Tour of the Mollard d'Arbon (Trail No. 5 of the "Western Chartreuse Trails")

Park in the hikers’ car park on Rue Pré Boulat, next to the Gradins de Roize car park in Voreppe

Follow signpost no . 5, marked in yellow.

S/E The route begins with a walk across the hills above the village of Voreppe.
Take Rue (Chemin) de Pré Boulat towards the cemetery.

(1) Cross the Route de Racin and take Rue de Porte Saint Laurent. Continue along Rue des Tupinières to an old fountain and carry on along Rue Porte des Pallaches.
At the end of this, a path branches off to the right. Follow it along the fences and low walls bordering the castle grounds and the media library grounds to reach Rue de Gachetière.

(2) Walk up this street and take the second street on the left (Rue de Château Vieux). At the end of this street, take the path on the left which overlooks the Bourg Vieux district, passes in front of the petrified fountain of Le Corbeau and reaches the first hairpin bend.

(3) At this point, take a detour to the right to the Crochet viewpoint. View of the Isère valley, the Vercors, the Isère gorge and the Bourg Vieux district.
Return to the path to follow a deep ravine, cross it at its end, head over to the other side and reach the Gachetière viewpoint, where there is a bench for a welcome break. Views over Voreppe and the Vercors.

(4) Continue along the path, crossing the Gachetière waterfall via a footbridge, and reach a track at the foot of the southern slope of the Mollard d'Arbon.

(5) Turn right onto this path, which crosses other paths that you should ignore, and which, after a steep climb, leads onto the Chalais road.
This is the Rajasse clearing, the highest point of this route.

(6) Cross the road to rejoin the descending path and cross the road again to meet the Côte Longue path. Follow the path to the left, which runs along the northern face of the Mollard d'Arbon, to reach the hamlet of Le Clet.

(7) Walk a few metres along the road and take the path branching off to the right, which crosses the Clet road again.
Head carefully to the right along this road, which descends towards Voreppe. Before a hairpin bend, take a path on the left which rejoins the road and the cemetery on the left.
Turn right onto Rue de Pré Boulat to return to the car park (S/E).

The Mollard d’Arbon is a high hill, characterised by its rounded shape shaped by glaciers and by the structure of its soil, composed of molasse and puddingstone.
(1) A tour of the village of Voreppe can be undertaken at the end of the hike from the Roize terraces car park, where a sign displays the various routes on offer.
Heading up Rue de Gachetière, the first street on the left, which is bypassed during the hike, leads to a mushroom farm, a former molasse quarry.
(3) From the Crochet viewpoint, the ruins of the old Dauphiné castle come into view when looking north, above a large town house.
(4) The ruins of the former Dauphin’s castle are situated near the Gachetière viewpoint on private land and overlook a former molasse quarry housing a mushroom farm (not open to visitors) and an underground lake (the Blue Lake).

Visit the Corepha association’s website to learn more about the heritage and history of the commune of Voreppe.