Stevenson Trail (GR 70) hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Stevenson Trail (Chemin de Stevenson, GR 70) follows the route that the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson walked with his donkey Modestine in the autumn of 1878, and which he described in *Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes* (1879). It crosses the Massif Central from north to south, from Le Puy-en-Velay in the Haute-Loire through the Gévaudan, over Mont Lozère and into the Cévennes, to Alès in the Gard. The official route is 272 km long and the association that looks after it suggests 12 to 14 days. Stevenson's own walk ended at Saint-Jean-du-Gard, and many walkers still finish there after about 247 km. It is waymarked red and white in both directions, and you sleep in gîtes d'étape, chambres d'hôtes, small hotels and campsites.

The route

The trail leaves Le Puy-en-Velay, with its cathedral on the volcanic hill, and crosses the high farmland of the Velay to Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille, where Stevenson bought Modestine. It drops into the Loire gorge at Goudet, climbs to the plateau around Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas and its crater lake, and passes Pradelles before Langogne on the Allier. The Gévaudan stages cross pine and beech forest to Cheylard-l'Évêque, the Trappist abbey of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, where Stevenson stayed, and La Bastide-Puylaurent. After Chasseradès the trail crosses the Montagne du Goulet to Le Bleymard, then climbs Mont Lozère to the Sommet de Finiels (1,699 m), the highest point, before dropping to Le Pont-de-Montvert on the Tarn. A long day over the Bougès leads to Florac. The last part follows the old Florac - Alès railway to Cassagnas and the chestnut-covered ridges of the Cévennes, through Saint-Germain-de-Calberte and Saint-Étienne-Vallée-Française to Saint-Jean-du-Gard, and then over the hills by Mialet to Alès.

This guide follows the waymarked route as mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 13 stages of about 20.8 km, at the traditional stage villages. The line measures 270 km, with about 7,300 m of ascent.

Highlights

• Le Puy-en-Velay: the cathedral and the volcanic pinnacles at the start
• Notre-Dame-des-Neiges: the Trappist abbey where Stevenson stayed, which still takes walkers
• Mont Lozère: open granite moorland and the Sommet de Finiels, the highest point of the trail
• Le Pont-de-Montvert: a stone village and bridge on the Tarn, where the Camisard revolt began in 1702
• The Cévennes ridges: chestnut woods, terraces and stone farms, part of the Causses and Cévennes World Heritage Site

When to walk the Stevenson Trail

The best period is May to October. May and June bring flowers and long days; September and October have autumn colours and fewer people. July and August are busy and can be hot in the Cévennes, with afternoon thunderstorms on the high ground; heather flowers on Mont Lozère in August. Most gîtes and B&Bs open from Easter to All Saints (1 November). In winter snow can cover the waymarks on Mont Lozère and the Goulet, and storms with blowing snow are dangerous, so winter walking is for experienced walkers only. From mid-June to mid-September the Gard has a daily forest fire-risk map: on red days the forests on the last two stages can be closed.

How many days do you need?

Plan 12 to 14 days from Le Puy-en-Velay to Alès, or 12 days to Saint-Jean-du-Gard. The 13 stages here are 13 to 29 km. Fit walkers can join La Bastide-Puylaurent to Le Bleymard (30 km) and Florac to Saint-Germain-de-Calberte (32 km) and walk to Alès in 11 days. The longest stage in this plan is Le Pont-de-Montvert to Florac (29 km), which you can shorten by about 5 km on the GR 68 or by stopping at Cocurès. Pradelles, 6 km before Langogne, is a good alternative stop. Many people walk only half, because trains reach Langogne, La Bastide-Puylaurent and Chasseradès.

Difficulty

The GR 70 is a moderate walk on tracks, forest roads, field paths and old drove roads, with no technical sections. Climbs are long but steady: the biggest are Mont Lozère (about 600 m from Le Bleymard), the Montagne du Bougès and the hills between Saint-Jean-du-Gard and Alès, a hard last stage. Mont Lozère and the Goulet are exposed to wind and fog, and the summit plateau has no shelter, so follow the granite marker stones and carry a map. Several villages have no shop or café (for example Goudet, Luc, Cheylard-l'Évêque, Les Alpiers, Finiels and Cocurès), so carry lunch and enough water.

Permits, booking and the donkey

No permit or fee is needed. Book each night directly with the gîte, B&B or hotel: the association does not take bookings. Book at least a week ahead (earlier for May, June and September) and confirm the day before. Wild camping is normally forbidden in France. In the core zone of the Parc national des Cévennes you may bivouac for one night, from 7 pm to 9 am, within 50 m of a waymarked GR, with no tent or a small one you cannot stand up in. Dogs must be on a lead in the core zone. Several companies carry bags between stops. You can hire a donkey from several donkey farms near the route; a donkey walks at about 3 km/h and carries at most about 40 kg, and you must book accommodation with a paddock.

Getting there and away

Le Puy-en-Velay has a railway station and a small airport at Loudes. Weekday buses run from Le Puy to Le Monastier (line 46), Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas (line 2) and Langogne (line 1). Trains on the line between Nîmes, Alès and Clermont-Ferrand stop at Langogne, and the line to Mende stops at La Bastide-Puylaurent and Chasseradès. liO bus 282 links Le Puy, Pradelles, Langogne and Mende, and liO 251 and 252 run Mende - Florac - Cassagnas - Alès. From Saint-Jean-du-Gard, AlesY buses 81 (via Mialet) and 72 (via Anduze) go to Alès, except Sundays and public holidays, and liO 112 goes to Nîmes. Alès has a railway station with trains to Nîmes. To get back to Le Puy, take the train from Alès to Langogne and the bus from there.

Money and phone signal

Carry cash: some small gîtes and tables d'hôtes do not take cards, and cash machines are mainly in the larger towns such as Le Puy, Langogne, Florac, Saint-Jean-du-Gard and Alès. Most walkers take half board, and many hosts make a picnic lunch if you ask the evening before. Mobile coverage is good in the towns but patchy in the deep Cévennes valleys and on the high moorland.

What to pack

Pack light: good walking shoes, a waterproof, a warm layer and a hat for Mont Lozère even in summer, sun protection, 1.5 to 2 litres of water, a first-aid and blister kit, a head torch and a map or the GPS track. A sleeping-bag liner and earplugs help in gîte dormitories.

Safety

In an emergency call 112 (or 15 for a medical emergency, 18 for the firefighters). Give your stage, the nearest village and your GPS position, and stay where you are. The nearest emergency departments are in Le Puy-en-Velay, Mende and Alès; Langogne's hospital is not an emergency department. Check the Météo-France forecast before crossing Mont Lozère and the Bougès, and in summer check the fire-risk map before the last stages. Do not light fires, and close gates behind you.