Pas de Peyrol and the Cantal mountains
44 km (27 miles), 1 hr, intermediate
Photo: Père Igor, CC BY-SA 4.0, resizedMotorcycle ride in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Sancy massif, from the Col de Guéry to Lac Pavin
60 km (37 miles), 1 hr 40 min, intermediate
This route crosses the volcanic Sancy massif, one of the great hiking areas of the Auvergne, linking its passes and lakes. From Orcival, the road climbs to the Col de Guéry, above the lake of the same name, then drops down to the resort of Le Mont-Dore, at the foot of the Puy de Sancy. It then climbs on the D36 to the Col de la Croix-Saint-Robert, a high road that may be closed in winter. The descent reaches Lac Chambon, then Besse and Lac Pavin, a maar 92 m deep that you can walk round in about an hour on an easy path (no swimming). The passes are popular with cyclists and the lakesides are very crowded in summer: arrive early and check the Croix-Saint-Robert is open between November and March.
Stops along the way
- SStart: Orcival
- 1Col de Guéry, after 8 km (5 miles)
- 2Le Mont-Dore, after 17 km (11 miles)
- 3Col de la Croix-Saint-Robert, after 24 km (15 miles)
- 4Lac Chambon, after 35 km (22 miles)
- 5Lac Pavin, after 55 km (34 miles)
- FFinish: Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise, after 60 km (37 miles)
Download the GPXTrack and stops as a GPX file, for a sat nav or another app.
Photos along the route
This ride in the MotoLert app
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Other rides nearby
Roads change: passes close in winter, roadworks, rockfalls, local restrictions. Check the road before you set off. MotoLert does not replace road signs or the Highway Code.
Route planned by MotoLert with Valhalla on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons, with the author and licence under each image.