North Tour of the Sancy Massif

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hike completed this morning, setting off at 9am on a weekday outside of the school holidays.
The climb up through the Val de Courre is magnificent and easy, with a gentle gradient... I only passed one person coming down from the pass.
Despite the uncertain weather and low temperatures, I met lots of people from the Puy de Champgourdeix onwards, most of whom were heading in the opposite direction to me.
The climb after the Ruisseau de la Biche is long, with very short steep sections in the forest, but the hillside path is very pleasant. I think you’d appreciate it even more on a hot day, especially as the terrain opens up for the remaining 300m of elevation gain up to the Puy des Crebasses.
For the return to the resort, a signposted ‘pedestrian return’ path slightly lengthens the route but avoids a large section of the very monotonous ski run.
Contrary to some reviews, I didn’t encounter any difficulties. The terrain is certainly stony and steep in short sections, but some people forget that the mountains aren’t a football stadium or a beach, and that city trainers aren’t suitable for this type of hike.
I actually came across someone in flip-flops near Puy de Cacadogne, heading towards the Chaudefour Valley. I was coming from the opposite direction after climbing Puy des Crebasses, which had been made slippery by the rain and sleet.
Similarly, my watch showed 16.80km and 1,221m of elevation gain, which was similar to the route description despite numerous contrary opinions.
The route took 4 hours and 18 minutes, including numerous photo breaks, and at times I maintained a good pace.
This route could be tackled as a trail run; in fact, I passed several runners between the 1,429m pass and the Puy de la Perdrix.
Despite the presence of ski lifts and a few ski runs, I found this route very pretty and wild for the most part, but I think the crowds at weekends and during school holidays could quickly take away some of its charm.

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Date of your route : Apr 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A wonderful hike, with beautiful scenery and lovely encounters (including some chamois), and quite a workout too.

The route is fairly reliable, except in one or two places where the GPS plays up a bit, but nothing serious – you just need to follow the existing paths.

Highly recommended!

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Date of your route : Jul 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Superb hike, magnificent landscapes, marmots, chamois... not to be missed. The only downside is the very last part, the descent to the station via the track, which is unpleasant and slippery, but it's difficult to find another way down unless you want to make the hike longer... thank you.

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Date of your route : Dec 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The hike is great. It's long but beautiful. You get to see different landscapes and atmospheres, which is great. My Suunto watch said 18.5 km, but it's always optimistic, and 1,230 m of elevation gain, even though it's often below the stated figures. In my opinion, it's closer to 17.5 km and 1,400 m of elevation gain.
But it's worth it!
The route isn't complicated, a bit rocky at the start, with a few roots in the middle... but you need a little challenge 😅
We had a picnic, took our time and finished in 8 hours and 20 minutes.

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Date of your route : Aug 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The description is excellent and helps you find your way around. The path is a bit crowded at Puy de Sancy itself (which is normal with the cable car), but otherwise it's very pleasant and allows you to explore these areas over the course of a day: starting from Mont-Dore and climbing up the valley first, then taking a slightly technical ridge path to Sancy (fun with big rocks), and descending first on a bare ridge path before entering a stony, root-covered undergrowth that leads to the bottom of the Chaudefour valley. The ascent is then through undergrowth without rocks to the foothills of Sancy before descending back to Mont-Dore.

Overall, a really nice hike with magnificent scenery and a good variety of terrain.

Be warned, however, that it is quite physically demanding (allow 7 hours), and the end of the route on the ski slopes is not great (probably better in winter, in summer it is a scree slope). Oh, and it's worth noting that my phone's GPS was completely off throughout the entire trip (sometimes locating me dozens of kilometres away, perhaps due to LOF antennas). This was the first time this had happened to me, but it's not systematic, and other hikers had a functional GPS in the same place (however, the problem must affect a number of people, given Aude88's comment below...).

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Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Be aware that there are many areas without mobile coverage on this route. At the end of the hike, our GPS showed 18 km and 14,450 m of elevation gain. This hike is therefore more difficult than advertised. My friend and I are well trained, and we would even describe this hike as very difficult rather than just difficult.
That said, this route offers magnificent views, both from the ridges and from the valley. The trails and views are varied and very pleasant. Be aware that Puy de Sancy can be crowded, so you may need to be patient.
The return trip via the ski slope, on the other hand, is a mental ordeal.

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Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Be aware that there are many areas without mobile coverage on this route. At the end of the hike, our GPS showed 18 km and 14,450 m of elevation gain. This hike is therefore more difficult than advertised. My friend and I are well trained, and we would even describe this hike as very difficult rather than just difficult.
That said, this route offers magnificent views, whether from the ridges or from the valley. The trails and views are varied and very pleasant. Be aware that Puy de Sancy can get busy, so you may need to be patient.

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Date of your route : Sep 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

- As indicated, this is a demanding hike, especially in hot weather.
- The return via the ski slope requires vigilance, especially at the end of the route when you are tired
- Beautiful route offering stunning views

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