Introduction

This ride combines needs with pleasure. A ten-minute bike ride takes you to the Apt market, avoiding the traffic jams around the town, whether you're arriving by car or bus. The route then follows a proper mountain bike trail located south of the Cavalon cycle route. The difficulty rating is easy, but there are some sections where you'll need to push your bike. The route goes up and down. The ultimate goal, of course, is the 2000-year-old bridge Pont Julien. You'll approach it from all sides and even cross it, as it's only open to cyclists and pedestrians.

The facts

22,1 km total distance

2 h 30 min movement time.

180 m total elevation

orientation average

mark 85% of the total distance

45% cycle path

20% hard-surfaced quiet side streets

10% moderate trails

10% hard-surfaced roads without motorized traffic

5% rutted forest roads

5% hard-surfaced city alleys

<5% hard-surfaced country road

<5% difficult trails

<5% dirt roads

<5% forest roads

<5% hard-surfaced city roads

<5% rutted dirt roads

<5% rack

dangers heat and mud

children yes, but it's long

useful picnic stuff

required Hardtail mountain bike and water

GPS coordinates (WGS84) of start and end point 43.88045,5.360736

downloads

Public transport

Apt is accessible by several bus lines. Look for the town's timetables on the Zou! (only french) website. Only line 915, departing from Avignon and stopping at Cavaillon, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Maubec, Goult, Bonnieux, and Gargas, carries bicycles free of charge. This line also goes to Cereste, Reilanne, Mane, Forcalquier, and La Brianne to the east. It has a stop called Aptunion, located at the Bosque roundabout, where those arriving by car also turn. The cycle path is directly south of the roundabout, so you must cross the roundabout as with a car as there are no pedestrian or bicycle crossings.

Access by car

Apt is located north of the Luberon and the Durance River. Access from the west and south is best via Cavaillon and the D900. Turn right at the first roundabout before entering the town.

Coming from the northeast and east, leave the Durance Valley towards Volx and Apt. Go through the town of Apt on the D900 towards Cavaillon and turn left at the third roundabout exiting the town.

Follow the signs for Bosque and the sports complex. At the first fork, turn right, continuing south, and then follow the same road downhill.

Useful parking spaces

West of Apt, in the Bosque district, is the Marc Barbier sports complex. Parking is available there. This is the starting point for the tour.

Hints

While there is shade, there are also many open areas. It can be very sunny, and during the warmer months, it's best to start very early.

After rain, and generally during the winter, the farm tracks in the second part of section 2 can be muddy.

You will find montainbike rental in Apt.

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 for access to the forests of the Vaucluse department (also english). The map shows the colours green, yellow, orange and red which correspond to levels of danger. The affected area is: le Massif de la Vallée d'Apt (14).

The sections

1. Round trip to Apt.
2. Mountain bike trail number 62 between Bosque and Pont Julien bridge.
3. Explore Pont Julien.
4. Return via the Cavalon river cycle route.

Section 1: Bosque - Apt

➙ 9,4 km ... 50 min ➚ 45 m ➘ 35 m ↝ easy

   ↙ Colours of the sections like MTB rating but without the duration.

5% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, few marks

35% cycle path, few marks

5% hard-surfaced city roads, few marks

<5% rack, few marks

<5% hard-surfaced city roads, without marks

20% hard-surfaced roads without motorized traffic, without marks
   ↖ leave the bike and explore on foot

5% hard-surfaced city alleys, without marks

25% cycle path, few marks

5% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, few marks

We start with an alternative route. Of course, you can skip the round trip to the Apt Apt market. In that case, turn here after returning up the road you took on the way down to the parking lot.

The main route described here continues uphill towards the roundabout you used to access the starting parking lot.

Our cycle path begins here, just before the roundabout. Be careful of the chicane at the entrance.

The paved road is a bit rough, but it's not a big deal with a mountain bike.

