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4-season hike: Vaujany to La Villette
Description
Practical advice: Best done in hiking boots or snowshoes according to the conditions.
This easy hike introduces you to Vaujany and its highest hamlet: La Villette. A journey to the heart of rural life in the past, a time not so long ago, will be told to you with anecdotes.
Trail Notes – Cultural & Natural Highlights
Origin of the name: According to Abbé Bayle, “the reddish hue of the rocks, lit by the last rays of the sun, gave the Grandes Rousses massif its name.”
La Fare waterfall: Descending from the lake at 2800 m, the waterfall can be visited on a future easy hike.
Dry stone walls (clapiers): Lining the trail, these walls were built from stones cleared from fields to grow rye, barley, oats, potatoes, and cabbage. They marked fields and property boundaries.
Life in Vaujany, 1900: The village had 1,000 inhabitants who relied on farming and livestock. Fields were cultivated up to 1500 m, and forests were sometimes burned to gain new land, giving rise to the nickname “wolf burner,” later adopted by Grenoble’s hockey team.
Seasonal work: In spring, soil moved by snow over winter was carried back to fields. Beech shoots were gathered (“making the leaf”): leaves fed livestock, and wood was used for fires.
La Villette: You now overlook this small hamlet (“little town”), which the trail passes through on the return.
Technical Information
Altimetric profile
Starting point
Date and time
- From 01/11/2026 to 01/05/2027
- From 01/11/2026 to 30/04/2027
- From 01/11/2026 to 30/04/2027
- From 01/11/2027 to 30/04/2028
Additional information
Environments
Mountain location
Village centre
Updated by
Office de Tourisme de Vaujany - 15/06/2026
www.vaujany.com/fr/
Report a problem
Open period
From 01/11 to 30/04 daily.
Subject to favorable weather.
Type of land
Non-groomed itinerary
Contact
Phone : 04 76 80 72 37
Email : info@vaujany.com
Website : https://www.vaujany.com/fr/
Reception complements
Advice :
- Check the weather conditions before you leave.
- In case of emergency call 112.
- Adapt your clothing to the activity: bring good walking shoes, a jacket and sunglasses ....
- Bring snacks and water.
Guidebook with maps/step-by-step
From the tourist office square, head towards the road, in the direction of the bakery. Before the bakery on the right there is a small alleyway leading upwards. Take it. Always take the uphill path on the left. At the top, you will see the sign for Chemin de l'étendard. Turn right and you will reach the road. Continue uphill. Leave the road to Rochas and in the bend an alley goes straight on, called the "grand chemin", follow the yellow markings. Follow the main road again, up to the top. There, in front of you, a path in the grass goes ahead of you, yellow signs indicate the beginning of the path towards La Villette. Follow this well-marked path through the fields. Continue straight ahead, you arrive at the top of the hamlet of La Villette. You continue following the wooden signs, indicating the Collet. When you arrive at the Collet, you will find a restaurant, and behind a pump track, you follow the road behind, downhill. The road continues, and go straight downhill, you always follow this road track, until the intersection where you find yellow signs indicating Vaujany, La Villette and plan du moulin. You take this direction, on the right. You enter the hamlet of La Villette by the mill. Then you continue, to arrive in the heart of the village, the common oven on the right. The centre of Cote Belle is on the left, at the entrance to the village. Take the time to walk through the hamlet via these small streets. To return to Vaujany, take the road, and at the end of the hairpin bend take the path down to the left. It takes you back to the bottom of the resort. To return to the tourist office, turn right, the loop is complete!
Animals
Yes
Data author
