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The Rode mill
Description
A pleasant loop through the land of amethyst, once so common on these paths lined with wild fruit. In summer, you'll enjoy the Vernet-Chamèane lake, and all year round the local heritage (15th-century church, Montfort castle, seesaw and shoeing loom).
Technical Information
Altimetric profile
Starting point
Additional information
Distinctions
Listed PDIPR
Updated by
Conseil départemental du Puy-de-Dôme - 03/06/2026
www.puydedome-tourisme.com/
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Environments
Lake view
Mountain location
Village centre
Open period
From 01/01 to 31/12 daily.
Subject to favorable weather.
Contact
Phone : 04 73 89 15 90
Email : tourisme@capissoire.fr
Website : http://www.issoire-tourisme.com
Location complements
How to get there: On the A75, exit 13, head for Sauxillanges on the D 996. At the roundabout near Parentignat, take the D999 to Vernet-la-Varenne. Parking lot at Place Saint-Roch, in the center of town.
Type of land
Ground
Reception complements
For your own safety, always take a bottle of water, a hat, warm clothing and footwear suitable for walking.
Depending on weather conditions, certain itineraries are not recommended in bad weather (fog) or are not practicable, or even forbidden, during the winter season.
Some sites are fragile, so stay on the marked trails. Avoid picking wild flowers and disturbing wildlife. Pick up your garbage.
Animals are not allowed on some routes.
Guidebook with maps/step-by-step
1/ From the start sign on the square, walk up the ruelle Saint-Roch to the church square. Take the left-hand street and continue to the village exit. Continue along the D75 to the path on the left at the cemetery.
2/ Take this path, and at the next crossroads go straight ahead towards the hamlet of Les Faugères (PV1: view of the Sancy). Continue straight ahead on the main road. Pass the equestrian center on your right to reach the road. Follow it to the left and take the first track on the right, ignoring the adjacent tracks, until you reach the D89.
3/ Cross the road and take the left-hand path along the fence. At the next junction, go straight ahead and 50 m further on, turn right to Moulin de la Rode (PP1: mill remains). Pass between the buildings, then over the stream to reach the road. Turn right. Pass Moulin du Prat (PP2: old mill), then 50 m further on, at the bend in the road, take the track opposite for 300 m until you reach a path which climbs to the left.
4/ Take this path, ignoring the track on the left and, at the intersection of four tracks, go straight on. At the end of the wood, level with a farmhouse, go straight ahead and after 100 m, climb towards a wood. At the corner of the wood, continue straight ahead on the path through the forest and climb up to a crossroads at the end of the wood, drop down to the right to reach the road. Follow it to the left until you reach a crossroads in Fridevialle.
5/ Turn right down the road, and continue along a track, ignoring a footpath on the left. At the road, turn right and, in Les Vialettes, fork left towards La Chotte. Ignore the path on the left; in the bend before the houses, take the path leading up to the left, continue into the woods and, at the intersection, climb up to the crossroads. Go straight ahead (PV2: view of the Sancy massif and the Chaîne des Puys). Go through the hamlet of La Faye. Before the last house, take the path on the left (PV3: views of Château de Montfort, Sancy and Cézalier). Descend into the village of Vernet-la-Varenne, opposite the church, along the Chemin des Nations, and return to the start.
Proposed and managed by the Conseil départemental du Puy-de-Dôme - PDIPR.
Animals
Yes. Pets allowed on leash only.
Data author