Our route here follows the path of the Cavaillon to Saint-Maime-Dauphin railway line, which was opened in 1890 and is now disused. This line was originally used to transport ochre to the port of Marseille. Our section between Cavaillon and Apt was the last to be decommissioned, in 1991, due to road improvements. The route from here to Apt is complete, but we will see later that sections and bridges are now missing, sections that were not even deemed necessary to replace for the installation of the cycle path.

The bridge over the D943 road, however, is recent. Other bridges follow.

A viaduct is a bridge longer than the obstacle it spans. In this case, the valley is much wider than the small Riaille creek.

This viaduct is curved and marks the entrance to Apt today.

After the viaduct, we arrive at a large, originally deserted area, this was once the Apt train station. Today, it's occupied by modern buildings and a large parking lot.

Our cycle path veers left to pass under a road and then rejoins the route of the old railway line. Be careful, this section is very narrow!

This route is recognizable by the typical bridges that cross the deepend section of the track.

After this bridge, we pass a fork in the path and continue straight ahead.

70 metres further on, we reach an intersection where we take the road to the left, which descends and initially runs parallel to the cycle path. A sign indicates: Centre-ville tous commerces

This road takes us under a bridge of the former railway line.

We now descend in a straight line, albeit a steep one.

We come to a T-junction where we turn right onto Rue du Ballet.

This level road leads us to a square that could be pleasant if it weren't used as a parking lot around the plane tree.

We turn left here to continue downhill.

For cars, this unnamed road descends to a T-junction on the edge of the often dry Cavalon creek.

Pedestrians and cyclists can continue straight ahead on the footbridge.

We arrive opposite at Quai de la Liberté. We cross this street at the pedestrian crossing and then turn left towards Place de la Bouquerie.

If we're here on market day in Apt, this square will be packed. In any case, market or not, it's best to park your bikes and explore the historic town centre on foot.

There's absolutely no place to stop and lock your bikes properly. Yet another town that hasn't quite grasped the importance of cyclists.

The market is mainly located along the east-west axis formed by Place de la Bouquerie, Rue du Docteur Gros, and especially Rue des Marchands, with the passage under the clock tower. In summer, it extends as far as the Cours Lauze de Perret, where the town is again limited by the dry bed of the Cavalon.

The photo shows the Clock Tower seen from the east, we are therefore on the return path to the Place de la Bouquerie, where we get back on our bikes.

The Place de la Bouquerie leads to a large double-track bridge. We cross it and continue straight ahead despite signs pointing elsewhere towards the cycle path. Following them would lead us uphill as steeply as we descended.

So we continue straight ahead to this 1950s-style monument. It marks the beginning of the Voie Domitienne, which we take by turning right. It's a one-way street, and cars tend to speed along it despite the 30 km/h speed limit. Don't let it bother you, ride at your own pace and preferably in the middle of the lane. No car will be able to overtake you here legally because there will never be enough space between you and the passing vehicle.

The Voie Domitienne ends onto the large square left by the demolished train station.

Turning, we are now alongside and level with the cycle path we took earlier. A barrier blocks the way, except at the very beginning near the intersection where an unofficial path allows us to pass with our mountain bikes.

Further ahead, we take the narrow underpass to continue west.

We cross the curved Riaille viaduct again.

Crossing it, you might think it's a light structure underneath, but it's actually a series of massive masonry arches. Metal bridges were known in 1890, however, the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway Company didn't consider Apt worthy enough of a light bridge. They preferred to save money with a masonry bridge.

We know the rest of the cycle path we took on the way out. We arrive back at the yellow chicane.

We turn right there towards the starting parking lot. But we don't go all the way down.

At the next intersection, turn right, but continue south.

Stay straight ahead downhill on Chemin de Bosque.

The further path is in the next section.

Section 2: VTT n°62

➙ 5,6 km ... 1 h ➚ 60 m ➘ 95 m ↝ average

   ↙ Colours of the sections like MTB rating but without the duration.

