Mountain biking area: 5 not to be missed routes around Villar de Lens and Corrençon en Vercors.
Villar de Lens and Corrençon existed long before the development of tourist resorts. Even today, life goes on as usual depending on the season, because the two villages have managed to preserve the quality of life: the richness of local life, local products, buildings that respect the heritage and identity of the territory. Villars de Lance or Correnson? To each his own ... When the pedestrian and bustling streets of Villars are a distraction, Correnson proclaims the charm of a small mountain village, authentic and serene.
Come and discover: www.villarddelans.com
Villar de Lance
The main city of the canton, Villars de Lens, is the center of attraction for the Vercors. This village of more than 1050 inhabitants is located at an altitude of 4000 m above sea level, at the foot of the Grand Musherol mountain, which rises above it from a height of 2285 m. tourism. Before winter sports became popular in 1925, it was fashionable to pamper yourself with the benefits of the “air and milk cure”. Villar de Lens has always evolved constantly, and today the modern and varied tourist offer has not erased the authentic look of the mid-rise agricultural town, which is bustling all year round.
Correnson-in-Vercor
This small, warm and peaceful village, located at an altitude of 1 m above sea level, is decorated with landscape postcards. Located on the southern tip of the vast Val-de-Lance plateau, in the middle of a clearing surrounded by forests, Corrençon assembles his village under the majestic peaks of the Petit and Grande Musherols (111 m). You feel like you've arrived at the edge of a massif because the road stops at Corrençon to give way, further south, to the vast protected areas of France's largest natural reserve, Les Hauts plateaux du Vercors. In addition to choosing from a variety of activities, sports and entertainment, Correnson is above all an oasis of peace that you can choose simply to relax and live in the rhythm of nature.
MTB routes not to be missed
Our selection of the most beautiful mountain biking trails in the area. Be careful to make sure they are appropriate for your level.
Royal
Winter version. A little summer treat that will leave memories behind! Pay attention to the autonomy of electric mountain bikes.
Discover the territory of the Lords of Sassenage. A route that runs mostly in the forest, but alternates between forest paths and very beautiful singles winding through the forest. Magnificent panoramas of the eastern barrier of Vercourt.
A beautiful trail in the heart of the Loubiere forest between Villars de Lens and Corrençon en Vercors. We even switch to the Drome side at the gates of the O-Plateau Nature Reserve, then to reach the beautiful Erbuy plain and descend to Bois Barbu.
Clariant hinge
From the Fairway pastures through the villages, the VAE's special discovery route. Discover the Corrençon-en-Vercors golf course at the entrance to the Hauts Plateaux du Vercors nature reserve. Don't forget to look around and admire the Grande Moucherolle (the highest at the top of the Vercors Nord)!
Treat yourself to a sophisticated break at the Auberge du Clariant!
The arboretum
A beautiful tour of the Payonner Plain, dominated by the imposing cliffs of the Est-du-Vercors Balcony. Wide track available for child trailers.
The Legend of 1987
The redesign of the 1987 World Cup course is a concentrate of mountain biking and pure fun! Long and short, sometimes reserved for experienced pilots.
Bikepark and pump track
Villars de Lens has a bike park with 6 downhill runs open from June to September and free access to the 3-run pump track.
To see or do absolutely
Points of view
Valshevrier village
Valchevrier, a place of silence and meditation, is one of the most exciting and memorable places of the Resistance in Vercors. This village in the middle of the forest served as a guerrilla camp before being the scene of a violent clash on 22 and 23 July 1944. On a belvedere that towers over the village, the men sacrificed themselves to delay the advance of the Nazi armies and died in arms. Then the houses were set on fire, only the chapel will remain. The village remained with exposed stones, blackened by fire. The Station of the Cross, each station of which is an original building, links Villars de Lens with Valshevrier.
Belvedere Castle Julien
Exceptional panorama, favorite picnic spot and exceptional sunsets!
Vertigo of the Peaks
A pedestrian bridge that lifts more than 2 m above 300 m of vacuum. This is a 360 ° view of the Vercors chain, the Chartreuse, Belledon or Tylefer massifs and a bird's eye view of Grenoble.
Lake Musherol
In summer, the Cote 2000 gondola can take you to the breathtaking alpine scenery in just a few minutes. 1 hour walk to the lake but worth it!
Grand Weimon
The highest point (2 meters) of the Vercors massif. An ideal peak for observing wildlife: marmots, mountain goats, griffon vultures and waders. In the Hauts Plateaux nature reserve, the fauna consists of, among others, marmots, mountain goats, griffon vultures and chocards. In the Vercors-aux-Plateau Nature Reserve, a day hike in an ideal location!
Shoransh caves
Between Pont-en-Royan and Villars-de-Lens, in the heart of the gorge de la Born, enter a magical world and discover an underground world with emerald and crystalline reflections, where the galleries are illuminated to the rhythm of your footsteps!
Along two underground rivers, discover fistula stalactites, real calcite straws that are in the cavities by the thousands: a unique sight in Europe! During your visit, you will meet Proteus, amazing cave animals ... The Giant Cathedral Hall will greet you every time you visit with a sound and light show, colorful and rich in emotion! Follow the instructions!
