Introduction

The Cap du Dramont is a miniature Massif de l'Estérel. Of course, the cape is part of the massif, but it's still sort of separate from it as the train and road pass behind it. The walking times are not particularly long and you have wonderful vantage points, especially of the Massif de l'Estérel, because you have the necessary distance and still have a view of the sea.

The facts

6 km total distance

2 h walk time

240 m total elevation

orientation easy but many byways

mark 75% of the total distance

40% easy trails

20% forest roads

10% on beach

10% hard-surfaced quiet side streets

5% cross country

5% hard-surfaced city alleys

5% hard-surfaced city roads

<5% hard-surfaced paths

<5% hard-surfaced country road

dangers wind swell, exposed rocks

children

useful picnic stuff, swimwear

required hiking boots, hiking equipment and water

GPS coordinates (WGS84) of start and end point 43.420054,6.855825

downloads

Public transport

The line 8 of the Esterel Côte d'Azur Le Bus (only french) serves the route between the bus station of St-Raphaël (north of the tracks at the level of the train station), the Bay of Agay and a little further beyond. There is a connection approximately every hour. Tickets are available on the bus. Get off at Camp Long station. From the station we continue along the provincial road towards the sea, at the Tiki Plage sign we turn right onto Rue Robinson.

The TER PACA (only french) regional train has a station called Le Dramont which serves about 9 times a day. There is an underpass to cross the rails and the road. You come out directly at the memorial stone for the landing of the Allies on the night of 14/15 August 1944. This is how you get to the tour in section 3 and go down to the port of Poussaï.

Access by car

The Cap du Dramont is located east of St. Raphaël, the logical access is via the D559 coastal road. Reaching the region on the A8 highway, you exit at Puget-sur-Argens or Fréjus and drive through Fréjus and St. Raphaël in order to get on the coast.

Useful parking spaces

There is a fairly large parking lot right at the starting point of the hike. It is forbidden to stay there overnight.

A second car park is located to the west and in section 3, but there is a height restriction.

Hints

Access is easy, so here we find here residents from the urban area of Saint-Raphael-Fréjus. As soon as the weather is right, you are rarely alone here. This also applies to the rockier detours. We therefore advise doing this hike during the week and out of season.

The rocky headland does not have bathing areas, but it borders a beach on either side: the Plage de Camp Long beach, which is the starting point of the tour, and the Plage du Débarquement beach, which can be reached by continuing along the coast after the port of Poussaï.

Detours off the marked path to some capes are suggested on this tour. These are easy accesses, but it is sometimes necessary to use your hands for easy climbing sections. In addition to these, there are other descent options to the sea, all of which have in common that they are unsecured.

The whole region is a zone with a high risk of forest fires. In summer, but also in other seasons when it is very dry or by strong winds, access to the forest areas can be regulated. As a result, the roads may be closed to traffic and/or the trails prohibited to hikers. Current information: Map of access to the forests of the Var (also english). The map shows the colours green, yellow, orange and red which correspond to levels of danger.

The sections

1. Go up on the sea side over the red rocks to the vantage point at the antenna.
2. Down again and overlooking the sea to the green rocks in front of the Île d'Or island.
3. Learn about the history of mining and the Allied landings, then take a faster route back behind the cape.

Section 1: Plage du Camp Long - Belvédère de la Batterie

➙ 1,9 km ... 40 min ➚ 125 m ➘ 15 m ↝ easy

5% hard-surfaced country road, without marks

10% hard-surfaced city roads, without marks

25% easy trails, few marks

5% cross country, without marks

50% easy trails, few marks

5% cross country, without marks

The only public road north of Cap du Dramont leads from road 559 past the beach to the car park. We leave the parking lot with a view of the sea and go towards a barrier. The signs explain all sorts of things and after the barrier a signpost points to the right towards the Belvédère de la Batterie. But this is not our way, we want to stay on the coast.

We can descend to two historic coastal defences of which only the foundations remain. From one, the view goes back to the rocks of the Pointes Longues and the beach, on the south coast we see the area that awaits us below.

The coastal path always leads through the vegetation at higher altitude, after each detour to the coast or a cape we have to return to the marked path.

