| 366 kmGPS distance | 2 daysDuration | Gard · LozèreDepartments | 1,264 mCol du Minier | Sep 2025When we rode | May–Jun · Sep–OctBest season |
This one started with an ulterior motive: we went to the Cévennes to pick mushrooms. Specifically cèpes — the fat, meaty porcini that appear in the chestnut and beech forests of the upper Cévennes in September, if you know where to look and if the autumn rains have come at the right time. We had a spot in mind. We had high hopes. We had, in the end, one cèpe.
Bonnie found it. She was triumphant. The cèpe was the size of a respectable cappuccino cup. We photographed it from multiple angles, carried it back to the Mas de Ribard with great ceremony, and ate it scrambled with eggs the next morning. It was genuinely delicious. The mushroom harvest: not a success. The ride: extraordinary.
We went to the Cévennes to find mushrooms. We found one cèpe — Bonnie's triumph — and 366 kilometres of some of the best roads in Southern France. A fair exchange.
| 🏡 | Where we stayed — Mas de Ribard The Mas de Ribard was one of those accommodation discoveries that you file away as somewhere to return to. A maison d'hôte in the proper Cévennes — stone, beams, a terrace above the valley, the kind of quiet that takes a night to get used to. We highly recommend this place to nature lovers. Mas de Ribard → |
Day 1 — The Approach, the Mushroom Hunt and the Col du Minier
We left the Montpellier area on the D999 toward Ganges — the classic Cévennes approach, climbing steadily as the coastal plain recedes. Within ninety minutes you are in a different France: granite instead of limestone, chestnut forest instead of garrigue, the air cooler and carrying the damp quality of mountain forests.
The mushroom hunting was conducted on foot in the forests above the Mas de Ribard for the first afternoon. We walked with baskets. We looked serious. We found one cèpe. It was beautiful. It came home with us.
The Col du Minier at 1,264 metres was the late-afternoon reward — one of the classic Cévennes passes. The GPS records two extended stops: 21 minutes and 33 minutes. These are not delays. They are the ride. The view south from the col over the Gard plain, the Mediterranean light on the horizon. We turned the engine off and just listened: wind, a distant bell from a flock below, the Tiger cooling.
Day 2 — Florac, the Corniche des Cévennes and the Cascade du Ray-Pic
The Corniche des Cévennes — the D9 along the ridge between Florac and Saint-Jean-du-Gard — is one of the great views of the Massif Central: the entire Gard plain visible to the south, the Mediterranean light on the horizon, the chestnut and beech forest falling away on both sides.
We hiked to the Cascade du Ray-Pic in the afternoon — a stunning waterfall in a basalt gorge we had been told about and were not remotely prepared for. The approach is a 30-minute walk through forest, the falls dropping some 30 metres over black basalt columns. Absolutely worth the time and proper walking shoes.
Villages Worth Stopping For
Capital of the Cévennes National Park and the natural hub for multi-day exploration. Tuesday market. The confluence of five valleys makes it naturally central.
Main town of the southern Cévennes — silk-producing town in the 18th century. Gateway to the Col du Minier from the south.
A small village on the upper Tarn — where Stevenson crossed the river on his 1878 walk. Austere Huguenot character.
The southern gateway to the Cévennes. Deep Huguenot history; the train des Cévennes steam railway departs from here.
A village at the edge of the northern Gard Cévennes — stone, granite, chestnut trees, and the kind of quiet the south of the department doesn't offer.
Practical Information
| From Montpellier | 1h15 to the Cévennes proper on the D999 toward Ganges — the classic approach. |
| Roads | Excellent on the main D-roads; narrow in sections on the higher passes. |
| Altitude | Passes reach 1,200–1,400m — pack a layer even in September. |
| Mushroom note | Cèpes appear after the first autumn rains, usually mid-September. Ask locally. Bring a basket, not a plastic bag. |
| 🏍️ | September is the month for the Cévennes. The Corniche des Cévennes (D9) between Florac and Saint-Jean-du-Gard is one of the great ridge views of the Massif Central. Don't miss it. |