Hiking France: Tour des Monts Aubrac

After five days on the camino, it was time to switch trails. Behold, the Tour des Monts Aubrac – a trail that quickly became a favorite (and I wish I had more time to spend on it!). 

If you just want to daydream, scroll for photos. If you are thinking of taking the trail yourself, scroll all the way down for details about the hike.

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Want to experience the hike for yourself? Here are some relevant details: 

Directions & hiking times

While I only hiked on this trail for two days, there’s enough here for a heftier trip, with 160 km total. The trail is a bit less well signposted than the camino, but you should still be able to find your way (the markers just appear less often).  My two days on the trail were about 27 km and 15 km, respectively, but with gites pretty frequent along the way, you can choose your pace.

Dogs on trails

I had no problem taking Luna on the trails. Do keep in mind that cows can be aggressive toward dogs, so if you are walking through a grazing area, you may want to carry your small dog or keep your big dog leashed.

Is the trail crowded?

Not at all! I did it in May, so perhaps it’s more crowded in high summer, but I didn’t see any other hikers on the trail. My first night in the gite, I was alone. My second gite (which intersected other trails) was full of hikers on another route.

What to bring

As always with hiking, wear good shoes (I like Salomon’s trail running shoes) and weather-appropriate clothing (which is a range of cold and warm-weather gear in this region). Bring plenty of water (there are restaurants along the way but they aren’t always super close together and restos/bars may be closed). For the dog, I took a dog-carrier backpack (jury’s still out on whether I will use it again, so I won’t mention the brand here). Obviously for longer hikes you’ll also need more gear. And I carried lots of snacks because I’m prone to getting hangry.

Happy hiking!