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Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike

Official mountain bike route
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Col de la Croix de Boutières
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Arrivée à VTT au lac de Devesset
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
"Un Cercle et Mille Fragments" à Mazan-l'Abbaye
L.Clara-ADT07
Le Pont d'Arc - Vallon Pont d'Arc
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Les Pichons - Balisage GTA VTT
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Fleurs digitales à Saint-André-en-Vivarais
A.Renaud - Goud - ADT07
Vue du Mont Gerbier de Jonc - Sainte-Eulalie
M.Dupont-ADT07CD
La Tour à eau à Sagnes-et-Goudoulet
M.Dupont-ADT07
Baignade dans la Borne
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Croix de Boutières à VTT - Aux abords de Borée
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Vue des Sucs au Col de la Croix de Boutières
M.Dupont-ADT07/CD
Gorges du Chassezac - Berrias-et-Casteljau
One way
315 km
1 week or more
I cycle a lot
Annonay
Bourg-Saint-Andéol
Mountains

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High on the heights in the eastern foothills of the Massif Central Range is where your cycling adventure on the GTA VTT (or GTA by MTB) begins, leading you to the border between the counties (départements) of Ardèche and Haute-Loire. You then plunge into the winding trails of the Montagne Ardéchoise, this rugged terrain now appreciated for its unspoilt appeal and sense of freedom. Further south, you slip into the Ardèche Cévenole, finishing in southern Ardèche (or Ardèche Méridionale), the most reputed area of the county, given the very many treasures it contains. Riding down through the Parc Naturel Régional des Monts d’Ardèche, appreciate the vast expanses as you head first for the Monts Mézenc and Gerbier de Jonc, then down the Tanargue Range, and on through the Bois de Païolive woods and the Gorges de l'Ardèche. You end by cycling through slopes covered in vineyards and orchards to reach the banks of the Rhône.

Signposting and layout on the GTA VTT

The Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche VTT connects Annonay in the north to Bourg-Saint-Andéol in the south, on a mountain-biking route over 315km in length. It’s signposted going north > south.

This cycle route is really geared to mountain bikes (VTT in French) and elecric mountain bikes (VTT-AE in French).

For most of the way, it follows French national hiking trails (the GR4 and GR7)

You might tackle this route in three separate portions:

  • Annonay - Devesset - Les Estables (102km)
  • Les Estables - Borne - Les Vans (126km)
  • Les Vans - Vallon-Pont-d'Arc - Bourg-Saint-Andéol (86km).

For seasoned mountain bikers, you could divide the route into seven stages, with a stopover at the end of each day.

Please note, there’s a second starting point for those after more of a sporting challenge, going from Saint-Félicien to reach Saint-Agrève, passing via Devesset, an alternative route of 50km.
(See the route map for GTA VTT)

Cycle routes linked to the Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike

  • Via Fluvia (shared portion from Annonay to the place named Les Seux - Boulieu-lès-Annonay)
  • Dolce Via (connection at Saint-Agrève)
  • ViaRhôna (connection at Bourg-Saint-Andéol)

Gradients and elevation

Ascents: 6653m
Descents: 6890m
Lowest point: 52m
Highest point: 1607m

Trains et transport sur Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike

Getting there by train

  • To reach the start (Annonay): Saint-Vallier-sur-Rhône station (about 23 km away by bike)
  • From the finish (Bourg-Saint-Andéol): Pierrelatte station (around 6 km away by bike)

"Accueil Vélo" accommodation on Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike

57 Accueil Vélo accommodations await you on Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike!

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The 8 stages of Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike

Annonay / Devesset

1 Annonay / Devesset

56 km
3 h 18 min
I cycle a lot
Starting from the town of Annonay, the Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche VTT leads you along slopes offering splendid views of the Cance Valley up to the Col des Baraques, this pass part of the watershed dividing waters flowing to the Mediterranean from those heading to the Atlantic.
Reaching the town of Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, you arrive in an area of high plateaux. You ride along old, undulating trails, passing a mix of lovely pine forests, broom heathland and open meadows to get to Devesset, its lakes, rivers and wetlands marking it out as a remarkable natural area.
Saint-Félicien / Devesset (alternative starting point

