This March, I took a trip with my dog to Minerve in the Occitanie region of France. While we were there, we went for a short hike that afforded us some beautiful views of the town as well as the gorge it is next to.
Stopping in Minerve for a short hike is definitely recommended. The town is quite small, but the views are beautiful and my dog had a great time playing in the water along the route. For more information on this visit, please see the details below.
THE ROUTE
If you’re coming by car, I would recommend to park at the Aire de Bouys parking lot which is free of charge outside of the main season. There is also a washroom available.
The hiking route that I followed starts directly from there. Simply follow the yellow route markers down into the city of Minerve. As you descent, you already get a beautiful view of the gorge of the Cesse river.
As you follow the route through the town, eventually you get down to the river. For humans, there are a few stones to step across to the stairs, but of course my dog had to take advantage and cool off in the river first.
After crossing over and going up some stairs as well as “climbing” up over some stones, you get rewarded with a perfect view of the city. Can you imagine this town back in the days? Looks like a good position to defend from for sure.
On the other side, the yellow route takes you along the edge of the gorge for more views of the town as well as the gorge itself. It is quite pretty, but we did eventually turn back instead of completing the whole route. We were not sure how long it would take, and after walking uphill in the sun for a while we were frankly just getting tired. Either way, it was pretty for sure! I’m not sure how far the route continues, but I am pretty sure that no matter what, you need to eventually go back the same way that you came to return to Minerve.
HOW LONG IT TAKES AND WHO IT’S FOR
This route was surprisingly hard to me. First, you go all the way down to the river, and then of course you have to back up on the other side. There are stairs most of the way, but towards the top you actually have to “climb” over stones a little bit. It is not too difficult, but I would recommend good shoes to make sure that you don’t slip. I also found it quite exhausting, but that may be because it was very sunny when we came. There is virtually no shade along the route, so I would recommend a hat. This route is suitable for folks in decent physical condition who don’t mind a little rougher terrain.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This was a really nice hike to do with my dog. Albeit a bit challenging for me physically, my pup definitely enjoyed playing in the water and the views of the town and the gorge were well worth it. If you are in Occitanie, I can certainly recommend this hike with your dog!
A trip with my dog 