The situation is well illustrated in this photo: the coastal promontories below and the coastal footpath runs above.

We will therefore remain on the coastal path for a while, which will allow us to bypass one of the indentations of the sea in the rocks of the cape.

In front of us we see rocky and fairly flat ledges rising out of the sea. These are one of the last chances to go out to the coast, as the coast then becomes much steeper and more rugged. The marked path leads almost to the summit and the descents to caps later are difficult to impossible.

The southern point of Camp Long is the last on which we make effortless progress. From there we look back to the Massif de l'Esterel but also forward to the south (on the left in the photo). And it is clear that the environment there is becoming more inhospitable. The path will go around these rocks and deep gorges almost to the top.

So from the southern point of Camp Long we climb up in a straight line to rejoin the marked coastal path. With a bend we climb a good 20 meters.

There are several parallel paths in the curve and in autumn 2016 the markings and the signs for hikers were in poor condition. You have to go north-east for roughly 100 m, then head south. Don't cut through the undergrowth, the vegetation has enough to suffer here.

The path is frequently walked and there are several benches to enjoy the views.

The photo shows the view further to the rugged rocky outcrops. Even if it seems impossible from here, you can descend towards the rocky and dark island on the left to the middle level (in the course of section 2). Before that, however, one must go up in the saddle between the two peaks of the cape.

Not only the coast is rugged here, there are also deep incisions that form dark rocky bays, which you have to circum-hike.

Here you can see the coast watchtower (Sémaphore), located on the top of the left peak, but it is not useful to go there from here, since the vegetation and the fences (military area) block a large part of the view. We will climb to the other peak to the north-east, which is much more open.

The ascent to the saddle between the two peaks has an even gradient.

Under the saddle we reach a crossroads of several paths, we continue to climb the flat saddle, where we find an old paved road. Here to the right towards the summit in the north-east.

The road leads up from the parking lot at the back of the hill and connects the two peaks away from the saddle. You are not forced to walk on the road, about 20 meters after the saddle you can turn right onto a path.

The photo shows the view back to the Estérel massif. Bottom center the Plage de Camp Long, the starting point of the tour.

Section 2: Belvédère de la Batterie - Port du Poussaï

➙ 1,5 km ... 35 min ➚ 55 m ➘ 150 m ↝ easy

30% easy trails, few marks

10% easy trails, faulty marks

5% cross country, without marks

10% easy trails, with marks

10% cross country, without marks

20% forest roads, with marks

15% easy trails, without marks

We go down again from the top with the antenna towards the saddle and towards the crossroads of the paths to the east. This time we continue south, so to the right. The path leads downhill in several hairpin bends. After a section where we follow the mountainside, we take a path that descends to the left and makes a last big hairpin bend (remains of a yellow, sometimes blue marker). This path leads us to the foot of an inhospitable rock.

On the left, a path in poor condition branches downhill. A mark in the shape of an X shows us that this is not the right trail, but we go down the rock on our right. We pass under hollows in the rock, this is a type of erosion called taffoni. The salt and the humidity nibble here on the shady side of the rock.

We reach a small flat area overlooking a small rugged island. Here we find interesting geological formations in the rock: folds filled with crystals, inclusions of different colours etc.

It is possible to climb into the small saddle visible on the right of the photo. In this way we arrive at a small natural viewpoint where there is enough space to sit down.

Be careful, the rock drops off steeply all around, and there are also many loose stones!

We climb back up to the path along the jagged rocks and turn left. We quickly come to an old road that descends from the saddle between the two peaks and we continue our tour of the cape.

The trail quickly leads to Cap du Dramont. The ridge of the wide cape is high, but it is much more larger than the previous ones, so it is easy to get there to see the further west coast. Many people take a break here with a pick-nick.

In front the cape becomes steeper and as before there is a large offshore island.

The marked path runs here on a dirt road that leads through the forest behind the coast at this point. We could descend to the next cape, a washed out path hooks up to the Pointe de l'Esquine de l'Ay cape. This point looks like the following ones, we leave it aside and only go down the third possibility. This is at the point where the main trail finally turns north-west and about 300 meters after the Pointe du Dramont cape. Some steps make it easier to descend, otherwise the path is rather chaotic.