5% rutted dirt roads, few marks

15% moderate trails, few marks

5% dirt roads, few marks

10% difficult trails, few marks
   ↖ very steep passages

5% rutted forest roads, few marks

<5% forest roads, few marks

5% moderate trails, few marks

5% dirt roads, few marks

25% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, few marks

10% rutted forest roads, without marks
   ↖ potentially muddy passages

5% forest roads, faulty marks

10% moderate trails, faulty marks
   ↖ potentially muddy passages

On the descent, the Chemin de Bosque turns right. At the next left-hand bend, we turn right.

After a slight climb and a left-hand turn over gravel that honors mountain biker, we take a fairly straight line heading west-southwest.

We are riding across a sort of plateau that was probably cultivated before, now reclaimed by bushes and a few stunted trees. What was a forest track before has now definitively become a simple path.

About thirty seconds after reaching the flatter section, we cross a kind of stone paved strech that runs diagonally across the path. This could be a remnant of the Roman road between Pont Julien and Apt (Apta Julia).

We follow a high-voltage power line, veering slightly to the right and left. Part of the track we are on probably dates back to when the pylons were installed.

Because the terrain is flat, there are occasional forks in the path, some longer than others. However, we always maintain the same general direction: west-southwest.

Sometimes, however, you have to take the correct turn to avoid ending up on a path that disappears into the wilderness.

The terrain here changes frequently: sometimes the path is wide and open, sometimes you pass through a narrow, dark, vegetal tunnel.

We ride alongside a wall behind which lies a recycling and waste sorting facility. To the left, without seeing it, we pass the Apt wastewater treatment plant. This isn't the most glamorous part of the ride, but we're mainly focused on finding the right line between rocks, trees, and other obstacles.

In May, when we were here, there were thistles that grew taller than the handlebars. They hurt your fingers terribly, even with gloves.

Our path suddenly ends onto a small road.

We turn left first.

And immediately right. It's actually a diagonal intersection.

The path becomes a forest track. The signs indicate a paintball site.

So we continue within the framework of everything that is rejected outside the city.

Besides paintball, there's also a model aircraft flying field here.

We drive between the parked cars and follow the track, which turns back into a forest raod ahead.

This dirt road curves to the right, and at the end of the curve, we spot a path on the left.

Several markers, including a yellow mountain bike marker, are attached to a half cut tree.

The pleasure of finding a simple path doesn't last long. The climb is steep and interspersed with rocky sections that don't seem too bad at first glance, but it's incredibly difficult to get going again after stopping.

There are also some forks in the path here.

We climb quite quickly here, gaining about thirty metres.

It's perfectly acceptable to push your bike here, especially with luggage on the back.

This is where the terrain flattens out. However, it will be hillier from now on.

The path widens again and winds between groups of stunted oak trees.

Le Ménage is a farm further ahead, which we'll skirt to the south.

There's still a bit of a slope. There are also some forks in the path here.

The terrain remains uneven, making a bumpy ride unless you're going really slowly.

Smooth sections are found mainly in the rare stretches through the forest, but there are also often roots to be found there.

We cross the high-voltage power line again. We pass to the north of it, just before the pylon.

The terrain is almost gentle here for a moment.

But we soon find ourselves back on our track of large, compacted gravel with only short sections of smooth earth.

In this relative monotony, and as we begin a long right turn, we spot a wooden signpost indicating Pont Julien to the left, with all the familiar markers.

Here we begin the detour around Le Ménage.

It's an easy path, with a gentle slope, but many turns and limited visibility ahead. Even though we're mostly alone here, there might still be hikers or even cyclists coming from the opposite direction. We just barely squeeze between the bushes on the left and right.

We cross this road in a straight line to continue on the simple path beyond.

The path is pleasant, but there's almost no shade here.

In the last section, the path is scattered with loose stones, making it quite bumpy.

We leave the path and turn onto a farm track in front of a field. We turn right and ride between the field on the left and the forest on the right.

Finally, we have the forest on both sides and arrive at a paved road where we turn left.

This road runs parallel to the Cavalon cycle route, which we will take on the return journey.

We keep left at the next intersection. We then stay on this road, which leads us south for nearly 1200 metres and a little over three minutes. It passes mainly between villas and is gently downhill for most of its length.

