Hiking From the Sea of Rayol to the Hills of Canadel - Circuit 3

Detailed description

1 - Departure from the Tourist Office, free parking: go along the Avenue Etienne Gola to the left (direction Cavalaire) for about 50 meters and go up.
the monumental staircase to reach the Patec (round pergola of 16m diameter). Go to the church opposite, climb the stairs in front of you which pass along the church on the left (see the outdoor amphitheatre on the back). You must then cross successively the 2 tarred roads (Corniche de Lyon, Corniche d'Avignon and the Corniche de Cannes (earthen) and take the paths opposite.
You will come to the Corniche of Nantes.
- Then turn left down this asphalt road and go 60m to take on the right the wooden steps followed by the path in the forest.
- At the top, cross the avenue Maurin des Maures (note the big cork oak) and climb the last part towards the top in the forest of mimosas (in bloom).
January/February) by following the winding path supported by the ancient dry stone walls more than a century old. Just before the DFCI/Fire Brigade track there is a bench to catch your breath and admire the panorama from the sea and the islands.
You have just climbed 535 steps! BRAVO

2 - From the dirt track, the top of the Flag (300m), materialized by a blue/white/red weather vane, with a 360 ° panoramic view is in front of you at less than 100m.
NB : access not marked out difficult and not recommended for people fearing vertigo and children.
For those who come back from the top of Le Drapeau, return to the track and follow the
blue markings on the right (westward) for the return descent.
For those remaining on the runway (not mounted at the top of the Flag), follow the blue markings to the left (westward) for the return downhill.

200m after the water tower, at the crossroads on the asphalt forest road (A33), 2 options are possible:
- either take the road on the left on the sea side
- or climb the small slope in front of it to reach the Canadel Pass in a few minutes (blue trail).

3 - At the Canadel Pass (267m) is a metal fire tank RCL02. Continue 100m further to reach the orientation table (under the trees). Go back on your steps from the Col to take the path on the right after the EDF pylon on the sea side towards the sign "les Pradels". At 1 000m, at the path's yaw touching the D27, follow on the left the blue beaconing where there is a rocky descent (caution : quite steep descent). Once on the tarmac road, turn left to reach the cemetery and the TDF relay.

4 - In front of the cemetery, turn left (eastwards - asphalt roads): Corniche de Toulouse then Corniche de Marseille: 200m on the right, take an undergrowth draye (Rayol Village sign) (caution: rather steep descent) which takes you directly back to the heart of the village, not far from the village.
your departure (Tourist Office 500 m on the left).

From the Tourist Office, it is possible to go down (on your right) the other part of the stairs, the Degrees of the Sea, 347 steps, which lead you to the RAYOL beach.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Every year from 21 June to 20 September, the Var prefecture regulates access, traffic and parking on certain roads serving the Var forest massifs. This system informs walkers about the possibilities of access to the forest areas and the level of danger of forest fires. Connect to the var.gouv.fr website.

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