Hike along the Bourne with night at the Ferme du Clos

Day 1

hike from rencurel to châtelus

Motivated by the idea of ​​discovering this much-talked-about trail, we chose to do it in May before the heat of summer and the influx of visitors. We therefore begin this journey by leaving early in the morning. To park, head to the parking lot of the Basse-Valette power plant. Luckily we had warm things planned, it's cool by the river!

The hike begins very quickly with a long gradual ascent in the undergrowth perfumed at this time by the profusion of wild garlic and where you can also observe various orchids. The end of the climb is rewarded by a belvedere overlooking the village of Rencurel.

Practical information: public toilets in the village of Rencurel (below the town hall) and picnic table.

We then arrive at La Balme de Rencurel, we take the opportunity to take a break at the bar (which is also a grocery store) and chat with the locals on our itinerary.

Shortly after La Balme de Rencurel, there is a shaded picnic table on the edge of the path, we decide to picnic there.

We resume walking after a good meal, we begin a beautiful descent in the undergrowth arranged in places with steps.

Be careful, this descent can be impressive for people prone to vertigo. And can be difficult to climb in the other direction.

The moment comes when we arrive at one of the essentials of the itinerary: the Belvedere of the Tunnel de l'Arbois which was unfortunately not finished during our visit. We still enjoyed a beautiful view of the Gorges de la Bourne. No choice, we will have to come back!

We continue on the last part of the day, the path between the river of Bourne and the road of the Gorges is pleasant with in particular a beautiful small waterfall, we will still take more time than the indications on the signage of the Regional Natural Park from the Vercors.

We then arrive at the Bournillon power plant and it will only be road to reach the Clos farm, this portion is long and mentally tiring with the heat and the kilometers in the legs.

immersion on the farm

Always so well received by Angélique, the owner of the place, we settle in our well-equipped room with a shower room, a WC located on the ground floor and a fridge in the living room.

One regret: we arrived too late and no longer had the motivation to go down and enjoy the river after the long day of walking!

As agreed at the time of booking, no meal on site that evening, so we went to eat in a restaurant in Villard-de-Lans, a member of our family having come to pick us up by car.

Before leaving, Angélique asked us about our preferences for breakfast and offered to accompany her the next day for the farm activities, so the appointment was made for the milking of the goats!

The next day, after a tasty breakfast, we joined Angélique at the farm and accompanied for the milking of the goats during which we can cuddle the goats in their stall. We participate in the feeding of all the animals: geese, hens, ducks, chicks, rabbits, pigs, goats and Thônes and Marthod sheep (we will have the chance to carry a very soft and really too cute baby).

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• Closed Farm

• Closed farm

• julienloicgabriel by Inspiration Vercors

• tas2cailloux by Inspiration Vercors

• Elisa Gautier

• Elisa Gautier

Day 2

hike from pont-en-royans to saint-nazaire-en-royans

We leave at the end of the morning from La Ferme du Clos with our picnic (well stocked!) prepared by Angélique for our second day of hiking. Departure a little late but we take advantage of having a car to avoid the part of the road to Choranche and a portion of the path that we already knew.

So we start this second part at Pont Rouillard, just before Pont-en-Royans. The path is nice up to Auberives-en-Royans, with in particular the footbridge over the Bourne which offers a magnificent view of the river and the Vercors.

Beware of vertigo! The footbridge swings a lot, respect the recommendations.

Before Auberives-en-Royans, you get closer to the river, it's very pleasant. We take a picnic break in the village before leaving for the last part of the hike. It will be the hardest for us because it is almost exclusively on the road with blazing heat. We can't wait to finish even if we enjoy some beautiful views of the Vercors.

Watch out for the two dangerous road crossings towards Saint-Just-de-Claix.

During a last stage that we enjoyed, we finally arrived at our destination in the village of Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans. We take the opportunity to have a drink and a well-deserved ice cream at the bar of the Grotte de Thaïs!