Finally, the road climbs slightly, and seeing cypress trees ahead, we look for a dirt track to the right. There's a fire hydrant here, along with the house numbers 1546 and 1548.

Now it's time to turn right onto an unpaved, uphill track.

We pass two more driveways to houses.

We continue straight ahead when the farm track turns left.

Our path becomes a fairly narrow forest track. It's downhill.

We emerge into a field as we pass under the high-voltage power line again.

We're now between the fields on the left and the forest on the right.

The direction changes when we pass this rusty metal box.

From now on, the field is on the right and the bushes are on the left. In spring, the path is barely visible because the farmer has clearly sown the farm track as well.

We ride through increasingly tall grass, approaching rocks beside which we drive on.

We turn right behind the rocks and stay once again between a field on the left and a bank with bushes on the right.

This path leads us to a kind of crossroads in front of more rocks.

We turn left.

It's a stony track with a steep incline. It's tough riding, but it doesn't last long.

We're back next to the old railway line, now a cycle path. But we're one level too high. So we continue straight ahead.

We saw these markers earlier too, besides the high-voltage power line, we're also following an underground gas pipeline.

Between the sections with rocks on the ground are patches of red earth that can be muddy and sticky after rain.

A minute later, the yellow marker is followed by another, shorter one. Our path turns left here.

Right after, we continue straight ahead on a narrow path.

You can see in the photo the mud holes, which are barely dry here.

There's a fork in the path on this trail, lost in nature.

We stay to the right to avoid riding to the climbing rocks.

When we follow this fence, we return to civilization.

It's only on this section that we can see what lies ahead us. The visible ridge is that of the Petit Luberon, the western part of the eponymous mountain range.

Our path remains to the left of the road leading to a house. We're descending here.

But we quickly rejoin this same road and continue westward along it.

Section 3: Pont Julien

➙ 1,3 km ... 20 min ➚ 30 m ➘ 25 m ↝ easy

   ↙ Colours of the sections like MTB rating but without the duration.

25% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, without marks

25% cycle path, faulty marks

10% moderate trails, without marks
   ↖ leave the bike and explore on foot

35% cycle path, faulty marks

The road leads us under a bridge of the old railway line. The cycle path crosses it above.

We ride under it and turn left afterward. The tarmac becomes more substantial beyond this point.

We arrive at a stop sign on the road that has bypassed the Pont Julien bridge since 2005.

Let's take the left turn here first to see the old bridge from the new one.

There isn't a dedicated viewpoint, but a narrow sidewalk allows you to avoid being in the middle of the traffic.

As mentioned above, this new bridge was installed in 2005 to preserve the old one.

The Pont Julien bridge is mainly visible over the almost dry bed of the Cavalon River. However, this stream can experience rare flash floods, and the Romans, who built this bridge in the third year CE, anticipated these large volumes of water by constructing a structure quite high, with piers anchored in high points of the bedrock. These piers have openings to better withstand the current.

The Roman bridge was integrated into the road network, with departmental road 108 passing over it for a very long time. A very long time indeed: over 2000 years. André and Alex, who manage this site, still drove over it in their own car in 1999, along with trucks of all sizes. The Romans built solidly. Let's see if the new bridge also lasts 2002 years. Let's meet again in the year 4007!

The cycle path seems determined to make things difficult for us here. We have to go back to the intersection where we rejoined the road. Just opposite, a long barrier blocks access from the road to the cycle path, but as in Apt, there's an unofficial way through. It's also visible in the photo below.

From this passage, we can see directly onto the second viewpoint. It's a small rise a little closer on the right bank of the Cavalon, but still on the east side, of course.

The view of the bridge is more oblique here.

Here we can better recognize the location of the pier on a hard, elevated point in the riverbed. The aim is to keep these masonry piers out of the water for as long as possible of their lifespan, since it is the constant flow of water that eventually destroys structures. The Pont du Gard is built according to the same principle.

We now need to cross the Pont Julien for the first time. To do this, we have to make a detour to the north.

