Lozère, a mountain and countryside area ideal for hiking enthusiasts

Kalkin, l’écran qui permet de visualiser en 3D les parcours de randonnée. Midi Libre – Anaïs Da Silva

Lozère has more than 2,450 km of trails including 1,950 km of Grande Randonnée. (GR®) and 2 373 km of Walking and Hiking (PR). There are different ways to discover hundreds of routes and enjoy the multiple landscapes.

Walking and discovering the Lozère territory on foot, by bike, by mountain bike or by trail is possible with the numerous hikes that run through the department. There are more than three hundred of them traced. Lozère has more than 2,450 km of trails including 1,950 km of Grande Randonnée. (GR®) and 2 373 km of Walking and Hiking (PR). "There is plenty to do here", smiles Cyril Duclot, director of the CÅ“ur de Lozère tourist office, in Mende.

The new Midi Balades edition has arrived

Midi Libre has its own hiking guide: Midi Balades. If you are ;are &agrav; Looking for a guide to discover the nature of Aveyron and Lozère, you have it here! your disposal for 4.50 €. This Midi Balades offers more than 40 circuits, many of which are easy & accomplish, ranging from the Cévennes to l’Aubrac, from Rouergue to Mont Lozère. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced hiker, whether you want to escape for a few hours for a digestive walk or discover a well-deserved viewpoint , Midi Balades offers this versatility.

Paths according to levels

"We play the game between the offices to refer tourists to the information places adapted according to the sectors they wish to discover", he emphasizes.

The department is known as much for the diversity of its terrain and for its paths capable of suiting different walking levels, as for its variety of landscapes. Hiking enthusiasts, from beginners to the most experienced, have a wide range of choices depending on whether they want to go for a stroll or a sporty walk. They will find the circuit that suits them depending on the difficulty, duration and desired sector.

Kalkin, the screen to view courses in 3D

In addition to the numerous leaflets which can be found in the various tourist offices in Lozère, that of Mende has been home to Kalkin for three years. This tool is a touch screen which allows you to visualize in 3D the different walking trails that exist in the department. "Just select the method with which you wish to complete the route: on foot, by mountain bike, by trail. You can also choose the level of difficulty, the duration of the walk as well as the sector", explains Cyril Duclot using this service accessible to all those who enter the establishment located on Place du Foirail. This screen allows you to observe the path to take upstream, but also the elevation curve.

When the athlete of the day has found the one that suits him, he can scan a QR code using his phone and thus download the route in GPX or PDF format.

A new demand: homelessness

In this summer of 2024, a new demand is flooding into tourist offices: roaming. "We get asked a lot for advice on hikes, often lasting 2 hours. But recently, we have seen a new demand emerging: that of homelessness, indicates the director of the tourist office in Mende. These are tourists who leave home by bike or on foot, who have completed their own route, and who ask us for some additional information to discover the territory more concretely. It's all new, so we need time to adapt to this new mode of travel."

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