Follow in the footsteps of the writer Robert-Louis Stevenson! A hiker before his time, Stevenson undertook the crossing of the Cévennes in 1878 alone with his donkey “Modestine” from Monastier-sur-Gazeille, located 20 km from Puy-en-Velay. 12 days, 220 km and many adventures later, he arrived in Saint-Jean-du-Gard.
His travel journal was published a year later under the title “ Travel with a donkey in the Cévennes » and preceded by a few years his best-known works: “Treasure Island” and “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.
It's at theoccasion of the centenary of Stevenson's voyage in 1978 that the French Hiking Federation inaugurated the Grande Randonnée path and marked it: GR®70. THE Stevenson path GR®70 connects the south of Massif Central in the Cévennes deep. It crosses four departments of Puy-en-Velay to Alès : Haute-Loire, Ardèche, Lozère and Gard. We can divide this roaming into four parts: Velay, Gévaudan, Mont-Lozère and the Cévennes.
To facilitate access to the GR for walkers, two steps have been added compared to the journey initially made by Stevenson in 1878. Today hikers can start the GR®70 Stevenson's Path at Puy-en-Velay and finish it at Ales which are cities accessible by train.
Technical specifications
GR®70 Stevenson Path
- Departure: Le Puy-en-Velay
- Arrival: Alès
- Distance: 272 km
- Duration: 13 days
- Means of transport for departure/arrival: SNCF station
- Website: www.chemin-stevenson.org
- Mobile application: Chemin de Stevenson GR®70
Explore Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay, crossroads of long-distance hiking trails awaits you for the big departure in the footsteps of Robert-Louis Stevenson. A route between volcanoes, mountains and valleys where you will not only meet literature enthusiasts!
The Stevenson path offers its walkers a breathtaking geological panoply. Between the Devès chain to the west and the Mézenc to the east, the volcanic history of this territory takes on its full meaning. Rocky peaks, basalt flows, craters… The past resurfaces with every step.
Le Bouchet lake is a step unavoidable. Imagine, a crater lake more than 300 years old, 000km in circumference, on the borders of a fir forest.
The stages of the GR®70 in Velay
- 1nd step : From Puy-en-Velay to Monastier-sur-Gazeille: 19 km
- 2nd step : From Monastier-sur-Gazeille to Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas: 24 km
- 3nd step : From Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas to Pradelles: 21 km
Discover Gévaudan
Wild by nature, the crossing of Gévaudan on the GR®70 Chemin de Stevenson is sure to please walkers. Take the time to appreciate this legendary territory where:
- the small valleys host wild forests of pastures and marshes
- the silence lets you guess the murmur of the numerous streams and where the moss carpets invite you to rest
- the smell of raspberries and birches together awaken all the senses.
The stages of the GR®70 in Gévaudan
- Step 4 : From Pradelles to Cheylard-l’Evêque: 22 km
- Step 5: From Cheylard l'Evêque to La Bastide-Puylaurent: 27 km
- Step 6: From La Bastide-Puylaurent to Bleymard 29 km
CLIMB MONT LOZERE
A strange bare massif, dotted with granite chaos with rounded shapes and punctuated by numerous fresh springs...a country in its own right where the broom intoxicates spring itself and where the purple heather and blue blueberries later announce the end of the summer… At the summit of Finiels, time stops, leaving the eyes with the pleasure of running from the Alps to the Pyrenees. The strength of the place then inevitably permeates the walker's entire body before pushing him towards the blue swirls of the famous Cévennes.
The stages of the GR®70 at Mont Lozère
- 7nd step : From Bleymard to Pont-de-Montvert 19 km
- 8nd step : From Pont-de-Monvert to Florac 29 km
CROSS THE CÉVENNES
Deep and luminous at the same time, the Cévennes valleys gently invite you to relax, to the nonchalance of the midday. Shale trails slide through chestnut forests, plunging towards refreshing rivers before reaching sunny peaks. The slates gradually give way to tiles on the roofs and each small village you pass through has its stories to tell, in exchange for yours of course...
The stages of the GR®70 in the Cévennes
- Step 9: From Florac to Cassagnas: 19 km
- Step 10: From Cassagnas to Saint-Etienne-Vallée-Française: 24 km
- Step 11: From Saint-Etienne-Vallée-Française to Saint-Jean-du-Gard: 13 km
- Step 12: From Saint-Jean-du-Gard to Alès: 23 km
Practical
Find all the practical information about the GR®70 Chemin de Stevenson in the topo guide of the French Hiking Federation: route, step by step, list of accommodation and services. This guide is essential to ensure peace of mind!
