Tour of the Gotheron woods

A balanced hike combining dirt tracks and small roads, taking you from the town hall of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence to the plateau, surrounded by fields and fruit trees around the INRA estate in Gotheron. Beautiful views of the Ardèche and Vercors.

Details

778062
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.97 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 87 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 86 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 194 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 158 m

Description of the walk

Departure from the town hall square in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence.

(S/E) Head towards the church via Rue du Square, then turn right onto Rue de la Liberté. Turn left onto Place de l'Église in front of the bakery. Take the "Pass'âge" to pass under the railway line, turn left to go around the chapel on the HLM side, then continue along the street towards Côte de Surel.

(1) At the end of the straight road, turn left onto Chemin de Bel Air, continue for 30 metres and take the pedestrian crossing that goes up to the right. Continue to the road. Turn left onto Rue de l'Hermitage. Continue and then follow Rue de la Colline, which goes down into the Vallon housing estate.

(2) Côte du Vallon (blue sign "le vallon"), climb Côte du Vallon on the right. Cross the first crossroads and continue to the next one. Take Chemin des Vernets on the left towards INRA. Pass two large semi-detached houses on the left (Le Rat).

After the long pebble wall, take Chemin de Nourrat on the right. From here, there is a beautiful view of the Vercors and the Ardèche.
Continue along the path until you reach the Gotheron estate (INRA). At the end of the dirt track, turn left onto Chemin des Reys, leaving the road to Gotheron on your right.

(3) Take the next road on the right, Chemin de Marquet (red fire hydrant). After the descent, you will arrive at the hamlet of Marquet, which you will cross by continuing straight ahead. After passing under the high-voltage power line, continue straight ahead on the dirt road.

(4) When you reach a few houses on the left, turn right onto Route de Fouillouse and follow this road uphill to the plateau (be careful, visibility is poor on the climb). At the top on the left is the Domaine de la Caillette. Continue to the junction with a stony path, which you take on the right, along a hedge of trees facing the Vercors. At the end of this path, turn left onto the road and take the first path on the right at the weather station. From here, there is a beautiful view of the northern Vercors and the Chartreuse.

(5) Follow this grassy path, turn right at a hedge of trees, walk along the field and the hedge and descend to the road. Take the Chemin des Reys on the left. It becomes a dirt track after the houses.

(6) When you reach a small road, turn right until you come to another road, which you take on the left. After 50 metres, turn right onto the path and join the old Châteauneuf road, following it on the right at first.

(7) At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue du Rhône, then 30 metres later, turn left onto Allée de la Sonatine, which leads to a small square. Go down to the left to join Côte de Surel and continue to the right.

(1) Follow your return route via the "Pass'âge" to reach the Place de la Mairie (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 162 m - Town hall square
  2. 1 : km 0.63 - alt. 176 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.38 - alt. 178 m - Côte du Vallon on the right
  4. 3 : km 3.17 - alt. 171 m - Chemin de Marquet on the right
  5. 4 : km 4.54 - alt. 167 m - Route de Fouillouse on the right
  6. 5 : km 6.02 - alt. 192 m - Dirt track next to the weather station
  7. 6 : km 7.8 - alt. 187 m - Return to the tarmac path on the right
  8. 7 : km 8.75 - alt. 192 m - Return to the right by crossing the housing estate.
  9. S/E : km 9.97 - alt. 162 m - Town hall square

Notes

This walk is suggested by the association "Vivre à Saint-Marcel".

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
morilles
morilles

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

To add to fbo07's message, I would like to point out that when you take Rue de la Sonatine from Rue du Rhône, you then need to turn left onto the second small street, which is also called Rue de la Sonatine but has no sign. At the end of this street, there is a small passage between some bushes.
As for those who got lost, it's because they didn't pay attention to the very clear signage.
And those who complain that it's too flat haven't read the description.

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stephoscar
stephoscar

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

A walk in sunny weather, pleasant at this time of year, taking 2 hours and 10 minutes at a normal walking pace. It's fairly easy as there is little elevation gain, and can be done with the family, even with a pushchair. A little disappointed, though, as three quarters of it is on tarmac, with little traffic, but it's still a country road. I was expecting to walk a little in the woods...

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caresse
caresse

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short walk that can be enjoyed with the family. Great for winter days

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DidierRando26
DidierRando26

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

A pleasant, easy hike. Beautiful views of the two mountain ranges on either side of the Rhône Valley. A half-day outing in winter.

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fbo07
fbo07
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk, but not one to do in very hot weather.
It's a shame that at the end of the route, a local resident felt compelled to put a locked gate in a lane between houses to prevent people from passing through. This should be reported to the local council.

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chrystenmarie
chrystenmarie

Still haven't done the hike...

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Calinebour
Calinebour

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Very easy hike, no elevation gain, minor glitch at level 2 quickly corrected with the app... Beautiful views of the Drôme and Ardèche... A bit too many tarmac roads for my liking...

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sparnacienne
sparnacienne

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Date of hike: Sunday, 4 April 2021
Tour du Gotheron done with Nordic walking
The proposed hiking route includes many paved roads, but part of the route is ideal for adapting to avoid roads and take only dirt trails
Approximately 7 km tour in 1 hour 30 minutes from INRA
Suggestion: Visorando could offer Nordic walking tours (without roads)

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Gée & Jo
Gée & Jo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely autumn walk; not even any mud to get your shoes dirty.
In our humble opinion, the second part of the description of the start/finish could be clearer, something like: "turn right at the end of the pass, and take the Surel hill opposite to the Bel Air crossroads". But that's just a suggestion, as we got a bit confused at that point.

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Josetteaubry
Josetteaubry

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike (marked in yellow, in fact!!!) with lovely views 🤗
Thank you for the very precise directions 👍🏼

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randonneur38
randonneur38

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice, relaxing and beautiful scenery... thank you.

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fafarouge
fafarouge

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Easy route, hike designed for walking on flat ground, no elevation gain, but for my taste, too much tarmac, not enough nice little paths

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rpatrick8
rpatrick8
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant hike with beautiful views of the Vercors and Ardèche mountains, with the added bonus of a bed of fragrant violets.

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Champelovier Anne Marie
Champelovier Anne Marie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 07, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A gentle stroll for a winter afternoon. Well signposted, very pleasant walk

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nergal
nergal

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant and easy walk through fields along driveways or tarmac paths with beautiful scenery. At number 2, it is more the rat path that is indicated on the left at the crossroads, and be careful not to take the wrong turn in the housing estate at the start and end of the route, otherwise it is very well explained.

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