road which turns right, then left, and then right again.

(5) At the intersection, descend left on the Route de la Guézanne which is forested.

(6) When you exit the wood, 100 meters before arriving on the D39 and by a property on the right, take the Chemin des Haules on the left which circulates through fields and then leads to a street (Rue René Tonnenot, then Rue des Ecoles). Keep going straight, ignoring perpendicular roads.

(7) Take the first street which is on your left before the stadium (Chemin des Haules) to go around it. Then continue straight on to the D940. Cross this road, which is the main road in and out of Etretat. Take the Rue Anicet Bourgeois opposite then turn left on the Rue de Traz Perier to reach the start-point car park(S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 7 m - Etretat beach car park
  2. 1 : km 1.91 - alt. 85 m - Sign for the Valleuse d'Antifer nature reserve
  3. 2 : km 2.25 - alt. 20 m - Left in the valley
  4. 3 : km 3.93 - alt. 99 m - Crossroads of 5 roads
  5. 4 : km 4.89 - alt. 108 m - To the left
  6. 5 : km 5.77 - alt. 89 m - Left Route de la Guézanne
  7. 6 : km 6.73 - alt. 15 m - Left Chemin des Haules
  8. 7 : km 7.75 - alt. 7 m - Left Chemin des Haules
  9. S/E : km 8.58 - alt. 8 m - Etretat beach car park

Practical information

Be careful of the wind on the cliffs!
To descend in the Valleuse de l'Antifer, this is another less-steep path. Best on wet days!

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 28 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
DaDoRando14
DaDoRando14

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very nice, well-balanced walk. It's obviously busiest at the start, but gets less busy as you move away from the Valleuse d'Antifer.

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lannel
lannel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very pleasant walk with magnificent views over the cliffs and through the countryside.
We set off from the free car park at the entrance to Etretat on the D39 (next to point 6).
At point 1, we took the path up and down (more inland) to join the Valleuse d'Antifer road.
A popular route along the cliffs to the Valleuse d'Antifer.

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nitzhaky
nitzhaky
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

One of the most beautiful walks I have ever done due to the magnificent cliffs. The route is easy. Great view point. Try to decent to every available downward short paths for a greater view. Worth it. Take sun protection.

LaLDD
LaLDD

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very well described route. Varied scenery: cliffs, fields, crossing the village.
A little crowded at the start of the route.

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Pierre Frédéric Barriere
Pierre Frédéric Barriere

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A very nice walk combining the coast and the countryside. My 7-year-old son had no trouble, but my 70-year-old mother had a bit more difficulty on the cliff section. I hesitated a little about the location of the "canal", but in the end, after a little more exploring, it became clear (a sort of wide concrete gutter that crosses the road).

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Xavier77
Xavier77

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

The route is pleasant, but I would recommend doing it out of season or at weekends to avoid the crowds on a large part of the first part of the route, and later on the traffic is unpleasant when the route takes roads.

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Alain Desforges
Alain Desforges

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

I'd recommend parking outside Etretat while staying on the walking route. (towards Les Tilleuls on the left as you arrive in Etretat, route du presbytère, for example).
Lovely hike, well described, impressive cliffs, luckily the sun was out...
Alain

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GS040354
GS040354

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

The weather conditions were very favourable, and the cliffs are a remarkable site.A word of advice: park your car in the free car park at the entrance to Etretat and take the path down to the cliffs, avoiding the busy road leading to the town centre.

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CALZATURE
CALZATURE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very pleasant route; we had a bit of "Normandy rain" and wind, but the passage was not a problem. Superb views even without the sun. However, I wouldn't call it an easy ride, more a moderate one. We parked in the free relief car park at the entrance to Etretat, and it's a short kilometre to the beach, but it was a very pleasant walk with some beautiful houses along the way.

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PissyRandonneurs
PissyRandonneurs

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 28, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this walk on the afternoon of Sunday 29 December in beautiful sunshine but with a rather cool temperature (4 to 5°C). It was certainly this fine sunshine that brought so many people to Etretat that day. To avoid the crowds, we decided to leave from Le Tilleul. We parked our car in front of the church. We crossed the D940 at the pedestrian crossing, then headed towards Etretat as far as the village exit sign, turning left onto a grassy path at the Le Tilleul vehicle wrecking yard to reach the grove at point 4 of the walk, and continued on to point 5.
We really enjoyed passing over the busy cliffs of Etretat and the beach at Antifer, which you should take the time to visit. Beautiful variety of landscapes.
We'll be doing this walk again this spring or summer.
Congratulations to the writer of this walk.

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baralbion
baralbion

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A most enjoyable walk, if a little strenuous at times, particularly under a hot sun. Great views of Etretat and the coastline. Some interesting houses inland.

Claire61
Claire61

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : N/A
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very pleasant walk thank you

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MARYSE45
MARYSE45

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 22, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Interesting and varied loop route, very well described (numerous points of interest, lovely views, etc) in the reviews on this site. Once past the cliffs, it would be impossible to do this hike without all these explanations. Thank you Visorando.

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Rando9270
Rando9270

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 23, 2019
Reliability of the description : N/A
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This was a very pleasant walk, which we started from the Tilleul car park (going clockwise) to avoid the overcrowded car parks in Étretat. Between the undergrowth, cliffs and Norman houses, there's no shortage of points of interest. And don't forget the pleasure of walking through fields of flax in bloom, lined with poppies at this time of year.

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françoisetchristine
françoisetchristine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice walk, but lots of cars in the Guézanne valley, which is not recommended for traffic...; And lots of people on the cliffs, but that's normal!

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