We go down along a ravine in hairpin bends, then we follow the rocky and rather flat coast but with staying in the vegetation.

The path approaches the Île d'Or island, surmounted by a medieval-looking tower, which is said to have inspired the comic book artist Hergé for the album The Black Isle of the Tintin series.

We continue towards the west and over stairs we reach a small beach with red pebbles and green rocks.

The small cape on the right is now completely green. It is indeed the same rock, but it exists in the colours red-brown, green-blue like here and ochre. In this otherwise only red environment, this draws the eye.

We climb up the green rocks on the right and circle this small cape. Further ahead, by going around a villa, you quickly reach the quays of Port du Poussaï.

The Port du Poussaï is a leisure port only. In high season the café is open there.

Section 3: Port du Poussaï - Monument - Plage du Camp Long

➙ 2,7 km ... 45 min ➚ 60 m ➘ 65 m ↝ easy

5% hard-surfaced paths, few marks

10% on beach, without marks

15% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, faulty marks

10% on beach, without marks

5% hard-surfaced paths, few marks

5% easy trails, without marks

35% forest roads, few marks

15% hard-surfaced city alleys, few marks

We stay at the harbor quay and continue to the dam. Shortly before that, a few steps lead up and then a concrete path leads along a retaining wall. This is a quick way to get to Plage du Débarquement.

This place, including the Port du Poussaï, is characterized by porphyry quarries. The Allied landings of August 1944 also took place here and the quarries were directly responsible for the site selection for this part of the Mediterranean landings. Here's why:

The quarries have existed since the late 19th century and grew with the construction of the railway. At that time there was no large beach here, it was a low rocky coast. The whole esplanade with the monument and the whole beach are nothing but rubbish from the quarry, which was useless at the time. We would call it waste rock if ore had been mined here. These deposits were so extensive that local fishermen complained about the loss of their bays and the poor water quality. They are appeased with the construction of a pier that today forms the Port du Poussaï.

During the Nazi German occupation, work in the quarries was more extensive than before, and the residents were even forced to work here. The construction of the Atlantic Wall is supplied with porphyre from the Estérel. At the beginning of 1944, all beaches of the Mediterranean Sea and all places where a landing was possible were mined. However, the French manager of the quarry managed to get the Germans to keep the beach open and without mines because the workers worked here every day. This information reaches the command of the Allied Forces and they decide to launch one of the great landings in Provence here. Since all the major harbours were unusable, equipment and men have been brought ashore here for several weeks.

Let's look at one of these quarries first. Arriving at the beach, we go along the wide path that goes up to the esplanade of the monument. Two towers marked 1944 and 2019 delimit the rear of the square and to the right of the tower marked 2019 is an underground passage under the road and the railway. A plan shows the location of all other explanatory panels.

Passing through the pedestrian tunnels, one comes straight to a large lake with completely rocky shores. The hard porphyry that was used as cobblestones on several streets in France was quarried here. A little further away is another lake that has been converted into an amusement park.

We return through the tunnel to inspect the steles of the monument. This place of remembrance is somewhat unattractive, as it was intended to protect it from development from the end of 1944.

An authentic group barge has been installed on the Esplanade since the 50th anniversary of the successful landing of the Allies. It's closed now, but at the time of its deployment, the soldiers and equipment were out in the open and exposed to enemy bullets.

We walk behind the landing craft down one of the many paths down to the beach. You walk first on fine red gravel and progressively is added green ground gravel. There is only green porphyry on the surf.

At the beach turn left again towards Port du Poussaï.

So we walk back to the Port du Poussai and go along the quay towards the green rocks. Shortly before that, however, we take the stairs to the left. It leads to a forest road that circles the cape in the hinterland, so we turn left at the top.

After about 500 metres there is a possibility to go down to the parking lot.

The small beach is located south of the much larger Plage d'Agay beach. You can swim here at least for six months of the year.

Sources and additional information

It is better to use a good topographical hiking map: this tour is on the IGN map "Fréjus/Saint-Raphaël/Corniche de l'Estérel", scale 1:25000, 3544ET.

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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