Saint-Auban-D'oze: Hiking, Rock Formations and Heritage

Explore Saint-Auban-D'oze along trails with different scenic and cultural highlights. Beech forests, striking rock formations, Lac de Peyssier and Clausonne Abbey offer a variety of impressions. Two challenging hikes also differ in distance and average duration.

Compare hikes and time required

The Veynes–Villauret route is a challenging 12 km hike with an average duration of 6 hours and 30 minutes. It crosses Saint-Auban-d'Oze between Col d'Oule and Col de Villauret. The challenging hike from Saint-Auban-d'Oze to Lac de Peyssier is 15.03 km long and takes an average of 7 hours and 15 minutes. By comparison, the route to the lake is 3.03 km longer; its stated average duration is 45 minutes longer. Both routes are rated as challenging, even though Veynes–Villauret is shorter.

The route to Lac de Peyssier starts at the village fountain and follows the Route Forestière du Col de Villauret, marked as GR®94. On the Veynes–Villauret hike, the two cols serve as landmarks along the route through Saint-Auban-d'Oze; for the lake route, the village fountain is listed as the starting point. Check trail conditions before setting out.

Mountain scenery and striking rock formations

The route to Lac de Peyssier passes through the Vallon du Villauret and reaches the lake below the cliffs of Montagne d'Aujour. A P1 stage crosses Montagne d'Oule, through a beech forest and the Val d'Oze. From the summit of Montagne d'Oule, the P1 route offers a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding mountain ranges. P1 stage 02 runs from Saint-Auban-d'Oze (Villauret) to Peyssier (Les Oustaus) and passes through the spectacular Gouravour gorge on its way to Clausonne Abbey.

Roc de Saint-Martin stands at an elevation of 1,018 m. The Veynes–Villauret route descends to Villauret below the prominent rock. Cliffs and a distinctive rock outcrop rise above a mixed forest of pine and deciduous trees. The routes therefore offer different scenic highlights: at Roc de Saint-Martin, rocks and forest take center stage; at Lac de Peyssier, it is the valley, the lake and the cliffs of Montagne d'Aujour.

Village history and accommodation

In Saint-Auban-d'Oze, the Veynes–Villauret route passes the washhouse and a small 19th-century church. The church was built on the ruins of an older chapel. This building therefore reflects two distinct periods: the 19th-century church and the older chapel whose ruins it stands on. Clausonne Abbey was built in the 12th century by Chalaisian monks; stage P2 to Villauret also passes it.

Le Petit Bégou is accommodation in a fully restored former farmhouse in the heart of a fruit-growing estate in Saint-Auban-d'Oze. Availability and operating details may change; check them before booking.

Discover more destinations: Aiguilles, Furmeyer, Aspremont, Saint-Julien-En-Beauchêne, Sainte-Catherine, Aups, La Beaume, Saint-Martin-De-Queyrières.

Go to the broader travel overview: Hautes-Alpes.