On the Mont Dauphin via the marmot trail

Walk up the fortified town

type
walk
difficulty
easy
duration
2 h
public transport
yes
loop
yes
hut
built-up area
gear
walk

Introduction

Mont Dauphin is a well-known sight in the Durance Valley. The fortress builder Vauban did not fortify a previously existing site here, but built a fortress town from scratch. Within the walls is a village that is still inhabited today. The fortress was built and expanded several times, but the village never reached its planned size and battles were never fought here. Today you walk through a museum village, which you can visit freely.

Of course you can get to the spur by car, but you miss a lot. In the south-west, start at the marmot educational trail (Boucle des Marmottes), where there is a very high probability of seeing marmots. They are well fed here, but are basically free-living. This is how you get to the north portal of the fortress. Downhill it goes over the narrow road in the south.

The facts

6,2 km total distance

2 h walk time

160 m total elevation

orientation easy

mark 40% of the total distance

35% easy trails

30% hard-surfaced quiet side streets

20% hard-surfaced city alleys

10% hard-surfaced country road

10% hard-to-recognize trails

dangers none

children ideal

useful picnic stuff

required trekking shoes, hiking gear and water

GPS coordinates (WGS84) of start and end point 44.674651,6.616171

downloads

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3576)
randos photo

Mont Dauphin seen from Saint Crepin

You can see the side with the ascent here.

Public transport

Eygliers train station is called Mont Dauphin Gare. The train, intercity buses and also regional buses all stop here. There are around 15 daily train connections: TER PACA (only french) for line between Gap and Briançon and as many long-distance buses: Zou! (only french), see line 69. The seasonal local bus connections to the side valleys, such as the Queyras area, also start here, timetables also at Zou! (only french).

Access by car

The Mont Dauphin is located directly on the national road 94. In the hamlet of Eyguiers-Gare, in front of the turn-off to Réotier, the circuit starts at the Milaure parking lot for those arriving by car. If you travel publicly, the starting point is a little further north. The tour is described starting at the train station.

Useful parking spaces

The Milaure car park in Eyguiers-Gare is right next to the RN94 road and is free. If it is full, there are additional parking spaces at the train station.

Hints

The marmots can be found mainly in the morning and only in the warmer season. In the village above, on Rue Catinat, there is a fountain with drinking water. Of course there are also bars, but not all of them are open all year round. The southern part of the complex is a large green area, where you can have a picnic under the trees.

The sections

  1. From the train station to the Milaure car park
  2. Climb to the north side of the fort via the Boucle des Marmottes
  3. Free visit of Mont Dauphin
  4. Descent in the south via the Rampe d'Embrun
  5. From the Milaure car park back to the train station

Section 1: Gare d'Eygliers - Parking de Milaure

0,6 km ... 10 min 0 m 0 m easy

50% hard-surfaced country road, without marks

50% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, without marks

The clues

  • Mont Dauphin train station in Eygliers, 888 m
  • company Dekra
  • Milaure car park, 889 m

Reach the foot of Mont Dauphin.

gare = train station

The station Mont Dauphin Gare in Eygliers is above all the station of Guillestre. There is no particularly nice way from the train station to the start of the marmot educational trail: follow the avenue to the main road and turn right there. Go ahead to the parking lot of the Dekra company and cross the busy RN94 road at the pedestrian crossing with the appropriate caution. Opposite we take the small road into the fields.

At the following crossroads, turn right and in a few minutes we are at the Milaure car park. Now turn left and you are in front of the boards that show and explain the paths at the foot of the Mont Dauphin.

Photo by Étienne Baudon (source) under licence CC BY-SA 3.0 taken on the reference day 10 October 2019 and reproduced under the same conditions here. The reproduction is possible if the authors are named and this license is applied. (id3383)
randos photo

Eygliers-Gare train station and the Milaure car park in front of Mont Dauphin

The train station is on the left and the car park further ahead on the right.

Section 2: Sentier des Marmottes - Lunette d'Arçon

1,6 km ... 40 min 150 m 0 m easy

20% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, with marks

60% easy trails, with marks

20% hard-to-recognize trails, without marks

The clues

  • Milaure car park, 889 m
  • Sentier des Marmottes nature trail
  • Climb north to the fort
  • Lunette d'Arçon, 1045 m

Easy path between the rodents and ascent to the plateau.

montée = ascent
fort = fortress

La Boucle des Marmottes nature trail is a small circuit at the foot of the wall under Mont Dauphin. The marmots are indeed wild and free here, but of course very used to the people who pass behind the barriers. Although it is strictly forbidden, the animals are lured and fed with all sorts of things. It's not worse for them, but it's no comparison to finding these animals in the high mountains. Here you can see them just a few steps from the parking lot, so smaller children are sure to be delighted.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3579)
randos photo

Young and mother marmot fight over a dandelion leak

The nature trail consists of an old road and a path further up and thus forms a loop, but we only ascent here. The road comes directly from the parking lot and after 150 meters our path branches off uphill.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3578)
randos photo

Junction of the trail

The path has some forks. In order to find the right one up to the castle, you have to take the upper path at every junction, but without leaving the laid out paths. Do not climb up the wild paths, they usually only lead to bouldering rocks.