2 Saint-Félicien / Devesset (alternative starting point

50 km
3 h 02 min
I cycle a lot
For a more physically demanding first stage, opt for this alternative start to the Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche VTT, going from Saint-Félicien, the town that created the iconic, now massive annual cycling gathering, L'Ardéchoise. Head to Lalouvesc, a town at a pass offering vast views, from the Cévennes to the Alps. Riding these 50km of trails full of challenges, with all their climbs and descents, very demanding stretches on single tracks, plus splendid views proves a joy for seasoned mountain bikers. Join the main cycle route on the plateau to Devesset Lake.
Devesset / Les Estables

3 Devesset / Les Estables

46 km
3 h 30 min
I cycle a lot
Riding past the source of the Eyrieux River, this second stage of the GTA VTT leads you smoothly to Saint-Agrève, a town where people from the steep slopes below and the high plateau above meet up. Leaving town, you come to the volcanic plateau of Le Mézenc. Silence reigns in these parts, although herds bring life to these grazing lands in summer and just the odd massive, isolated farm stands out. Fine pastureland alternates with pine forests. Wide drailles (paths for moving cattle from winter to summer pastures) guide you to Les Estables, at the foot of Mont Mézenc.
Les Estables / Lanarce

4 Les Estables / Lanarce

53 km
2 h 38 min
I cycle a lot
Small gear changes enable you to enjoy the grand landscapes here, as the Ardèche Mountains offer mountain bikers a treat, crossing heaths where heather and broom thrive. Admire the unique volcanic landscapes, marked by sucs, phonolithic ancient volcanoes in the form of sugar loafs. At the iconic Mont Gerbier de Jonc, a sentinel made from dark lava, you might fill your water bottle at the spot where the Loire’s first waters spring up.
Alternating between woods and undulating wide prairies, you next arrive at Mazan-l'Abbaye, before racing on to Lanarce, first via a very steep slope lined with broom, then via broader trails.
Lanarce / Montselgues

5 Lanarce / Montselgues

40 km
2 h 17 min
I cycle a lot
After enjoying a fine climb via wide tracks up to the deserted plateau of Cham Longe, this GTA VTT stage takes you to the Mediterranean/Atlantic watershed at the Col du Bez pass. Heading down into the Borne Valley, you ride along a track that then climbs considerably before descending again to Loubaresse. From here, you cross a plateau offering magnificent views of the Cévennes. Passing close to the mass of granite boulders nicknamed Gargantua’s Balls, the trail reaches Montselgues, its peat bogs enabling special flora to grow amidst the heathland where Scotch heather and broom thrive.
Montselgues / Les Vans

6 Montselgues / Les Vans

34 km
2 h 18 min
I cycle a lot
Reaching an old Roman road, this cross-country stage joins the Corniche du Vivarais Cévenol, offering very marked contrasts in landscapes. The sudden slopes are so brutally steep that you don’t so much descend from the plateau as fall off it! Leaving the magnificent Thines Valley with its magical perched village to the right, you plunge into woods that alternate between pine and chestnut trees. You cross tiny hamlets with stone houses topped by stone roofs. After a long stretch through woods, dotted with the odd clearing, the Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche VTT reaches Les Vans, a town ideal for a stopover.
Les Vans / Vallon-Pont-d'Arc

7 Les Vans / Vallon-Pont-d'Arc

35 km
3 h 25 min
I cycle a lot
From Les Vans, cycle along to the Bois de Païolive, a magical place scattered with boulders that look like natural sculptures, given evocative names such as ‘The Bear’, ‘The Lion’ or ‘The Elephant’! Take things easier crossing the Jalès Plain up to Font Vive Spring, river waters emerging dramatically out of the rocks here. Then the route becomes more challenging to reach the Col de la Cize pass, the reward magnificent views, before you plunge down to Salavas to reach Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, gateway to the Ardèche Gorges.
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc / Bourg-Saint-Andéol

8 Vallon-Pont-d'Arc / Bourg-Saint-Andéol

51 km
3 h 25 min
I cycle a lot
Once past Salavas, enjoy unrivalled views over the Ardèche Valley on this final stage of the Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche VTT. Apart from the odd vine, the vast, wild limestone plateau here is only suitable for scrub. Its true riches lie hidden underground. Here, you’re in the Pays des Avens, an area where vast caverns lurk just under the surface! Crossing Ronze Wood, with all its holm oaks, you reach La Grande Lauze, an immense limestone slab.
Next, you can ride easily along to the village of Aiguèze via the GR4 trail. Finally, you reach the Rhône Valley and the Ardèche border, riding through vineyards and orchards to get to riverside Bourg-Saint-Andéol, a town boasting an extraordinary architectural legacy.

Grande Traversée de l'Ardèche by mountain bike

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