Walking tours
Sporting leisure activities (including hiking) represent an increasingly important part of the tourist activity in Lozere. Exercising in the open air is another way to enjoy the wide open spaces and wild nature of Lozère. If most of these activities can be practiced in complete autonomy, calling upon guides and specialized instructors, and local service providers, brings an undeniable added value: safety in the practice of the activity but also an exchange of knowledge on the natural environment, regional culture, heritage, society...
Nearly 2,000 km of trails are marked throughout the department, this only for the GR network; a multitude of small hiking trails must be added. The most frequented are naturally the GR6, which crosses the Causses and the Aubrac, and the GR7, coming from the Massif Central, which leads to the Pyrenees by the mount Aigoual, the Causse du Larzac and the Haut Languedoc. The network is particularly dense and well signposted in areas where local authorities have focused on the practice of outdoor recreation, notably within the Cévennes National Park. Two "mythical" itineraries cross the department, the Way of Santiago de Compostela which crosses the Margeride and the Aubrac, and the Way of Stevenson which crosses the east of the department, from Langogne to the Cevennes. A little less known, the Regordane which connects Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Gilles (Gard) and passes by Langogne and Villefort on a thousand-year-old path, the path of Saint-Guilhem, from Nasbinals to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert (Hérault), which crosses Aubrac, the Causses and the Gorges of the Tarn, a magic section between Saint-Rome-de-Dolan and Le Rozier.
Orienteering is very popular and Lozere is the ideal place for it. Six areas have been set up in the department and several clubs practice it. For more information, the departmental orienteering committee will answer your questions: 04 66 65 39 79.
Another way of walking, Nordic walking allows you to put less strain on your knee joints by using sticks in wide movements similar to the pace of cross-country skiing. In Grèzes, Patrick Lafond leads the association which offers regular outings, as well as a festival, the Nordique du Gévaudan, taking place each year in a different place, with races of different levels, conferences and equipment stands.
Geocaching is also a sport activity for geeks in Lozère. There are no less than 318 caches, many of them in the Tarn gorges and more than 10 in Mas-de-la-Barque, a new nature resort, which is taking advantage of the opportunity to offer a geocaching interpretation trail! Everyone to your GPS !
There are also associations throughout the department that offer themed hikes: gourmet hikes, nature hikes with naturalists, cani-rando with sled dogs... Ask for information at the Tourist Office of your place of residence.
On horseback and donkey
Sometimes the markings are shared with the pedestrian trails. Horseback riding is a practice in full expansion. Numerous professionals offer accompanied rides, from half-day to multi-day rides. The association of the horsemen hikers of Lozere gathers about forty practising, regularly organizing hikes. As for the hikes with a donkey, traditional in the Cevennes - Stevenson obliges - they are developing in all Lozere. For the youngest, most of the equestrian centers have ponies, also rented from one hour to half a day, for nice rides.
By bike
The "Tour de la Lozère", certified by the French Cycling Federation, is nearly 600 km long and has a total altitude difference of 9,600 m. It will allow all the cyclotourists to discover the magnificent department of Lozere through all its natural regions and in six stages: from Mende to Langogne to go up the Lot valley and then follow the Allier valley; from Langogne to Malzieu-Ville through the Margeride; from Malzieu-Ville to Saint-Germain-du-Teil through the landscapes of the Aubrac; from Saint-Germain-du-Teil to Lanuéjols between gorges and causses; from Lanuéjols to the Burgen bridge through the Cevennes (with the 1 567 m of the Aigoual, the highest summit of the Tour); from the Burgen bridge to Mende crossing the Lozère mountain.
