Marcols-les-Eaux combines two hikes suited to different time budgets with cultural offerings focused on mineral water and silk processing. The route to Rocher de Don starts at the town hall; the hike to Champ de Mars takes longer and is accessible only from late May to October. The village is also home to the Janvier spring, the history of mineral waters in the Monts d’Ardèche, and the Moulinage de la Neuve. When planning, you can therefore choose to focus on nature experiences or on the different aspects of cultural heritage.

Compare hikes by time and distance

The hike to Rocher de Don starts at the Marcols-les-Eaux town hall and follows the signs to Rocher de Don. It takes four hours, is 11.5 kilometres long and includes 430 metres of elevation gain. The trail is marked yellow and white.

The longer hike leads to Champ de Mars: it is 18 kilometres long, takes 5.5 hours and has 550 metres of elevation gain. It is accessible only from late May to October. The route follows the Sentier des Marcolais, crosses the Glueyre and continues to the hamlet of Mauras. Yellow-and-white and yellow-and-red markers are indicated for this hike. Compared with Rocher de Don, it adds 6.5 kilometres, an hour and a half, and 120 metres of elevation gain. Yellow and white are therefore the colours used to mark both trails; on the Champ de Mars hike, yellow-and-red markers provide additional wayfinding.

Valley views and panoramas

The route to Champ de Mars passes through the valley basin at the end of the Glueyre Valley, through remarkable beech forests, and offers panoramic views over the Monts d’Ardèche. In this route description, the valley, forest and expansive views are all part of the experience. From the summit of the Don volcano, there is a 360-degree view across the Parc des Monts d’Ardèche. This panorama offers a different perspective on the landscape from the sequence of sights on the Champ de Mars hike: there, the valley and forest are part of the route, while at the Don volcano the view is from the summit.

Mineral water and silk processing

Mineral waters are also a cultural theme in Marcols-les-Eaux. The Janvier spring building houses the spring’s extraction well and a permanent exhibition about mineral waters. The exhibition “Dans le secret des bulles” in Marcols-les-Eaux presents the history of mineral waters in the Monts d’Ardèche. This lets you explore the subject both at the actual extraction well and through the history of mineral waters in the Monts d’Ardèche.

The Moulinage de la Neuve is another cultural highlight. It has been open to the public for guided tours since 2007. During the tours, the machines are set in motion. The Moulinage also preserves looms used to twist silk thread. Twisting means winding silk threads together; the preserved looms make this specific craft process tangible. The operating machines add a live demonstration to the tour. This visit focuses on silk processing and technology, while the attractions related to Janvier and the exhibitions focus on mineral water.

Discover more destinations: Vesseaux, Sainte-Marguerite-Lafigère, Annonay, Pourchères, Lachamp-Raphaël, Boffres, Sampzon, Saint-Sernin.

For the overview of the wider region: Ardèche.