Here, there can be many distracted pedestrians on the cycle path.

Here, cyclists have exclusive use of the Pont Julien. Since 2005, all motorized traffic has been prohibited.

The Calavon is an extremely irregular river, with its flow varying considerably from year to year, and the seasonal fluctuations are very pronounced. The flow rate exceeds 2m³/s in winter and during floods, dropping to 42 litres per second in summer, which is too low for the water to flow. With climate change, periods of drought can last for more than five months.

The stream originates near Banon and flows south, passing through the spectacular Oppedette canyon. It then changes direction, flowing past Apt and Cavaillon. It joins the Durance River near Caumont.

We pass south of the historic bridge and turn right onto the road closest to the riverbed.

After 70 meters and past a large tree, we spot a path descending to the right.

It's possible to ride a mountain bike on it, but it's very steep. It's best to park your bikes at the bottom.

The goal here is twofold: to admire the Pont Julien from the other side and also to take a break. Further downstream, there are large trees offering shade.

From here, the very thin steel parapet is visible. The original Roman bridge certainly didn't have a masonry parapet, as this would have created too much resistance to the waters of high floods.

We then retrace our steps. We cross the Pont Julien again, this time heading north.

Here, we can see the extremely low masonry parapet.

We make the detour to the north on the cycle path and then pass under the recently built road bridge.

On the other side, a series of switchbacks leads uphill.

Indeed, we need to go back up to the old railway line, which used to cross here on a bridge much higher than the current road bridge, to rejoin the route now occupied by the D108 towards Bonnieux.

The railway bridge no longer exists here, it must have been missing since at least 1991. But we can climb to the right towards the remaining bridgehead on the north side.

The area has been developed into a viewpoint with a railing. However, a similar one is missing on the south side.

The viewpoint primarily showcases the 2005 road bridge.

Unlike the Roman bridge, it has a central pier poured in a constantly damp location. This is possible with concrete, which the Romans didn't have in this form. But this pile is the simple reason why this bridge will not exist in 4007.

Section 4: Véloroute du Cavalon

➙ 5,8 km ... 20 min ➚ 40 m ➘ 20 m ↝ easy

   ↙ Colours of the sections like MTB rating but without the duration.

55% cycle path, few marks

5% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, few marks

10% hard-surfaced country road, faulty marks

30% hard-surfaced quiet side streets, faulty marks

We descend from our starting point and continue along the old railway line towards Apt.

We pass through several cuts in rocky hills because a railway must have gentle gradients and very wide curves. This allows us to make good time, but it's quite monotonous.

We're stopped at two intersections of secondary roads where cyclists aren't even given priority. It's ridiculous.

The photo shows the first of these two intersections.

The mountains that can sometimes be seen in the distance to the left are the Monts du Vaucluse.

The third yield-sign marks the abrupt end of the cycle path. We are redirected onto the Chemin de l'Ancienne Gare.

We have to ride under the D900 raod and rejoin the old Route d'Apt further up.

We logically turn right onto the Route d'Apt.

It's truly lamentable that the cycle route wasn't extended over La Tirasse, it's just missing a bridge.

Even on the Route d'Apt, there's no cycle lane. We leave it at the first possible opportunity, again turning right (after Renault Trucks).

We drive under the D900 road once more. These underpasses must have cost a fortune. Money that could have been used to rebuild a cycle bridge over L'Ubane River.

In any case, we turn left and head east at the end.

We are now back on the old railway line. There's plenty of room here to build a cycle path. But nothing!

This rather uninviting road is running alongside the noisy D900 and leads us back to the intersection we already know.

Turning left, we arrive at the roundabout north of which is the bus stop. The cycle route to Apt starts before the roundabout.

Turning right, we return to the parking lot of the sports complex, where this tour begins.

Sources and additional information

It is better to use a good topographic hiking map: this tour is on the IGN map "Apt, Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon", scale 1:25000, 3242OT.

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 Cartes IGN app from the official map service. 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.

This page has been seen 11 times since 20 March 2024.