Cycling Stay Haut-Lignon

panorama lake and Mont Mézenc - cycling holidays Haut Lignon

Warm welcome and atmosphere guaranteed

Come and renew with the spirit of the Ardéchoise and discover or rediscover its high places and meet the other participants.

What to expect

This cycling trip in Haut Lignon will make you discover a very popular resort for tourists and locals in the middle of summer. With many rivers running through it, this plateau offers green landscapes and a welcome refreshment during the hot summer months.

Between the “sucs” (ancient volcanoes) and deep rivers, the Haut-Lignon offers a wide variety of routes for cyclists, allowing loops adapted to all practices: more sportive for fans of climbs, more touristic for the others.

And for all of them, common points: quiet roads that cross beautiful landscapes, punctuated by many villages. The area is very dynamic and attracts many people looking for a certain quality of life.

We have chosen Tence, recognized as a green resort, as a starting point to discover this secret land…

Your Haut- Lignon cycling trip day by day

Les Boutières - Saint Clément
70 km (1200 m), 105 km (1700 m), 115 km (1900 m)

We head to the Ardèche for this first day with the discovery of some spectacular roads.

After a passage near the lake of Devesset, we will descend into the valley of the Eyrieux. The landscape here is very different from the Haut-Lignon with deep valleys and steep slopes. We are here in the heart of volcanism.

We chose to go back up to the plateau via the Saint-Clément road. Many cyclists know it from having ridden it during the Ardéchoise. Its ascent will allow you to enjoy its immense panoramas in the middle of the basaltic organs. From the first few kilometres after Chapelle-sous-Chanéac to the finish in Saint-Clément, a 13 km ride awaits you to reach the charming village of Fay-sur-Lignon.

Several options will then be available for the return to Tence, and the bravest will begin to discover the region of Yssingeaux where we will return by the end of the stay.

Profile of the trip 105 km

Mézenc -Meygal, the summits of the Haute-Loire
85 km (1350 m), 100 km (1500 m), 120 km (2000 m)

For this second day, we will go to the ascent of the Mount Mézenc, finally of the pass of the Cross of Peccata which passes at the foot of the summits! Of original volcanic origin, Mont Mézenc has the originality of having 2 summits, one in Haute-Loire and the second in Ardèche. The result is a characteristic shape that is quite different from those of the other volcanoes in the region.

After a diversion via the resort of Les Estables, which is very popular with cross-country skiers in winter, we will reach the Saint-Front lake, a wild lake of volcanic origin.

The return journey will be via the Meygal massif, another cross-country skiing mecca. Although we are at a modest altitude (between 1000 and 1300 m), this plateau is regularly covered with snow during the winter period.

In spring, it is another spectacle that is offered to us in the middle of the daffodils and narcissus that colonise the slopes of the Sucs d’Yssingeaux.

If you still have some energy left, we advise you to make a diversion to Bigorre, a hamlet whose houses are built of stone and covered with thatch or lauzes, two types of roofing typical of this region.

Profile of the 100 km trip

The Yssingelais and the Loire Valley
80 km (1400 m), 100 km (1600 m), 115 km (1800 m)

The Yssingeaux region offers very picturesque roads for cycling, framed by the sucs, the ancient volcanoes that are very present in the region. They offer a mini-theatre in which this day will take place.

The day will start on a pleasant shaded road before passing by the Lavalette dam. Built on the river Lignon, this dam is the main source of drinking water for the Saint-Etienne area. It also houses a nautical base where sailing can be practised.

We will take a new section of the Via Fluvia with the Chapelette viaduct and its small tunnel to reach the village of Grazac.

We then head for the Loire Valley, which is still a modest river at this point, before heading back up to Yssingeaux.

We will return through the villages of Mazet-Saint-Voy and Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon, known for having taken in Jewish children during the Second World War. A museum tells this story in Chambon-sur-Lignon.

Those who have chosen the long trip will pass through the village of Queyrières, which has the particularity of being built around a basalt hillock.

Profile of the 100 km trip

Saint Bonnet le Froid - Le col de la République
80 km (1400 m), 100 km (1500 m), 115 km (1800 m)

On this last day of your cycling trip, we will ride up the watershed towards Saint Bonnet le Froid. This village will bring back memories for rally car enthusiasts. The village is now famous among gourmets thanks to Régis and Jaques Marcon, and their restaurant Clos des Cimes, a 3*** restaurant.

We will continue towards the north, taking roads that are not very well frequented. Don’t be surprised if you only come across a car every 10 kilometres! After the Col du Tracol, we enter the Loire department and the Pilat Regional Nature Park. The highest point of the day, the Col de la République at 1161 m, marks the finish of the Véloccio climb organised every spring from Saint-Etienne.

We will reach Dunières on the Via Fluvia, a greenway that follows the route of the old railway line between Annonay and Firminy. Admire the engineering structures built over a century ago!

Profile of the 100 km trip

* Depending on the weather conditions, the routes may be modified.

Your accommodation

15 rooms, 3 star rating

Showers or baths, WC, hair dryer
TV, WiFi in all rooms
Heated pool, SPA and sauna
Large wooded park with relaxation area
Private parking
Bicycle garage

If you wish to arrive before or extend your stay in Haut Lignon, the tourist office is at your disposal to inform you about the accommodations in the region.

https://www.office-tourisme-haut-lignon.com/ – 33 + (0)4 71 59 71 56

Our evaluation

Hosting
3* hotel
Nature, villages and panorama
exceptional
Distance and altitude difference
accessible to all

Visit of the museum of the white penitents of Tence, visit of the castle of Montivert, visit of Tence with the tourist office, visit of Chambon sur Lignon and its museum of the Righteous, swimming and nautical activities at the dam of Lavalette.

Animations

Mount Mezenc

From the top of its 1753 meters, it is the highest summit of the Ardèche and the Haute-Loire; a summit which offers an exceptional 360° view on a large part of the South-East of France.

On 360° thus, this impregnable sight starts, of course on the Mounts of Ardeche and Velay to extend until the mounts of Cantal, the Mont-Dore, the Puy de Dôme, the chain of the Alps and the massif of the Mont-Blanc or the Ventoux…

The rates

Stay in a room for 2 persons : 395€.

Single room option + 75 €.

Cancellation option + 15 €.

3 nights in a 3* hotel.

Half board + light lunch on the course

Welcome drink on the first evening

A coordinator present throughout your stay

GPS tracks of the routes that we have created

Daily road books

Drinks during meals

Personal expenses during the stay

Book your stay in Haut Lignon

Would you like to know more about our stays in the Ardèche organized by theArdéchoise Autrement? We will be happy to answer your questions and advise you.

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