Further up, the path becomes easier but also steeper. In a few hairpin bends you get through the forest to the plateau north of the fortress. The first level reached is not the correct one. At this field, turn right and immediately back into the forest to overcome a second edge of the terrain. Then we are on the road to the fort, which is immediately to the right.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3577)
randos photo

Looking back on the marmot trail

Section 3: Lunette d'Arçon - Porte d'Embrun

2,1 km ... 30 min 10 m 30 m easy

60% hard-surfaced city alleys, without marks

10% hard-to-recognize trails, without marks

30% easy trails, without marks

The clues

  • Lunette d'Arçon, 1045 m
  • Porte de Briançon
  • Armoury
  • Porte d'Embrun, 1020 m

Wander through the fortified city.

porte = gate
arsenal = armory
échauguette = guard post

This page shows a hike up Mont Dauphin and does not claim to be a tourist guide. The most important information can be found here: Mont Dauphin (Monuments Nationaux). Don't let the opening times and entrance fees confuse you, this information only applies to guided tours (2 hours). The entire village is open for us to explore. Of course, this is not meant to be a license to look everywhere, because the place is still inhabited. Mont-Dauphin is also a municipality in its own right.

Photo all rights reserved © by Alex Medwedeff. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3580)
randos photo

Lunette d'Arçon in front of Fort Mont Dauphin

Forward position for rear cover with underground connection to the main fortress.

Only a walk through the streets in the fortress is presented here, you can walk around here freely. Only residents are allowed to enter the fortress by car.

You enter through the Porte de Briançon. It is the only front without natural protection, the defences are omnipresent here. We are at the highest point of the fortress. The only other gate is in the south, where we will leave the place later.

To the west you have a tremendous view of the Durance valley and the southern part of the Écrins massif. To the east you can see the wild gorge of the Guil and the peaks of the Queyras region. The town of Guillestre is barely visible. To the south you can see a commercial area.

Photo all rights reserved © by Alex Medwedeff. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3581)
randos photo

Fort gate Porte de Briançon of Mont Dauphin

The commandant of the fortress lived in the building behind the gate.

The fountain at the central crossing provides drinking water. Once around, a look at the unfinished church, the vegetable garden and the arsenal is a good thing in half an hour.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3582)
randos photo

Fountaine des Quatre Coins

The central crossroads in the village.

Then you go south and downhill, you almost automatically reach the Rochambeau barracks, under which the Porte d'Embrun gate is open for our descent.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2016 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3676)
randos photo

Defensive ramparts and the sentry post at the Guil to the east

Section 4: Porte d'Embrun - Parking de Milaure

1,3 km ... 30 min 0 m 130 m easy

70% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, few marks

30% easy trails, few marks

The clues

  • Porte d'Embrun, 1020 m
  • Rampe d'Embrun
  • Milaure car park, 889 m

Descent on a quiet road.

porte = gate

After passing through the Porte d'Embrun, you might wonder why there are far fewer defenses here than in the north. It is on the road that still leads into the valley, the rock wall has not yet been overcome.

You can cut off the first bend in the road, then you should stay on the road. It is reserved for residents, there is hardly any traffic here.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3584)
randos photo

Route St. Guillaume with shortcut

After the gate in front, it becomes clear why this front still represents a natural barrier despite the road.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3585)
randos photo

Route St. Guillaume in the southern cliff

When the rock face turns right and the road makes a left turn, we're heading straight downhill. At the next crossroads, straight ahead and under the trees to the Milaure car park.

Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3586)
randos photo

Way down to the car park

On the right, a path at the foot of the wall leads up to the north portal.

Section 5: Parking de Milaure - Gare d'Eygliers

0,6 km ... 10 min 0 m 0 m easy

50% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, without marks

50% hard-surfaced country road, without marks

The clues

  • Milaure car park, 889 m
  • company Dekra
  • Mont Dauphin train station in Eygliers, 888 m

Those who have to return to the train station only need to follow the same path as when coming here: right past the car park, then left, across the main road and then right again to the station.

Sources and additional information

It is better to use a good topographic hiking map: This tour is on the IGN map "Guillestre, Vars, Risoul, Parc du Queyras", scale 1:25000, 3537ET.

If you don't want to bother with a paper map, you can also use mapping apps on your cell phone. On the one hand, it is the Géoportail app from the official map service IGN. However, it requires access to the data network and this is sometimes difficult in canyons or remote locations.

Alternatively, you can use apps that store data directly on the device. They're generally not free, but they don't cost much. We mainly use OSMAnd, here it is possible to add contour lines, relief shading, markings and others. To store this data on your phone you need a lot of space.

Of course, one needs access to satellites for the GPS signal with any app. In some canyons this is not the case. Therefore, do not rely on the position shown, but read the map on your phone as you would read it on paper. Most apps are available for Android and iPhone. The applications usually allow us to record the route travelled and also view the GPS files offered for each of our hikes.

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Photo all rights reserved © by André M. Winter. Photo taken 2015 during our field research for Provence-Guide.Net.
No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the author. (id3583)
randos photo

Mont Dauphin Gare train station

View from the fortress wall.

Note

The information about this hike was collected with the greatest care in 2016. Nevertheless, all information is provided without guarantee. Should you find any errors, please contact the author of this site, thank you!