Chamrousse hiking experience - Oursière waterfall

Presentation

Presentation

I tried for you: the hike of the "Oursière" waterfall
"A refreshing getaway close to Grenoble and Chamrousse"

July 2019, road of Chamrousse, pedestrian hiking, between friends
Fanny, hiking enthusiast with viewpoints!

Here I am going by carpooling with Clara since Grenoble, destination "la Gafe" at 1 100 meters of altitude, a step on the road of Chamrousse to go to discover the hike of the Oursière waterfall!

We are lucky, there are not too many people by this beautiful day of summer. We park our car on a small undeveloped and a little hidden parking in the bend of the Gafe and we equip ourselves: walking shoes, little sweater, backpack, picnic, sun glasses, cap, bottle of water, solar cream, everything is ready!

We chose this refreshing destination to escape from the heat wave of the valley, a hiking in the heart of the Seiglières forest without too much difficulty and easily accessible from Grenoble. Okay, in good city dweller we took the car, but hybrid the car, and in carpooling mode anyway.
Welcome in the middle of Nature, at the edge of forest and mountains for a hike in total peace to chat between girls with, in option, beautiful landscapes and a nice view for the picnic break.

All the interest is there…

This visual and sonor hike is presented to us by the typical yellow sign of hike which indicate a round-trip path with approximately 420 meters of elevation gain over 2.6 kilometers for a duration of approximately one and a half hours (sorry, professional deformation, it is the speech of the travel advisor that takes over).

The beginning of the pathway is easy and pleasant, mostly shaded thanks to the forest with, for only background sound, the water which streams away and announces festivities. From there, we can see the first foothills of the mountain that appears between the deciduous trees. Barely 5 minutes after the beginning of the walk, here is our first discovery with the point of interest of the locality of the "Pierre-Molle" and its wooden pontoon. It allows you to step over the large stream of the Pourettes without wet your legs.
A privileged premise of our future crossings with the feet in the water and a perfect place for a photo break.

The viewpoints as fellow travelers

The rest of the route crosses, in fact, several small waterfalls or screes. We were very happy to have brought solid and waterproof shoes! And we even found something to photograph: a few small flowers around the water spots, the runoff of which also made the other walkers and their dogs happy. We catch a glimpse of the Chartreuse, not the famous drink served at the Chamrousse welcome drink, but the mountain of course. Small educational and tourist reminder, the city of Grenoble and its valley is surrounded by 3 massifs, Belledonne where we are today, the Chartreuse at the opposite and the Vercors on the left (sorry I'm starting again as if I was at work, not good Fanny).

The last part is a little more technical. Okay, there I rectify, it’s not exactly "without too much difficulty", it goes up anyway in tight laces.
Be careful to raise your feet to step over the few rocks or roots that may appear on the paths! Moreover, we meet trail runners who make the path by running, here it is also their playground in the direction of the Robert Lakes, the Croix de Chamrousse or even the Pra. They are mad!

The smooth sound of the water as a guide towards to the holy grail: the waterfall!

The arrival at the waterfall is surprising with a ubiquitous vegetation and refreshing drizzle! Here the water shines brightly but don't let yourself be blinded and watch out for the wet and slippery rocks around the waterfall!

We enjoy it by splashing each other nicely with the fresh water which comes from the melt of ice of Chamrousse and also from the mountains lakes along the GR738 long-distance hiking route. It's time for the well-deserved picnic break in this enchanting setting, a menu from French haute cuisine, no I'm kidding, just a frugal meal consisting of a homemade sandwich and local and an organic fruit bought at the Combe Gourmande on the way.
And as it is not finished, it is set out again for the return in the opposite direction with for point of view the Grenoble city valley which is discovered hidden between the trees. This time we are familiar with the hiking trail so we take advantage of admiring the lush vegetation of the forest with the mushrooms that grows on the stumps, not to mention the fauna with small insects such as small beetles that sparkle.

In any case, this hike of the Oursière waterfall is really worth the detour! As much for its geographical location, in the heart of the forest towards Chamrousse, as for the number of small waterfalls, as beautiful as each other! We, walkers, are delighted with this small day trip perfect for the pleasure of the eyes and ears.

Fanny – Tourist Office staff.

More information on the natural heritage of Oursière waterfall and the La Gafe - Oursière waterfall hike, with a variant starting at Les Seiglières (+ 20/30 min and about 1.7 km below) from the hostel and the parking space.

To go further, discover the "Belledonne et Chartreuse en Grésivaudan" cartoguide on sale for €5 at the Chamrousse Tourist Offices (detailed map at 1/35 000 offered by Isère Tourism)

Crédit photos: Clara Pointet