I travel not to go somewhere, but to walk. I travel for the pleasure of traveling. The important thing is to move, to experience more closely the necessities and difficulties of life, to leave the cozy bed of civilization, to feel under my feet the earthly granite and the scattered flints with their sharp edges.
FAQ
What are the recommended stages of the Stevenson GR®70 path?
1) From Puy-en-Velay to Monastier-sur-Gazeille: 19 km
2) From Monastier-sur-Gazeille to Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas: 24 km
3) From Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas to Pradelles: 21 km
4) From Pradelles to Cheylard-l’Evêque: 22 km
5) From Cheylard l'Evêque to La Bastide-Puylaurent: 27 km
6) From La Bastide-Puylaurent to Bleymard 29 km
7) From Bleymard to Pont-de-Montvert 19 km
8) From Pont-de-Monvert to Florac 29 km
9) From Florac to Cassagnas: 19 km
10) From Cassagnas to Saint-Etienne-Vallée-Française: 24 km
11) From Saint-Etienne-Vallée-Française to Saint-Jean-du-Gard: 13 km
12) From Saint-Jean-du-Gard to Alès: 23 km
What were the steps taken by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1878?
1) Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille > Le Bouchet Saint-Nicolas: 23,6 km
2) Le Bouchet Saint-Nicolas > Langogne: 26,7 km
3) Langogne > Luc: 22,7 km
4) Luc > Notre-Dame des Neiges: 12,3 km
5) Notre-Dame des Neiges > Chasseradès: 15,8 km
6) Chasseradès > Le Bleymard: 17 km
7) Le Bleymard > Le Pont-de-Montvert: 19,3 km
8) Le Pont-de-Montvert > Florac: 28,5 km
9) Florac > Cassagnas: 17,4 km
10) Cassagnas > St-Germain-de-Calberte: 15 km
11) St-Germain-de-Calberte > St-Étienne-Valée-Française: 8,9 km
12) St-Étienne-Valée-Française > St-Jean-du-Gard: 12,7 km
Is the Chemin de Stevenson GR®70 a difficult route?
The Stevenson GR®70 path is accessible for fairly experienced walkers. One of the most delicate points of the Chemin de Stevenson is the passage of Mont Lozère. Find out beforehand about the altitude differences of the route.
Who is Robert Louis Stevenson?
Famous writer and traveler, Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh. Following a romantic failure, Stevenson felt the need to isolate himself and therefore undertook a journey to the south of France, accompanied by a donkey named Modestine. This trip, he tells it in the book “Travel with a donkey in the Cévennes”. In his story, Stevenson recounts his crossing of the Cévennes on foot, undertaken in the fall of 1878, with the donkey Modestine as his only traveling companion. Despite a difficult beginning, the author ends up forging very strong emotional bonds with the animal. From Le Monastier in Haute-Loire, their journey will last 12 days and end in Saint-Jean-du-Gard, after around 200 km of walking. Stevenson's objective was twofold: to forget his heartbreak and to explore the land of the Camisards. The book about his journey preceded his best-known works: “Treasure Island” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” »
What transport can you use to access the Chemin de Stevenson GR®70?
You have different means of public transport to get to Chemin de Stevenson:
- By train
- langogne station
- Puy-en-Velay station
- By bus
- Haute-Loire, Line 46: Le Puy-en-Velay – Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille
- Haute-Loire, Line 2: Le Puy-en-Velay – Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas – Landos
- Haute-Loire, Line 1: Le Puy-en-Velay – Landos – Langogne
- Lozère, line 282: Mende – Langogne –
Pradelles – Costaros – Le Puy - Lozère, line 251/252: Mende – Florac – Cassagnas – Alès
- Lozère, line 261: Mont Lozère Station – Florac Shuttle (daily during summer)
- Gard, line 81 (via Mialet): Saint-Jean-du-Gard – Alès
- Gard, line 72 (via Anduze): Saint-Jean-du-Gard – Alès
- Gard, line 112: Saint-Jean-du-Gard – Nîmes
- By plane
- Le Puy-en-Velay Airport – Loudes
- Nîmes Alès Cévennes Airport
