Stevenson Trail (GR70): water, gîtes and stages, from the Velay to the Cévennes

In the autumn of 1878, the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson set off from Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille, in the Haute-Loire, with a donkey named Modestine. Twelve days later he reached Saint-Jean-du-Gard, in the Cévennes. He drew a book from it, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, and generations of walkers have followed in his steps ever since, on what became the GR70, the Stevenson Trail.

The route crosses the Velay, the Gévaudan, Mont Lozère and the Cévennes: high plateaus, forests, stone villages and a long descent towards the south. This post answers the practical questions with OnTrace data read along the whole route: where to find water, where to sleep, how to split the days and how to reach the trail by train.

The Stevenson Trail at a glance#

• About 230 km from Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille to Saint-Jean-du-Gard for the route above. Many start from Le Puy-en-Velay, which adds a stage.
• Steady ups and downs rather than great passes: the highest point is on Mont Lozère. The exact figures of the route are in the sheet, worked out from the altitude of the ground.
• About twelve days for most walkers, like Stevenson himself, in stages of 15 to 20 km.
• A trail for every level of long-distance walking experience, with no technical passage, but long days on plateaus open to wind and sun.
• Many walkers set off with a donkey, hired at the start from donkey keepers. It carries the pack, not the walker, and needs suitable stages and places to stay that welcome it.

Water#

Villages line the trail and often have a fountain, but the Gévaudan plateaus and the crossing of Mont Lozère leave long stretches without a spring. The sheet gives the longest stretch without a known water point, to the kilometer. Treat stream water, which flocks use, and trust recent reports: on OnTrace, a fountain walkers report dry leaves the calculation.

Where to sleep#

Gîtes, guest houses, village hotels and campsites follow one another along the whole route, one of the best equipped in France for long walks. In spring and summer, book ahead, above all if you travel with a donkey: not every place can take it.

Splitting the days#

Here is a split worked out on these same places, with days of 14 to 24 km: each evening near somewhere to sleep, the hilliest days kept shorter. With a donkey, plan shorter stages.

Camping and protected areas#

The end of the route crosses the Cévennes National Park, where camping is regulated by the park’s rules. Ask before you go, and keep to the periods given. The sheet lists the known zones the trail crosses or passes near. Where nothing is drawn, nobody knows: it does not mean anything goes.

Getting to the trail by train#

• At the start, Le Puy-en-Velay has its station. Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille is then reached by road.
• On the way, the Cévennes line, between Clermont-Ferrand and Nîmes, crosses the trail: you can get on or off there to walk it in several goes.
• At the finish, Saint-Jean-du-Gard has no main line station: the nearest one is reached by road.

The stations within 5 km of the route:

Plan your own version#

Open the trace in OnTrace, then choose Duplicate this trace to get your own copy: add your start from Le Puy-en-Velay, your nights and supply points without touching the original. You can also download the GPX of the sheet for your watch.

Route: © OpenStreetMap contributors, under the ODbL. Altitudes: IGN. Places: OpenStreetMap, refuges.info and walkers’ reports on OnTrace.

• Chemin de Stevenson
• Cévennes
• Randonnée
• Itinérance