Fishing
Lozere is to fishing what Sologne is to hunting and Montélimar to nougat! Placed end to end, its rivers would cover the distance from Paris to Moscow (and even 300 km further), that is to say 2 800 km. These 500 rivers feed the Garonne, the Loire and the Rhône, while 12 lakes and 17 rivers are listed for fishing. All these rivers, streams and lakes allow for the most sporting of fishing, both for the novice and the experienced fisherman. Some lakes, such as those of Barrandon, Saint-Léger-du-Malzieu and Bonnecombe in the Garonne basin, as well as the Bastide pond in the Loire basin, offer exclusive trout fishing. The lakes of Aubrac, Salhiens, Saint-Andéol, Born, Souverols are all classified in the first category; one can find there fario trout, whose pigmentation turns to bright yellow and which is so poetically nicknamed "the fish which takes the sun", but also pikes, perches, chub and minnows.
Although some of them are more adapted to one type of environment, all fishing techniques are practicable on all these sites (fishing with
, surprise, ultralight, dry fly, artificial lures...). Most of the rivers are classified as first category.the Lot, the first river of Lozere by order of importance, is composed of a population of common grayling for the most part. We can also find chub and vandois in interesting quantities.
Further south, the Jonte, a small stream at its source, is gradually growing; this environment is favorable to the development of the fario trout with which minnows, gudgeon and some pikes are mixed.
The Bès, near the lake of Salhens, offers a surprisingly green and flowery landscape.the same goes for the Truyère which makes its way through a landscape of daffodils and wooded hills with Scots pine. Fishing enthusiasts will not be disappointed: a large quantity of minnows, gudgeon and chub, in the lower part of the river, mixed with a population of native trout, with the fario trout.
The Allier is home to spangled trout, large bull trout, minnows, gudgeon, sculpin, large barbel, as well as chub and vandoisa. Other rivers in the region stand out, starting with the Tarn: this river of gorges, one of the most beautiful in Europe, has very large Mediterranean barbels, a very rich aquatic fauna overall and a water quality, an environment favorable to the development of fish such as minnows, gudgeon, sculpins...
The Colagne, for the more patient fishermen, enjoys a good reputation among fly fishers (trout, gudgeon, minnow, chub).the Altier, taking its source under the summit of Finels, is adapted to the learning and the control of the fishing with the whip in nymphe with sight.
The Chapeauroux can boast of being one of the rare French rivers to be home to salmon, trout and grayling.
Ski and snowshoes
When the snow is good, hikers can cross the department from one side to the other for more than a hundred kilometers without leaving their cross-country skis. Plateau des Bouviers, crests of the Finiels peak, Laubert, a total of 300 km of trails and Nordic itineraries are available to snow lovers, not to mention snowshoeing circuits, skijoring, sledging trails and other dog sled rides. Beautiful landscapes surround the small village resorts that focus on the quality of the welcome. Alpine skiing is concentrated on a few resorts which, it must be admitted, sometimes have difficulty in operating despite the snow cannons. Aubrac (Sainte-Urcize-en-Aveyron), Mont Lozère (Le Bleymard), Aigoual (Prat-Peyrot) are small resorts that mainly attract local customers. The Mas de la Barque above Villefort, the Fer à Cheval resort in Nasbinals and the Bouviers in St-Denis en Margeride have had to diversify their activities in order to welcome sports activities all year round and to be less dependent on snow and the vagaries of the climate. The Mont Lozère is thus very suitable for outdoor activities.
You can find tracks and snowshoe rentals in all the ski resorts of Lozere. For those who are equipped, hiking associations regularly organize winter outings. The classic trails, as long as they are in altitude, can be practiced with snowshoes.
On the water
Canoeing : from Ispagnac, Sainte-Enimie and La Malène, there are several options for canoeing along the river, from 5 km to 40 km. The handling of the boat is within the reach of everyone, and the qualified supervision foresees the way back by the road. In good safety conditions, you can embark for two hours, half a day or even two days spent on the water.
The descent by boat of the gorges of the Tarn: on the same site, the boatmen of La Malène recall that at the beginning of the century the road did not exist and that the boats were the only means of communication of the valley. Taking up the ancient gestures and the traditional boats, boatmen offer their passengers an unobstructed view on a course of 8 km, at a narrow place of the gorges. This allows you to have a close look at the fauna, the flora, and to be amazed by the high cliffs.
