Saint-Julien-En-Vercors: Hiking, Art and Landscape

Saint-Julien-En-Vercors: Hiking, Art and Landscape

Hiking trails, artworks, a natural rock arch and distinctive landforms give you different starting points for planning a trip to Saint-Julien-En-Vercors. If you are looking for a hotel for your stay, you can first consider whether you would like to focus more on hiking, art, or local and natural history. The trail information helps you compare different hikes; the artworks and landscape sites offer further themes to explore in connection with the area.

Compare hikes by route profile

Le chemin des écoliers is an easy out-and-back route of about one hour. The route covers 1.8 kilometres, with 23 metres of ascent and descent each. Le Bienveilleur de Bournillon, by contrast, is classified as a moderately difficult out-and-back hike: it is 4.5 kilometres long and has 325 metres of elevation gain. This gives you two very different route profiles to choose from. When comparing them, both the distance and the difficulty rating and elevation difference are useful. No walking time is specified for Le Bienveilleur de Bournillon, so plan the two routes using their stated characteristics rather than assuming they take the same amount of time. Trail conditions can change, so check them before setting out.

Le chemin des écoliers follows paths once used by schoolchildren from the hamlets to the village school. This gives the route a historical connection to the area as well as its present-day hiking profile: it follows a former everyday route to school. The GR de Pays du Vercors Drômois also has its own connection to the area. One stage of this hiking trail runs from La Chapelle-en-Vercors to Saint-Julien-en-Vercors. This stage and the two out-and-back routes with specified distances provide different points of reference for planning hikes.

Art and history in the village

Several artworks have different stories behind their creation. La porte des ancêtres was created in 2018 and connects sculptor Jérôme Aussibal’s workshop with the village of Saint-Julien-en-Vercors. Le serpent de lauzes was created in August 2018 during a community workshop. Partition des oiseaux dates from 2015 and is restored regularly. These three details highlight different aspects: the year of creation, collaborative work and regular restoration. Together, they offer a specific way to discover the artworks without reducing them to a single shared form of creation.

La Porte du Diable can also be viewed from several perspectives. The rock arch is a natural formation shaped by erosion. During the Second World War, young resistance fighters from the village hid beneath the arch. A path passes underneath it and continues through the Bois de l’Allier. This named site thus brings together a landform, history and a described route. The Stalagmite de St Julien en Vercors is another point of cultural and historical interest: this limestone formation comes from the entrance to the Grotte de Barmechinelle, stands on a stele and is crowned by a cross with a crown of thorns.

The landscape as a travel theme in its own right

The Cascade de Moulin Marquis has a drop of nearly 400 metres. A hike to the Moulin Marquis passes through meadows and undergrowth, along paths on the hillside and to viewpoints overlooking the surrounding landforms. These landscape features complement the area’s more history- and art-focused themes. When deciding what interests you most, you can therefore weigh up the hiking routes with specified distances, the art and historical connections, and the described hiking landscape. This lets you explore Saint-Julien-En-Vercors through specific themes for your stay before looking for a suitable hotel.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Bonnet-de-Valclérieux, Le Poët-en-Percip, Manthes, Die, Montmeyran, Chabrillan, Portes-En-Valdaine, Savasse.

Go to the broader travel overview: Drôme.