Mas-D'orcières: Hiking Routes and Saint-Privat

Three described circular hiking routes provide a concrete planning framework for choosing a hotel in Mas-D'orcières: they differ in distance, elevation gain and loss, average duration, and starting point. The church of Saint-Privat adds architectural history to the hiking themes. Before looking for accommodation, you can consider which route details are relevant to your days and whether you would also like to include the town’s historical context.

Saint-Privat and its architectural history

The church and priory of Saint-Privat are located in Mas-D'orcières. The church was built in 1824 on the site of an earlier sanctuary. Its history can therefore be linked to a specific change: the church built in 1824 succeeded the older sacred site. If you would like to include architectural history in your travel plans as well as hiking, Saint-Privat is a cultural and historical point of interest in the town.

Three circular hiking routes compared

At 18.9859 kilometers, the Lozerette route is the shortest of the three circular hikes. It has 663 meters of elevation gain and 663 meters of descent, with an average duration of five hours and 30 minutes. It starts in Mas-D'orcières and is marked with yellow PR signs. Distance, elevation gain and loss, and estimated time each offer a different reference point for planning your day; the color of the markers is an additional specific route detail.

At 22.7772 kilometers, the Auriac–Oultet circular hike is the longest of the three routes. It has 1,025 meters of elevation gain and 1,025 meters of descent, with an average duration of eight hours and 30 minutes. It starts in the village of Mas-D'orcières. Compared with the other two circular routes described, this one has both the greatest stated distance and the highest elevation gain. These details help you consider the planned time and elevation gain together.

The Château du Tournel Trail No. 10 is a 20.2939-kilometer circular route with 997 meters of elevation gain and 996 meters of descent. Its average duration is listed as two hours and 30 minutes. It starts at Les Thermes in Mas-D'orcières. The hike focuses on discovering Lozerette, Mas-D'orcières and the Château du Tournel; the route also offers mountain panoramas.

To compare the routes, it is worth looking at the order of their distances and durations: Lozerette is the shortest, the Château du Tournel Trail is in between, and Auriac–Oultet is the longest. The order is different for the stated average duration: the Château du Tournel Trail is the shortest at two hours and 30 minutes, followed by Lozerette at five hours and 30 minutes, and Auriac–Oultet at eight hours and 30 minutes. Distance alone therefore does not reflect the estimated time. The stated elevation gains add another point of comparison, so you do not have to rely on just one figure.

Starting points and scenery

The starting points also distinguish the three routes: Lozerette starts in Mas-D'orcières, Auriac–Oultet in the village, and the Château du Tournel Trail No. 10 at Les Thermes. When preparing, you can first match your preferred route with its stated starting point, then consider its estimated duration and elevation gain. The Lozerette route follows the ridge of Mont Lozère, east of the Valdonnez, and heads in particular toward the Ruisseau de Serviès.

The descriptions of the scenery emphasize different features: for Lozerette, they mention the ridge of Mont Lozère, its location east of the Valdonnez, and the direction toward the Ruisseau de Serviès. Mountain panoramas are part of the Château du Tournel Trail’s described character, and its destinations for discovery are Lozerette, Mas-D'orcières and the Château du Tournel. This allows you to take the routes’ different landscapes and themes into account alongside the numbers, without treating the three routes as interchangeable.

The route details were checked in 2026 and may change. Check the information again before planning your hike.

For the broader travel overview: Lozère.