Gravel circuit - Along the water

This gravel circuit is an ideal mix between road cycling and mountain biking. It is 45% road and 55% trail.

The start is at the car park of the Gallo-Roman Museum in Aoste.

ITINERARY

After leaving Aosta, you follow the Bièvre river through the woods on a wide, peaceful path. After a short stretch on the road, you take wide, flat paths along the canals of the Avenières marshes. You are surrounded by a few forests and lots of meadows. Don't worry, these paths are not very muddy and the surface is fairly easy to ride on.

You cross the village of St-Didier d'Aoste and enter the French Haut-Rhône Nature Reserve, where the Rhône River meets its tributaries such as the Bièvre and Guiers. This wetland area with its many small islands is a refuge for red kites, European beavers and crested newts. You can admire wild orchids and carnivorous plants such as round-leaved sundews.

Take the wide path that runs alongside the Rhône and then the Guiers to Lake Romagnieu, a paid leisure centre in summer offering a range of activities: swimming, pétanque, volleyball, tennis, fishing, bar-restaurant, etc. It is usually possible to walk around the lake for free outside the summer season when the leisure centre is closed.

Once you have passed Lake Romagnieu, most of the return journey is along small, sometimes hilly country roads. You can take a break at one of the wash houses that dot the route, in the hamlets of Le Nant or La Bruyère.

On the heights of the village of Chimilin, pleasant views await you with beautiful houses with tiled roofs.

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MARKINGS AND SIGNS

The circuit is not fully marked, so we advise you to plan your trip in advance or follow the route using geolocation.