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Best Mountain Hikes in France

We track 319 routes that match this search in France. They average 16.0 km and 456 m (1,496 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 410 km.

That is 3 percent of the 11,497 routes we map in France. The climbing is steeper too: 456 m (1,496 ft) on average versus 319 m (1,047 ft) across the wider area.

Mountain routes trade effort for scale. Expect sustained climbing, quick weather changes and views that make the numbers worth it. The mix is broad: 109 are rated easy and 71 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day. A good share of them are loops, so you can park once and finish where you started.

Trails

Expert

Tour du Mont Aigoual

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
83.0 km
/ 51.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,825 m
Typical duration
22 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Moderate

La Dauphine

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
12.7 km
/ 7.9 mi
Elevation gain
434 m
Typical duration
3 hr 17 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Forest
Hard

Les 4000 marches

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
23.6 km
/ 14.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,388 m
Typical duration
7 hr 16 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Forest
Moderate

Cassini

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
9.2 km
/ 5.7 mi
Elevation gain
323 m
Typical duration
2 hr 24 min
  • Coastal
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Hard

Massevaques

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
15.7 km
/ 9.8 mi
Elevation gain
721 m
Typical duration
4 hr 23 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
Hard

Le Pont du Tarn

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
18.6 km
/ 11.6 mi
Elevation gain
716 m
Typical duration
5 hr 4 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Expert

Le versant nord de l'Aigoual

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
35.9 km
/ 22.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,239 m
Typical duration
9 hr 58 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Forest
Moderate

Col de la Planette

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
6.9 km
/ 4.3 mi
Elevation gain
323 m
Typical duration
1 hr 55 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Gourdouze

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
13.7 km
/ 8.5 mi
Elevation gain
904 m
Typical duration
4 hr 12 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Mont Gravières

Parc national du Mercantour (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
14.4 km
/ 8.9 mi
Elevation gain
720 m
Typical duration
4 hr 4 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Mont Gros

Parc national du Mercantour (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
7.6 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
167 m
Typical duration
1 hr 50 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Mont Mounier

Parc national du Mercantour (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
18.4 km
/ 11.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,100 m
Typical duration
5 hr 35 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Chemin d'Amiens

Normandy · France

Distance
168 km
/ 104 mi
Elevation gain
3,696 m
Typical duration
45 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Chemin de Barfleur

Normandy · France

Distance
161 km
/ 100.0 mi
Elevation gain
3,540 m
Typical duration
43 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Chemin de Caen

Normandy · France

Distance
165 km
/ 103 mi
Elevation gain
3,640 m
Typical duration
44 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

GR 20 Variante via Monte Incudine

Corsica · France

Distance
9.6 km
/ 6.0 mi
Elevation gain
212 m
Typical duration
2 hr 20 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Traversée des Mont du Beaujolais

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
183 km
/ 113 mi
Elevation gain
4,017 m
Typical duration
49 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Mare à Mare Sud Principal

Corsica · France

Distance
82.4 km
/ 51.2 mi
Elevation gain
5,000 m
Typical duration
26 hr
  • Coastal
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Via Alpina Red R130

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur · France

Distance
21.5 km
/ 13.4 mi
Elevation gain
473 m
Typical duration
5 hr 23 min
  • Mountain
Hard

Via Alpina Red R131

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur · France

Distance
17.6 km
/ 11.0 mi
Elevation gain
388 m
Typical duration
4 hr 20 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Le plateau du Guéry

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
13.1 km
/ 8.1 mi
Elevation gain
288 m
Typical duration
3 hr 9 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Expert

Dennebrœucq - Mont de Justice

Hauts-de-France · France

Distance
82.1 km
/ 51.0 mi
Elevation gain
1,807 m
Typical duration
21 hr
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Mont-Saint-Michel - Rennes

Brittany · France

Distance
83.2 km
/ 51.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,830 m
Typical duration
22 hr
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Moderate

Le balcon du Caderaou

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur · France

Distance
12.4 km
/ 7.7 mi
Elevation gain
273 m
Typical duration
2 hr 59 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Moderate

Les Escorces

Occitania · France

Distance
6.1 km
/ 3.8 mi
Elevation gain
337 m
Typical duration
1 hr 46 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Forest
Expert

Alsatian castles path

Grand Est · France

Distance
410 km
/ 255 mi
Elevation gain
9,016 m
Typical duration
110 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Mare è Monti Sud

Corsica · France

Distance
75.7 km
/ 47.0 mi
Elevation gain
1,664 m
Typical duration
20 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Petit Tour de la Montagne de Lure

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
65.8 km
/ 40.9 mi
Elevation gain
1,447 m
Typical duration
17 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Tour de la Montagne de Lure

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur · France

Distance
87.5 km
/ 54.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,926 m
Typical duration
23 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Tour du Mont Thabor

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
65.7 km
/ 40.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,445 m
Typical duration
17 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Tour du Mont des Avaloirs

Normandy · France

Distance
102 km
/ 63.4 mi
Elevation gain
2,245 m
Typical duration
27 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Hard

De Laizy à Mont Beuvray

Bourgogne – Franche-Comté · France

Distance
17.5 km
/ 10.9 mi
Elevation gain
385 m
Typical duration
4 hr 18 min
  • Mountain

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Tour du Mont AigoualParc national des Cévennes (cœur)83.0 km1,825 m22 hrExpertApril to October
La DauphineParc national des Cévennes (cœur)12.7 km434 m3 hr 17 minModerateApril to October
Les 4000 marchesParc national des Cévennes (cœur)23.6 km1,388 m7 hr 16 minHardApril to October
CassiniParc national des Cévennes (cœur)9.2 km323 m2 hr 24 minModerateApril to October
MassevaquesParc national des Cévennes (cœur)15.7 km721 m4 hr 23 minHardApril to October
Le Pont du TarnParc national des Cévennes (cœur)18.6 km716 m5 hr 4 minHardApril to October
Le versant nord de l'AigoualParc national des Cévennes (cœur)35.9 km1,239 m9 hr 58 minExpertApril to October
Col de la PlanetteParc national des Cévennes (cœur)6.9 km323 m1 hr 55 minModerateApril to October
GourdouzeParc national des Cévennes (cœur)13.7 km904 m4 hr 12 minHardApril to October
Mont GravièresParc national du Mercantour (cœur)14.4 km720 m4 hr 4 minHardApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Tour du Mont Aigoual, Les 4000 marches, La Dauphine. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

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