Born gorges
A grandiose and breathtaking trail marked with 3 Michelin stars, the Gorge de la Born trail is the longest of the typical Vercors trails. The road carved into the rock was opened to traffic in 1872 after 11 years of work.
Carved into a cliff, this 24-kilometer road connecting Pont-en-Royan and Villars-de-Lens was opened to traffic in 1872 after 11 years of titanic work.
As soon as you leave Pont-en-Royan, you will enter the Borne Gorges, one of the main attractions of the Vercors Regional Natural Park. After the village of Charenches, the road follows a pleasant route, decorated with magnificent views of striking beauty, especially the Bournillon circus. You must go to the Goul Noir bridge, three kilometers upstream of La Balme de Rencourrel, to see a powerful renaissance attesting to the workings of the Vercors groundwater table, a remarkable example of which can be admired by visiting the Charenches Cave.
White waterfall
The Blanche Falls on the Verneson River, which descends directly from the Vercors via the Grand and Petit Goulet, is a place of freshness, especially as it is easily accessible on foot from Sainte-Eulalie-en-Royans.
Exit the village of Ste Eulalie en Royans, car park in front of Café le Pied de nez, follow the sign, then the Cascade Blanche sign, the trail will lead you to the banks of the La Vernezon river. Possibility of fishing, picnic.
Heritage house
The museum traces the daily life of the peasant communities on the Vercors plateau at the beginning of the XNUMX century. It recalls agricultural and forestry activities and the gradual opening up of this region to climatism and mountain tourism.
Municipal historic house, located in the old town hall, in the center of the village of Villars de Lans, has been completely renovated. Founded by Jacques Lamour in 1988, it presents the history of the Four Mountains. Come and discover on the ground floor two temporary exhibition halls that are regularly updated (historical or art exhibitions).
- On the 1st floor, you will discover the events that marked the life of the canton through the themes of resistance, climate change, the 1968 Olympics and, above all, road construction and the start of tourism and transport.
- The second floor is dedicated to daily life, agriculture and handicrafts from the late 2nd century, with many documents, photographs, objects, craft tools or agricultural equipment. A visit that will please both young and old.
To taste in the surroundings
To delight the taste buds, in both Villars and Correnson, local menus speak of values, history and respect for nature. Want to discover new flavors? In Vercor, gourmets and gourmets will experience a real taste journey. Take time to sample 5 products labeled AOC or AOP in the geographic area of the Vercors Regional Natural Park.
Vercors-Sassenage AOP Blue
In the Middle Ages, the farmers of the Vercors plateau paid taxes to the lord de Sassenage with cheese, and over time this cheese became Bleu de Vercors-Sassenage.
At the turn of the century, cheese producers decided to resume production, and over the years, thanks to the enthusiasm and conviction of Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage, became the 35th French AOC cheese in 1999.
Blue Vercors-Sassenage is one of the rare French PDOs established in the heart of the Regional Natural Park. This select cheese made from cow's milk (Abondance, Montbéliarde and Villarde) comes from mountain agriculture with a strong territorial identity, with full respect for nature and the environment. Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage, a moldy cheese made from thermally processed cow's milk, soft, creamy, with a slight nutty flavor, hand-sculpted by our cheese makers. For several days, it is salted and cared for in our cellars in Villars de Lens for a minimum maturation period of 21 days.
Fario trout
Raised or wild Vercors trout can be eaten fresh, filleted or smoked.
Walnuts
One of the first AOC nuts in France (1938) consumed for its taste and health benefits.
Dauphinio ravioli
La traditional ravioli less ravioli: it's a small square dough **fresh** stuffed one centimeter to the side. It is said that it is the Italian lumberjacks who work in Vercorsky forests and having lost the ravioli of their country, they would have replaced the meat filling with a filling of fresh cheese and parsley. This is how the ravioli were born. Since then, she has established herself as one of the gastronomic delicacies from the Vercors mountains and can be prepared in a variety of ways, from an aperitif to a main course.
Today it is manufactured industrially and can be found in pre-cut sheets. stuffed with a thousand and one ways (goat, mushrooms, snails ...) But if you go back to the last century in Vercors, the tradition was completely different. It was a dish that was prepared for the holidays (baptism, birthdays ...), because, first of all, good chicken broth is needed to prepare them. Recipes vary from family to family and are passed down from generation to generation. Thus, Royal ravioli was about the size of what we know today, whereas in the canton of Villars de Lens, ravioli were about the size of ravioli.
For reference, there was "Ravioleus", ladies with unsurpassed know-how, from whom we ordered "fat" ones. By “large” we mean 144 ravioli, plate 12 by 12. Made entirely by hand, took a day to produce, but had an incomparable taste. These true small “home” businesses are now gone, with industry taking over from “home businesses”. They are still made today by some families in Vercore, always on special occasions, between mother and daughter or with cousins, recalling the days when, as a child, my grandmother forced everyone to work at the family meal.
Accomodation
📸 Credits: O. T. Villard de Lance, Carol Savary, Stephanie Charles, Brendan Hart, David Boudin
