Circuit of the Northern Waterfalls of the Petites Roches

The walk starts in Montalieu (in the commune of Saint-Vincent-de-Mercuze), at the car park on Impasse des Cassardes.

(S/E) From the car park, walk back down a few metres to the end of the cul-de-sac and turn right onto Rue de la Gorge. Continue along the road until you reach a right-hand hairpin bend, where a path branches off to the left, leading in a few minutes to the Waterfall de la Gouille Michel.

(1) A footbridge crosses the river, then a fairly steep climb leads up to the Grande waterfall of Alloix.

(2) The path then turns right and passes under the waterfall. Carry on straight ahead at the next junction (a sign points towards “Le Devin”) until you reach the D282, then turn left onto it.

(3) A few bends further on, turn right onto a path signposted “Sentier de la route antique”. The path cuts across a few hairpin bends in the road and passes through a sheep enclosure (make sure to close the gates properly) to reach the hamlets of La Vieille Église and then La Chapelle. Continue on towards Les Prés.

(4) At the end of the path, turn left, cross the D282 in the hamlet of Les Prés, then take the first street on the right. After about 150 m, as you leave the hamlet, take the path that climbs to the left towards Pré Orcel (yellow markings). The path crosses three larger cross-trails; follow the markings carefully to continue climbing straight ahead.

(5) At^{the fourth} junction with a wide track, just below the Pré Orcel car park, take this track to the right (this time, there’s no need to follow the markings, as they lead you up and down unnecessarily). Continue along the track to the end.

(6) At the end of the track, turn right, then take the first path on the left. Continue to the source of the Cernon along this path, which winds downwards, ignoring other paths branching off to the right.

(7) Cross the Cernon, bearing in mind that the signpost in the middle of the stream does not necessarily indicate the easiest place to cross. Then keep to the right at two junctions (towards Saint-Marcel d’en Haut) until you reach a wide track at the small Cernon dam.

(8) A short round trip of a few metres to the dam offers a view of a small waterfall. Continue along the track, then take the first path on the right, which soon joins the Cernon.

(9) When you reach the bank of the stream, the path becomes unclear and the markings are barely visible. Follow the penstock upstream to support number 13, then turn left to cross at a large rock where a few trees are growing. A yellow marker is visible a little further up, on a section of the penstock stuck in the middle of the stream. On the other side of the boulder, look out for a cairn marking the spot where the path resumes on the opposite bank. The path itself is barely visible, hidden by fallen trees. Once on the opposite bank, after the first cairn, the path becomes clearer. It begins by climbing the bank of the Cernon valley, still marked by a few cairns, then continues through the forest and becomes a forest track.

(10) At a place called La Tivolière, the path becomes a road: at this point, turn left towards Saint-Marcel d’en Bas, cross the D285 and then turn right at the first junction. Continue for a short while until you reach a junction signposted for the Furet waterfall. A short but steep round trip takes you to the waterfall.

(11) On your return from the waterfall, continue along the previous path towards Barraux until you reach the next junction.

(12) At this junction signposted ‘Champ Brisson’, take the path that climbs to the right towards Saint-Georges. At the top of the climb, the path opens out onto a meadow and continues along its left-hand side. The path is fairly cluttered with wood-cutting debris, but is still clearly visible. A little further on, you reach another meadow; the path also runs along its left-hand side, staying right on the edge of the forest.

(13) The path crosses a wider track: follow it to the left for a few dozen metres to reach a telecoms tower with a lovely view over the valley and the little Château du Fayet just below. Then return to the previous path towards Saint-Georges. It soon joins a small street: follow it to the left, then immediately take the first street on the right to reach the main road (D282). Follow it to the left for 150 metres until you reach a small bridge.

(14) At the bridge, turn left onto a path that follows the Rif Mort and keep to the right at the next junction. Carry on for a short while until you spot a crossroads on the right marked by two cairns and a discreet ‘waterfall’ sign on a tree: this is the path leading to the Teppes-Cochon waterfall.

(15) Again, this is a short, steep round trip. On your return from the waterfall, continue along the previous path to the right. Turn right at the next junction and carry on until you reach a small bridge over the Ruisseau des Granges. Cross the stream via the bridge.

(16) Immediately take a forest track that climbs to the right. The track bends to the right, then takes a wide bend to the left: carry on, ignoring several tracks branching off to the right. After the bend to the left, the track appears to end and begins to be overgrown, but it actually continues as a narrow path that runs straight ahead through the undergrowth. Carry on along this path until you reach another one (the ‘Chemin du Pas du facteur’) and take it to the left.

(17) After a few dozen metres along this path, look out for the start of another path leading uphill to the right. This path is rather inconspicuous as it is heavily overgrown for the first few metres, but it improves thereafter. Follow this path to the end, where it joins the D282 at a hairpin bend.

(18) Turn left onto the road. Go straight on at the next junction, then turn left onto a track after about 200 metres. Turn right 100 metres further on: this track leads straight back to the Montalieu car park (S/E).

Spring is the best time of year for this walk: it’s an ideal route when snow still blocks access to the peaks and the melting snow feeds the plateau’s streams abundantly! In summer, most of the streams may be dry or nearly so, which makes the walk less interesting.

The IGN base map is inaccurate between (16) and (18): no path appears on the IGN map, even though one does exist. The OpenStreetMap base map is correct.

There are no particularly difficult sections on this walk: the climbs are sometimes steep but never very long. The challenge lies in the total distance and the cumulative elevation gain, which ends up being significant. So, with the help of the map, you can easily find easier alternatives that follow only part of the route.

At (18), instead of heading straight onto the road, you can turn left for a few metres: a bench situated at the top of a cliff, which is quite unexpected in this spot, offers a chance to enjoy one last beautiful panoramic view.

At the Grande waterfall of Alloix (2), there is a via ferrata.