ideas for walks with the best views

What could be better than a beautiful, well-deserved panorama after a hike? Because the territory conceals Instagrammable spots and hiking trails suitable for sportsmen as well as families or contemplators, here is a selection of some of our favorite hikes throughout the Saint-Marcellin Vercors Isère territory.

Photographer admiring the Gorges de la Bourne in the VercorsGaetan Mahe
Viewpoint offering a panorama of the Gorges de la BourneGaetan Mahe

1. Belvédère du Rivet in the Écouges

Departure: Pont Chabert car park – Distance: 8km – Duration: 3h – Total elevation gain: +160m

A beautiful hike in the heart of the sensitive natural area of ​​the Domaine des Écouges to take advantage of its diversified environments, its fauna and its flora. Former monastery of the Chartreuse des Écouges, charcoal pits and old millstone quarry are all historical vestiges that bear witness to human ingenuity and the use of natural resources. Not to be missed for its panoramic view of the Isère Valley: the magnificent Rivet belvedere.

View of the Isère valley from the Écouges hike in the VercorsPierre Jayet

2. Sculptures with 4 winds

Departure: Vatilieu church – Distance: 5km – Duration: 2h – Total elevation gain: +260m

A nature and cultural walk offering a real open-air art gallery in Vatilieu, a village nestled 600 meters in the hills facing the Vercors and overlooking the Isère valley. It is in front of this sumptuous panorama that the municipality organized for 5 years the symposium “Sculpture aux 4 vents”. It is this unique event in Isère that has made it possible to set up the 25 sculptures visible today all year round on this path of the commune's crests under the theme: "The search for harmony between the place, the texture and the subject. »

learn more

3. The Dent de Moirans

Departure: car park in the center of Montaud – Distance: 11,2km – Duration: 3h30 – Total elevation gain: +435m

This time, head for the northern end of the Vercors massif and the territory in the town of Montaud. A beautiful and varied walk since it begins in the middle of the meadows, continues in the undergrowth and then ends on the promontory of the Dent de Moirans at an altitude of more than 988 meters. From here, you overlook the entire Isère valley which separates the Chartreuse massif from that of the Vercors.

Panorama of the Vercors and the Chartreuse from the Dent de Moirans hike in Montaud

4. Ranc Belvedere via Goulandière

Departure: car park of the hamlet of La Siva in Presles – Distance: 5,5km – Duration: 1h45 – Total elevation gain: +130m

Following the ruins steeped in history of the ancient hamlets of La Goulandière, you arrive directly without difficulty at the Belvédère du Ranc, from where you can observe the impressive panorama of the Bourne gorges, the Moulin-Marquis waterfall, 400 meters high and the reliefs of the south of the Vercors.

learn more

5. The Tramway

Departure: hamlet of Dionay – Distance: 8km – Duration: 3h – Total elevation gain: +160m

A family hike offering superb views all along the way over the surrounding valleys and hillsides and over the entire Pre-Alps chain. Departing from the medieval village of Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, classified as one of "the Most Beautiful Villages in France", you will walk on the old tram line that linked Saint-Marcellin to Lyon until 1937. On the way, do not don't miss the pretty Saint-Jean-le-Fromental chapel in Dionay.

View of the Vercors and the Isère valley from the tram track hike in Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye