Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier: Hiking, Panoramas and Culture

Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier: Hiking and Culture

If you are looking for a hotel in Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier, the focus of your stay can guide your choice of destination: Would you like to go hiking, explore a route from the Trièves Mountain Bike Base, or include culture? Different themes come together here, though they cannot all be experienced in the same way. The hiking trails vary in length, difficulty and route type; Le Pot Au Noir adds its own cultural dimension.

Le Pot Au Noir is an artistic production venue in Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier. It supports numerous projects by theatre, dance and circus companies, as well as music projects. The venue also offers workshops and other activities where you can discover and take part in artistic pursuits. Its programme is therefore not limited to performances and productions: engaging with artistic practice yourself is also among the offerings described. If you are looking for a cultural focus alongside a hike, this provides another theme to consider when planning your trip.

Hikes with different profiles

“Autour de la Salette” is a signposted, easy 7.6-kilometre circular hike. It passes through Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier and offers views of the eastern Vercors cliffs, especially Les Deux-Sœurs. The Chapelle de la Salette, built in 1862, is close to the route. This circular walk thus combines views of the cliffs with a route that also passes a named building.

Another hike leads to Alpage du Serpaton: “Rando train: Le pas du Serpaton” passes through Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier and Gresse-en-Vercors. This moderately difficult out-and-back route is 5.7 kilometres long, with a stated duration of three hours. Alpage du Serpaton offers panoramic views. The extensive summer pasture is also shaped by its seasonal use: around 600 young cattle graze there every summer. By comparison, “Autour de la Salette” is longer in kilometres but rated easy; the difficulty and duration are explicitly included in the route details for the Serpaton hike.

“Coucouri” as a mountain biking route; other routes

“Coucouri” is part of the Trièves Mountain Bike Base. This moderately difficult circular route is 12.6 kilometres long, with a stated duration of one hour and 30 minutes. It passes through Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier and Saint-Guillaume, runs close to the Coucouri stream and offers views of Les Deux-Sœurs. This cliff formation also features on a different type of route, while the route and details differ from those of the hiking trails.

“Les Grands Cols du Trièves – Étape 1” also passes through Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier. This difficult circular route is described as 46.7 kilometres long, with a stated duration of three hours and 30 minutes. It can be started in Monestier-de-Clermont, where access by public transport is easier. This starting point is a distinct reference for route planning and should not be confused with the descriptions of the other trails.

Getting there and planning

Monestier-de-Clermont station, on the TER-SNCF Grenoble–Gap line, is in the vicinity of Saint-Paul-lès-Monestier. The journey to or from Grenoble takes 45 minutes. If you are planning to travel by train, check the current timetable before your journey. It is also worth checking the latest route information before hiking: trail conditions can change, and details for “Autour de la Salette” may be updated seasonally.

The route details offer various points of reference for planning your trip: an easy signposted circular walk, a moderately difficult hike to panoramic views, a circular route from the mountain bike base, and a longer, difficult circular route. Choose what to focus on based on the route features described and the cultural offering you would like to include in your trip.

Discover more destinations: Ruy, Auris, Proveysieux, Vertrieu, Séchilienne, Theys, Savas-Mépin, Clonas-sur-Varèze.

For the main travel overview: Isere.